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Expanding Evolutionary Psychology: toward a Better Understanding of Violence and Aggression

Zoologisk avdeling, Biologisk institutt, Universitet i Oslo, Postboks 1050 Blindern, NO-0316 Oslo, Norway. mysterud{at}bio.uio.no

Dag Viljen Poleszynski

Bjerkelundsvn. 8b, NO-1358 Jar, Norway

The "mainstream" evolutionary psychology model is currently under criticism from scientists of other persuasions wanting to expand the model or to make it more realistic in various ways. We argue that focusing on the environment as if it consisted only of social (or sociocultural) factors gives too limited a perspective if evolutionary approaches are to understand the behavior of modern humans. Taking the case of violence, we argue that numerous novel environmental factors of nutritional and physical-chemical origin should be considered as relevant proximate factors. The common thesis presented here is that several aspects of the biotic or abiotic environment are able to change brain chemistry, thus predisposing individuals to violence and aggression in given contexts. In the past, aggressive behavior has had a number of useful functions that were of particular importance to our ancestors' survival and reproduction. However, some of the conditions in our novel environment, which either lowered the threshold for aggression or released such behavior in contexts which were adaptive in our evolutionary past, no longer apply. It is high time evolutionary approaches to violence are expanded to include the possibilities that violence may be triggered by nutritionally depleted foods, reactive hypoglycemia caused by habitual intake of foods with a high glycemic index (GI), food allergies/intolerances and exposure to new environmental toxins (heavy metals, synthetic poisons).

Key Words: Aggression • Novel environmental factors • Nutrition • Pollution • Violence

Social Science Information, Vol. 42, No. 1, 5-50 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/0539018403042001791


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