The demography of human warfare can drive sex differences in altruism.

ABSTRACT: Recent years have seen great interest in the suggestion that between-group aggression and within-group altruism have coevolved. However, these efforts have neglected the possibility that warfare - via its impact on demography - might influence human social behaviours more widely, not just those directly connected to success in war. Moreover, the potential for sex differences in the demography of warfare to translate into sex differences in social behaviour more generally has remained unexplored. Here, we develop a kin-selection model of altruism performed by men and women for the benefit of their groupmates in a population experiencing intergroup conflict. We find that warfare can promote altruistic, helping behaviours as the additional reproductive opportunities winners obtain in defeated

SUBMITTER: Micheletti AJC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10427324 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature