Practice random acts of aggression and senseless acts of intimidation: The logic of status contests in social groups

Silk, Joan B.

doi:10.1002/evan.10038

Cited by 78 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…However, this need not be the case. Aggression, for instance, can be used to maintain dominance regardless of the actions taken by the targets of aggression; random acts of aggression can be very effective in maintaining subordination (Silk 2002). The same can be true for all the forms of functional punishment.…”

Section: Punishment (A) Functional Second-party Punishmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Punishment and spite, the dark side of cooperation

Jensen

2010

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

173

167

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Causing harm to others would hardly seem to be relevant to cooperation, other than as a barrier to it. However, because selfish individuals will exploit cooperators, functional punishment is an effective mechanism for enforcing cooperation by deterring free-riding. Although functional punishment can shape the social behaviour of others by targeting non-cooperative behaviour, it can also intimidate others into doing almost anything. Second-party functional punishment is a self-serving behaviour at the disposal of dominant individuals who can coerce others into behaving cooperatively, but it need not do so. Third-party and altruistic functional punishment are less likely to be selfishly motivated and would seem more likely to maintain norms of cooperation in large groups. These forms of functional punishment may be an essential part of non-kin cooperation on a scale exhibited only by humans. While punitive sentiments might be the psychological force behind punitive behaviours, spiteful motives might also play an important role. Furthermore, functionally spiteful acts might not be maladaptive; reckoning gains relative to others rather than in absolute terms can lead to hyper-competitiveness, which might also be an important part of human cooperation, rather than just an ugly by-product.

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Section: Punishment (A) Functional Second-party Punishmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Punishment and spite, the dark side of cooperation

Jensen

2010

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

173

167

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“…For example, the logic of animal conflict indicates that while provocation should matter, its effects are likely tempered by the perceived fighting ability of the opponent (Silk, 2002). For this research, this idea can be roughly captured by examining the interaction between size and provocation.…”

Section: Conclusion and Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Situational predictors of violent intentions: Results from a factorial survey

Willits

2015

The Social Science Journal

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a b s t r a c tThough many sociological and criminological theories of violence provide a role for both situational and individual-level factors, research largely focuses on individual-level characteristics. The current research, drawing on the psychological and sociological aggression literatures, utilizes a factorial survey approach to identify important situational risk factors. Multi-level regression results indicate that provocation, aggressive cues, and the presence of an audience are all statistically significant risk factors. Moreover, these factors maintain their importance even after statistically controlling for well-known individual-level characteristics. These results highlight the importance of situational factors and serve as a call for more situationally oriented research and theory on violence.

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“…Although I assigned adolescent-relevant dominance readings by Pellegrini (2002) and Milner (2004) as readings for this class session (along with Silk's, 2002, research on primate aggression), I think it would have been more interesting to assign more anthropological and ethological readings, and include a class discussion focusing on the relative merits of looking across cultures and species when considering behavior. Retaining Silk (2002), I might also add Itani (1961) and/or sections from Bernstein (1981) for a perspective based on research with primates, and provide classic anthropological/sociological perspectives on sources and uses of power from Lippitt, Polansky, Redl, and Rosen (1960) and French and Raven (1959).…”

Section: Status and Dominancementioning

confidence: 99%

Adolescent popularity: A positive psychology course with a developmental foundation

Marks

2011

The Journal of Positive Psychology

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Because positive psychology is still an emerging subfield, it can often be difficult to fit dedicated positive psychology courses into academic curricula, particularly at small colleges. This article describes 'Adolescent Popularity', a Special Topics course with a 'balanced' view of peer interactions that can fit naturally within the developmental offerings of most colleges. The course curriculum focuses on popularity-relevant issues of measurement (both quantitative and qualitative), social behaviors/characteristics (e.g., prosocial behavior, physical attractiveness, athletic achievement, and aggression), and peer relationships (including friendships, romantic relationships, and social groups). Suggested primary readings and course assignments are outlined. Ultimately, the goal of this course is for students to gain a deep understanding of popularity and peer relations during adolescence, as well as a general appreciation for the importance of researching positive aspects of human behavior.

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Practice random acts of aggression and senseless acts of intimidation: The logic of status contests in social groups

Cited by 78 publications

References 27 publications

Punishment and spite, the dark side of cooperation

Punishment and spite, the dark side of cooperation

Situational predictors of violent intentions: Results from a factorial survey

Adolescent popularity: A positive psychology course with a developmental foundation

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