Joshua D. Duntley

Adaptations for Exploitation

Human groups contain reproductively relevant resources that differ greatly in their ease of accessibility. The authors advance a conceptual framework for the study of 2 classes of adaptations that have been virtually unexplored: (a) adaptations for exploitation designed to expropriate the resources of others through deception, manipulation, coercion, intimidation, terrorization, and force and (b) antiexploitation adaptations that evolved to prevent one from becoming a victim of exploitation. As soon as adaptations for exploitation evolved, they would immediately select for coevolved antiexploitation defenses—adaptations in target individuals, their kin, and their social allies designed to prevent their becoming a victim of exploitation. Antiexploitation defenses, in turn, created satellite adaptive problems for those pursuing a strategy of exploitation. Selection would favor the evolution of anticipatory and in situ solutions designed to circumvent the victim’s defenses and minimize the costs of pursuing an exploitative strategy. Adaptations for exploitation have design features sensitive to the group dynamics in which they are deployed, including status hierarchies, social reputation, and the preferential selection of out-group victims.

Evolutionary Psychology Is a Metatheory for Psychology

Psychological Inquiry An International Journal for the Advancement of Psychological Theory Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t775648164 Evolutionary Psychology Is a Metatheory for Psychology Joshua D. Duntley a; David M. Buss b a The Richard Stockton College, Pomona, New Jersey b The University of Texas, Austin

Intimate Partner Violence in Evolutionary Perspective

An evolutionary perspective anticipates predictable forms of sexual conflict in human mating relationships. Humans have evolved a psychology of tactical deployment designed to influence a partner’s behavior to be closer to the actor’s own optimum. Tactics are diverse, ranging from benefit-bestowing to cost-inflicting. We discuss adaptive problems toward which cost-inflicting violent tactics are utilized: Mate poachers, sexual infidelity, mate pregnancy by an intrasexual rival, resource infidelity, resource scarcity, mate value discrepancies, stepchildren, relationship termination, and mate reacquisition. Discussion focuses on the context dependence of intimate partner violence, the costs of perpetrating violent tactics, the underlying psychology of aggressors, the manipulated psychology of victims, and coevolved defenses to prevent intimate partner violence and to minimize its costs when it occurs.

Factors that predict murder defendants' competence to stand trial

One hundred sixty-three homicide case files from The Center for Forensic Psychiatry in Ypsilanti, Michigan were examined for evidence of factors associated with the outcomes of Competency to Stand Trial (CST) evaluations. Of the socio-demographic, legal, and clinical factors investigated, only three were significant. Defendants with lower IQs were more likely to be found incompetent to stand trial, and those with more property crime arrests were more likely to be found competent to stand trial. Additionally, defendants who were found incompetent to stand trial were more likely to be accused of killing an intimate or relative.