Evolution, Biology, and Aggression

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.B. Krupp
Keyword(s):  
Social Disorganization ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Sexual Competition ◽  
Human Aggression ◽  
Cognitive Research ◽  
The Social ◽  
Nonhuman Animals ◽  
Psychological Impairment ◽  
Reproductive Consequences ◽  
Considerable Body

There are numerous complementary approaches to the biology of aggression, ranging from genetic to cognitive research. Arguably, the most successful of them have been guided by hypotheses derived from evolutionary theory. In contrast to the view that human aggression is symptomatic of psychological impairment, social disorganization, or both, evolution-minded hypotheses typically begin from the premise that aggression has been designed by natural selection to serve one or more adaptive functions, and that the mechanisms involved can be sensitive to cues of reproductive consequences in the social environment. Specifically, anatomical, physiological, and psychological adaptations for aggression are expected to evolve when they help individuals secure resources and matings for themselves and for their genealogical kin. From a theoretical perspective, contexts of predation, sexual competition, and sexual conflict are especially likely to foment aggression. A considerable body of research on aggression in nonhuman animals reinforces the adaptationist position, and central findings of this viewpoint—such as differential risk of violence according to sex and kinship—are closely mirrored in humans. Although many features of human aggression are likely the result of adaptations designed to yield these very features, others are more plausibly understood as byproducts of adaptations designed for different purposes. In either case, evolutionary approaches can help to identify the mechanisms underlying aggression and thereby provide ways to reduce its impact.

Canine Rescue as a Social Movement: The Politics of Love

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 670-687
Author(s):  
Anna L. Peterson
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Animal Rights ◽  
Animal Advocacy ◽  
The Social ◽  
Human Animal Bond ◽  
Nonhuman Animals ◽  
Political Approach ◽  
Human Animal ◽  
Politics Of Love

Abstract Canine rescue is a growing movement that affects the lives of tens of thousands of nonhuman animals and people every year. Rescue is noteworthy not only for its numbers, but also because it challenges common understandings of animal advocacy. Popular accounts often portray work on behalf of animals as sentimental, individualistic, and apolitical. In fact, work on behalf of animals has always been political, in multiple ways. It is characterized both by internal political tensions, especially between animal rights and welfare positions, and by complex relations to the broader public sphere. I analyze canine rescue, with a focus on pit bull rescue, to show that an important segment of canine rescue movements adopts an explicitly political approach which blurs the divide between rights and welfare, addresses the social context of the human-animal bond, and links animal advocacy to social justice.

“It's Not Just a Bunch of Buildings”: Social Psychological Investment, Sense of Community, and Collective Efficacy in a Multiethnic Low–Income Neighborhood

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Walton
Keyword(s):  
Collective Efficacy ◽  
Sense Of Community ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Social Disorganization ◽  
Ethnic Diversity ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Investment Strategies ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
Social Lives ◽  
The Social

This analysis of social life in a poor, multiethnic public housing neighborhood presents an opportunity for refinement of social disorganization theory. Drawing on data from interviews, focus groups, and participant observations among residents, I find that this neighborhood exhibits substantial collective efficacy, despite social disorganization theory's predictions that the structural conditions of high poverty and racial and ethnic diversity result in low collective efficacy. I explicate two social psychological investment strategies—sense of ownership and symbolic representation—that appear to facilitate a sense of community and ultimately collective efficacy, helping to explain this apparent anomaly. I argue that even in the presence of structural disadvantage, having a strong sense of community provides a basis for beneficial action on behalf of the collective because it constitutes a source of shared expectations about values and norms in the neighborhood. These findings suggest refinements to the social disorganization framework, but also provide foundational ideas for policy interventions that may improve the social lives of residents in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

scholarly journals Civil Economy in the Social Market Economy: a Theoretical Perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-98
Author(s):  
Flavio Felice
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Market Economy ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
The State ◽  
Social Market Economy ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
Civil Economy ◽  
State And Market ◽  
Social Market

Abstract What do we mean by “civil” and “civil society”? This paper attempts to describe a complex notion of “civil economy” in Sturzo’s theoretical perspective of the social market economy. According to this political theory, “civil” is not opposed to “market,” which is not opposed to “the political” (the state). Rather, instead of being the transmission belt between the state and market, civil is the galaxy in which we find also the market and the state (but not only), each with its own functions. This tradition – rooted in Christianity – was able to oppose both Nazi and communist totalitarianism, while many Catholics made an impossible attempt to exhume corporatism.

scholarly journals Pesquisa psicanalítica de fenômenos sociais na universidade: potencialidade política na subversão dos discursos

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (11) ◽  
pp. 227
Author(s):  
Omar David Moreno Cárdenas ◽  
Andréa Máris Campos Guerra
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Social Phenomena ◽  
Lacanian Psychoanalysis ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
The Social ◽  
De Se ◽  
Conducting Research ◽  
In The Beginning ◽  
The University ◽  
The Relationship

Resumo: Este artigo explora consequências epistemológicas e políticas de se realizar pesquisa de fenômenos sociais com um olhar psicanalítico dentro da universidade, tanto para a psicanálise, o campo social e a própria universidade. No início estabelecemos a relação entre ciência e psicanálise, o que nos permite refletir sobre a participação da psicanálise na universidade e as tensões clássicas desse intercambio. Em seguida, apresentamos o impasse de se pesquisar fenômenos sociais com a psicanálise face à indissociabilidade de teoria, método e clínica. Nossa chave de leitura é a teoria dos discursos da psicanálise lacaniana, indicando o potencial político dessa modalidade de pesquisa ao causar subversões nas formas de poder e dominação discursiva na universidade, nas instituições de psicanálise e no campo social.Palavras-chave: Fenômenos sociais; Pesquisa psicanalítica; Teoria dos discursos; Psicanálise; Subversão. Psychoanalytic research on social phenomena in university: political potentiality within subversion of discoursesAbstract: This paper explores the epistemological and political consequences of conducting research on social phenomena from a psychoanalytic perspective within the university, for the psychoanalysis, the social field and the university. In the beginning, we established the relationship between science and psychoanalysis, which allows us to reflect on the psychoanalysis participation in the university and the classic tensions of this exchange. Next, we present the impasse of researching social phenomena from the psychoanalysis taking in account the indissociability between theory, method and clinic. Our theoretical perspective is the discourses theory of Lacanian psychoanalysis, indicating the political potential of this research modality by causing subversions in the forms of power and discursive domination in the university, in the institutions of psychoanalysis and in the social field.Keywords: Social phenomena; Psychoanalytical research; Discourses theory; Psychoanalysis; Subversion. 

A Multilevel Analysis of Moral Functioning Integrating Socio-Bio-Evolutionary Science, Socio-Constructionism and Constructivist-Developmental Theory

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Diazgranados Ferráns ◽  
Robert L. Selman
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Developmental Theory ◽  
Social Structures ◽  
Moral Sense ◽  
Levels Of Analysis ◽  
Moral Functioning ◽  
Units Of Analysis ◽  
The Social ◽  
Different Populations ◽  
Different Levels

Tensions chronically exist in the research literature among bio-evolutionary scientists, constructivist-developmental psychologists, and socio-constructionist scholars about how to describe, understand, and predict our moral functioning. An analysis of the assumptions of each of these theoretical paradigms, the disciplinary fields that inform their conceptual models, and the empirical evidence they use to sustain their claims reveals the tensions that exist, as different communities of scholars assign different roles to nature and nurture, reason and intuition, and to the private minds of individuals and the social intelligibilities available to them in a given time and place of history. Using simple multilevel structures, it is possible to see that the divisions that exist within these scientific communities can be conceptualized in terms of their use of different levels of analysis, as they each focus on different populations and employ different underlying units of time and space. Bio-evolutionary scientists study humans as species, using slow-paced time units of analysis such as millennia, and their studies focus on the epigenetic dimensions of our moral sense, documenting inter-species variance in moral functioning. Socio-constructionists study humans as members of groups, using moderately paced time units of analysis such as decades and centuries, and their studies focus on cultural variations in what different groups of people consider to be good or bad, according to the social structures and intelligibilities that are available to them in a given time and place of history. Constructivist-developmental psychologists study humans as individuals, using fast-paced time units of analysis such as months and years, and their studies focus on the maturational dimension of our moral sense, documenting within- and between-individuals variation throughout their lifetime. Unfortunately, by focusing on different populations and time units, these communities of scholars produce research findings that highlight certain aspects of our moral functioning while downplaying others. Interestingly, complex multilevel structures can illustrate how different levels of analysis are nested within each other and can demonstrate how different scientific endeavors have been striving to account for different sources of variability in our moral functioning. The use of complex multilevel structures can also allow us to understand our moral functioning from a dynamic, complex, multilevel theoretical perspective, and as the product of (a) genetic variations that occur between and within species, (b) variations in the social structures, discourses, and intelligibilities that are available in the culture and regulate what social groups consider good and bad at different places and times of history, and (c) variations in the personal experiences and opportunities of interaction that individuals have in different environments throughout their lifetime. Researchers need to clarify the epigenetic, historical, and developmental rules of our moral functioning, and the ways in which different dimensions interact with each other.

Negativity Biases and Political Ideology: A Comparative Test across 17 Countries

2020 ◽  
Vol 114 (3) ◽  
pp. 775-791
Author(s):  
PATRICK FOURNIER ◽  
STUART SOROKA ◽  
LILACH NIR
Keyword(s):  
Political Ideology ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Orientation ◽  
News Reports ◽  
Psychophysiological Study ◽  
The Social ◽  
Static Images ◽  
Physiological Reactions ◽  
Considerable Body

There is a considerable body of work across the social sciences suggesting negativity biases in human attentiveness and decision-making. Recent research suggests that individual variation in negativity biases is correlated with political ideology: persons who have stronger physiological reactions to negative stimuli, this work argues, hold more conservative attitudes. However, such results have mostly been encountered in the United States. Does the link between psychophysiological negativity biases and political ideology apply elsewhere? We answer this question with the most extensive cross-national psychophysiological study to date. Respondents across 17 countries and six continents were exposed to negative and positive televised news reports and static images. Sensors tracked participants’ skin conductance, and a survey captured their left–right political orientation. Analyses performed at three levels of aggregation—respondent-as-a-case, stimuli-as-a-case, and second-by-second time-series—fail to find strong support for the link between negativity biases and political ideology.

scholarly journals A Qualitative Approach to the Sustainable Orientation of Generation Z in Retail: The Case of Romania

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan-Cristian Dabija ◽  
Brândușa Mariana Bejan ◽  
Claudiu Pușcaș
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Markets ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Generational Theory ◽  
Qualitative Empirical Research ◽  
Generation Z ◽  
Depth Interview ◽  
The Social ◽  
Interview Guide ◽  
Management Perspective ◽  
Sustainability Principles

In order to highlight the extent to which young consumers, or members of Generation Z, are familiar with the sustainability principles implemented by retailers operating in emerging markets, the authors conducted a qualitative empirical research study with the help of a semi-structured in-depth interview guide. Respondents were asked to express their perception of the extent to which their favorite retailers adopted and implemented the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of sustainability. The results show that respondents viewed retailers’ sustainability orientation favorably, specifying concrete measures implemented by their preferred retailers. They seemed to favor those retail networks making a useful and proactive contribution to resource preservation and environmental protection, whilst taking care of employees’ welfare and being involved in their local communities. From a theoretical perspective, the paper makes a clear contribution to enhancing the generational theory-based studies on emerging markets, where market conditions and polyvalent consumer behavior are highly dynamic, and where sustainability principles play a major role in drawing and maintaining their customers. From a management perspective, the paper provides retailers with an overview on the measures, tactics, and actions that allow them to properly target consumers and develop a proper customer approach strategy.

scholarly journals Don Quixote and the social system: Interpreting Ronald Laing’s concept of ontological insecurity from Alfred Schütz’ and Talcott Parsons’ theories of social action

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 191-207
Author(s):  
Christopher Schlembach
Keyword(s):  
Social Action ◽  
Social System ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Don Quixote ◽  
Alfred Schutz ◽  
Talcott Parsons ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Social ◽  
Alfred Schütz

Alfred Schütz and Talcott Parsons, two towering authorities of Weberian social thought are rarely interpreted in the same theoretical perspective (with the exception of Harold Garfinkel). This article intends to show that Schütz’s later writings about the constitution of social reality in the pluralized and differentiated modern society and Parsons’s concept of the social system converge with reference to their common problem of understanding interaction. In this article, I use Ronald Laing’s psychiatric thought of the early 1960s as a starting point to discuss some of the points of intersection between Schütz and Parsons. Laing argued that psychosis is not a phenomenon of the individual mind. Rather it must be understood in terms of an interaction system that is constituted by doctor and patient. The patient cannot maintain ego borders strong enough to establish a role-based social relationship and feels ontologically insecure. It is necessary to understand the patient in his existential position which constitutes his self as a kind of role. Schütz and Parsons reflected on similar interaction systems. Schütz analyzed the little social system that is established between Don Quixote and Sancho Panza; Parsons addressed the social system between doctor and patient. It is argued that Schütz and Parsons analyzed the conditions under which a social system can be established, but they also look at its breakdown leading to the situation as described by Laing.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document