Evolutionary Psychology of Violence

What are the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that motivate violence? What function does violence serve in society? How are different types of violence perceived within our society; are there certain forms of violence our culture finds acceptable? Is a person's predisposition toward violence for problem-solving primarily innate or learned? Is anyone truly "born evil"?

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These are some of the biggest questions facing psychologists, sociologists, and health workers today, and these were the topics explored in the course. Under Dr. Neil Deochand, our class explored the role of evolution, neurobiology, conditioning, culture, social interaction, economic factors, genetics, and life experiences on who perpetrates violence and the types of violent acts they carry out. Using such figures as John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and even ourselves as case studies into violent behavior and its antecedents, we explored methods for predicting, explaining, and preventing violence on small and large scales.

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Among the theories we learned were the ABC (antecedent, behavior, consequence) method of behavior mapping, which we used to attempt to modify one of our own negative behaviors over the course of the semester. We also learned about socioeconomic inequity as a predictor of crime, both violent and nonviolent, and examined how the criminal justice system's focus on punishment over rehabilitation leads to repeat offenses or an escalation towards violence in otherwise non-violent offenders.