Criticially Evaluate One or More of Your Explanations of Group Display in Humans
Essay: a) Outline explanations of group display in humans (15 marks)
b) Criticially evaluate one or more of your explanations of group display in humans (10 marks)
Part A
Group display of aggression (behaviour with intent to harm) in ancestors has been seen as an adaptive response, promoting inter-group harmony and mutual defence. Lynch mobs have been explained by social transition and the need for conformity, for example, Myrdal (1944) found that black lynchings in the USA were due to fear of negroes and white mobs turned to ‘lynch law’ as a means of social control to maintain white supremacy. Mobs are often most active at a time of major social transition, such as after the collapse of slavery, thus when the community is at risk, group survival becomes more important, producing hostility towards outsiders. The Social Power-Threat hypothesis claims that lynching atrocity increases with the proportion of blacks in the community, for example, as the minority poses a greater perceived threat to the majority, resulting in violent discrimination. However, the Self-Attention theory argues that atrocity increases with the proportion of mob members, Freud claimed that aggression is a manifestation of our natural death instinct (Thanatos), thus lynch mobs are a collective release of innate energy of pent-up thanatos which is displaced onto others.
As for religious rituals, self-inflicted aggression as an initiation rite has been explained by the costly signalling theory, as the inherent costs of religious rituals contribute to the success of religion. By engaging in painful rituals, the individual signals commitment to a group and its values, promoting the adaptive benefit of inter-group co-operation. Zahavi (1997) claims that the costs also serve as deterrents to those who do not believe in a group’s teaching but wish to take advantages of its benefits. Sports events and xenophobia have been explained similarly. Shaw and Wong (1989) claim that natural
b) Criticially evaluate one or more of your explanations of group display in humans (10 marks)
Part A
Group display of aggression (behaviour with intent to harm) in ancestors has been seen as an adaptive response, promoting inter-group harmony and mutual defence. Lynch mobs have been explained by social transition and the need for conformity, for example, Myrdal (1944) found that black lynchings in the USA were due to fear of negroes and white mobs turned to ‘lynch law’ as a means of social control to maintain white supremacy. Mobs are often most active at a time of major social transition, such as after the collapse of slavery, thus when the community is at risk, group survival becomes more important, producing hostility towards outsiders. The Social Power-Threat hypothesis claims that lynching atrocity increases with the proportion of blacks in the community, for example, as the minority poses a greater perceived threat to the majority, resulting in violent discrimination. However, the Self-Attention theory argues that atrocity increases with the proportion of mob members, Freud claimed that aggression is a manifestation of our natural death instinct (Thanatos), thus lynch mobs are a collective release of innate energy of pent-up thanatos which is displaced onto others.
As for religious rituals, self-inflicted aggression as an initiation rite has been explained by the costly signalling theory, as the inherent costs of religious rituals contribute to the success of religion. By engaging in painful rituals, the individual signals commitment to a group and its values, promoting the adaptive benefit of inter-group co-operation. Zahavi (1997) claims that the costs also serve as deterrents to those who do not believe in a group’s teaching but wish to take advantages of its benefits. Sports events and xenophobia have been explained similarly. Shaw and Wong (1989) claim that natural