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Psicothema was founded in Asturias (northern Spain) in 1989, and is published jointly by the Psychology Faculty of the University of Oviedo and the Psychological Association of the Principality of Asturias (Colegio Oficial de Psicología del Principado de Asturias).
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Psicothema, 2010. Vol. Vol. 22 (nº 1). 15-21




The evolutionary psychology of violence

Aaron T. Goetz

California State University

This paper reviews theory and research on the evolutionary psychology of violence. First, I examine evidence suggesting that humans have experienced an evolutionary history of violence. Next, I discuss violence as a context-sensitive strategy that might have provided benefits to our ancestors under certain circumstances. I then focus on the two most common forms of violence that plague humans —violence over status contests and intimate partner violence— outlining psychological mechanisms involved in each. Finally, I suggest that greater progress will be made by shifting the study from contexts to mechanisms.

La psicología evolucionista de la violencia. Este artículo revisa la teoría y la investigación sobre la psicología evolucionista de la violencia. En primer lugar, se examinan las evidencias que sugieren que los seres humanos han experimentado una historia evolutiva de violencia. A continuación, se aborda la violencia como una estrategia sensible al contexto que podría haber producido beneficios a nuestros antepasados bajo determinadas circunstancias. Después nos centraremos en las dos formas más comunes de violencia que azotan a los seres humanos —la violencia durante disputas por estatus y la violencia de género— perfilando los mecanismos psicológicos implicados en ellas. Finalmente, se sugiere que se pueden derivar grandes progresos en este campo si se pasa de un estudio de los contextos a un estudio de los mecanismos.

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