Citation

Goetz AT, Shackelford TK, Romero GA, Kaighobadi F, Miner EJ. Aggress. Violent Behav. 2008; 13(6): 481-489.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.avb.2008.07.004

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In this article, we use an evolutionary perspective to examine intimate partner violence, focusing on men's violence against women. Previous examinations of intimate partner violence have typically used a proximate level of analysis, emphasizing the immediate, non-evolutionary causes of intimate partner violence. Complementing this approach, an evolutionary perspective offers an understanding of how such psychology and behavior could have arisen via natural selection. Here, we argue that (1) the recurring adaptive problem of paternity uncertainty plays a central role in intimate partner violence, (2) physical violence functions to punish and deter female sexual infidelity, and (3) sexual violence may function as an anti-cuckoldry tactic, with its occurrence related to suspicion of female sexual infidelity.