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38 - Applying Evolutionary Principles to Criminality

from Part IX - Applying Evolutionary Principles

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 March 2020

By
Sandie Taylor  and
Lance Workman
Edited by
Lance Workman ,
Will Reader  and
Jerome H. Barkow
Lance Workman
Affiliation:
University of South Wales
Will Reader
Affiliation:
Sheffield Hallam University
Jerome H. Barkow
Affiliation:
Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia
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Summary

In this chapter, we consider how developments in evolutionary theory might be applied to help us understand why some people gravitate toward criminal behavior. Sociologists generally explain the emergence of criminal behavior in terms of responses to unfavorable societal factors. In contrast, social and developmental psychologists explain such behavior as the outcome of the interaction between individual differences and a challenging rearing environment. Evolutionary psychologists, however, bring a whole new perspective to the problem of criminality (Taylor & Workman, 2019). They suggest that evolutionary principles such as kin selection theory, reciprocation, sexual selection, and parental investment theory can provide powerful tools to help explain criminality. Before considering how these principles might be applied, we need first to explore what is meant by the concept of “criminality.”.

Defining criminality and, in particular, what encapsulates criminal behavior is far from straightforward. For a definition of what constitutes criminal behavior and criminality as an underlying cognitive and personality dimension, it is appropriate to adopt a legal approach.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Behavior , pp. 471 - 480
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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