Evolutionary Psychology and Violence

A Primer for Policymakers and Public Policy Advocates

Richard W. Bloom, Nancy Dess

• Publisher: Praeger
• Year: 2003
• Print ISBN:
  9780275974671
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9780313057038
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Politics
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Each chapter in this volume poses a public policy issue related to violence, describes aspects of evolutionary psychology that are relative, and then posits public policy recommendations based on this psychological model. Topics covered also include psychopathy, despotism, and suicide bombings. This volume is designed as an accessible way for policymakers outside of academia to learn about new theoretical developments.

Evolutionary psychology—a relatively new theoretical model of psychology—provides valuable and exciting insights on human violence and public policy issues related to human violence, from war and terrorism to rape and criminality. To this end, each chapter in this volume poses a public policy issues related to violence, describes aspects of evolutionary psychology that are relative and then posits public policy recommendations based on this psychological model. Topics covered also include psycopathy, despotism, and suicide bombings. This volume, designed as an accessible way for policymakers outside of academia to learn about new theoretical developments, also explodes the myths about evolutionary psychology, such as the false claim that it justifies immoral behavior or focuses only on humans' ugly underbelly.

While appealing to policymakers across foundations and agencies, this collection will also interest scholars and teachers focused on evolutionary psychology, public policy, criminal justice, security, public affairs, sociology, and anthropology.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Foreword
• Preface
• 1. The Evolution of Scientific Psychology and Public Policy: On Violence and Its Antidotes
• 2. The Social Implications of Evolutionary Psychology: Linking Brain Biochemistry, Toxins, and Violent Crime
• 3. Psychopathy as an Adaptation: Implications for Society and Social Policy
• 4. Combating Rape: Views of an Evolutionary Psychologist
• 5. Homicide: An Evolutionary Psychological Perspective and Implications for Public Policy
• 6. Fear of Death and Social Behavior: The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness
• 7. An Evolutionary Perspective on Intercultural Conflict: Basic Mechanisms and Implications for Immigration Policy
• 8. Global Conflict Resolution: An Anthropological Diagnosis of Problems with World Governance
• 9. Violence and Its Antidotes: Promises and Pitfalls of Evolutionarily Aware Policy Development
• Index
• About the Editors and Contributors