NCJ Number
236251
Journal
Aggression and Violent Behavior Volume: 16 Issue: 5 Dated: September/October 2011 Pages: 411-419
Date Published
October 2011
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This study examined the causes and underlying psychology of intimate partner violence.
Abstract
An evolutionary perspective anticipates predictable forms of sexual conflict in human mating relationships. Humans have evolved a psychology of tactical deployment designed to influence a partner's behavior to be closer to the actor's own optimum. Tactics are diverse, ranging from benefit-bestowing to cost-inflicting. We discuss adaptive problems toward which cost-inflicting violent tactics are utilized: mate poachers, sexual infidelity, mate pregnancy by an intrasexual rival, resource infidelity, resource scarcity, mate value discrepancies, stepchildren, relationship termination, and mate reacquisition. Discussion focuses on the context-dependence of intimate partner violence, the costs of perpetrating violent tactics, the underlying psychology of aggressors, the manipulated psychology of victims, and co-evolved defenses to prevent intimate partner violence and to minimize its costs when it occurs. (Published Abstract)