Data on Armed Conflict Reveals Patterns in Violent Chaos
A study of the size, duration, and actors involved in more than 100,000 conflicts suggests a model that can make quantitative predictions about the structure of war on large scales.
Cornell Chronicle
Topics: Violence
Extremist Violence Has Its Roots in Morality, Not Ideology
The ideology behind extremist violence looks remarkably like the “moral sentiments” of empathy, indignation, and shame that are presumed to confer fitness advantages in human social interactions.
The Evolution Institute
Topics: Emotion Group Conflict Group Identity Violence
Thou Shall Not Kill: An Analysis of Religion, Violence, and IQ
Like religion, higher IQ is associated with lower rates of antisocial behavior and crime.
The Boston Globe
Topics: Intelligence Morality Violence
Societies Are Tearing Apart, But They Can Be Brought Together
We must reduce the social distance between people and focus on shared human traits, says Adam Waytz, author of The Power of Human.
Open Future, The Economist
Topics: Adam Waytz Bias Cognition Group Conflict Power Violence
Bystander Effect: Famous Psychology Result Could Be Completely Wrong
The bystander effect purports that in situations such as a robbery or a stabbing, bystanders are less likely to step in if there are a large number of people in the area, so the likelihood of intervention decreases.
New Scientist
Does Religion Really Cause Violence?
A new review suggests any link is far from straightforward.
British Psychological Society Research Digest
Topics: Group Conflict Religiosity Violence
Ants, Humans, and the Lessons of War
Only humans and social insects have large enough populations to engage in all-out warfare. How do such conflicts arise?
Undark
Topics: Animal Studies Group Conflict Social Behavior Violence
Evolving Society: Why Humanity Coheres
Agustín Fuentes compares three books on the origins, trajectory, and implications of our group behavior.
Nature
Topics: Animal Studies Cooperation Group Conflict Human Evolution Violence
Following Conflict, a Turn to the Divine
Study shows that many who experience the trauma of war become increasingly religious.
The Harvard Gazette
Topics: Cooperation Group Conflict Religiosity Religious Groups Ritual Violence
How the Stanford Prison Experiment Gave Us the Wrong Idea About Evil
The Stanford prison experiment shaped our understanding of evil. It has led us badly astray.
Prospect
Topics: Group Conflict Power Violence
Wild Beast Within
Barbara J. King considers how cruelty made us human.
The Times Literary Supplement
Topics: Cooperation Human Evolution Violence
How Violence Pointed to Virtue
Primatologist Richard Wrangham’s new book examines the strange relationship between good and evil.
Topics: Cooperation Human Evolution Language Violence
War and Religion
Survey data from Uganda, Sierra Leone, and Tajikistan shows that people with greater exposure to war were more likely to participate in Christian or Muslim religious groups and rituals.
CIFAR
Topics: Religiosity Religious Groups Ritual Violence
Humans: The Domesticated Primates
As we became more peaceable, our bodies evolved along the lines of other tamed animals.
The Wall Street Journal
Topics: Human Evolution Violence
Can Artificial Intelligence Help Stop Religious Violence?
Software that mimics human society is being tested to see if it can help prevent religious violence.
BBC
Topics: Belief Group Conflict Religious Groups Violence
Why Siblings Fight But Colleagues Cooperate
Local competition stymies cooperation, whereas global competition fosters it.
Aeon
Topics: Cooperation Violence
A Potential Benefit to Memories of Terrorism
Amidst the horror there is altruism, which leaves a deep impression.
Scientific American
Topics: Altruism Violence
Did Human Sacrifice Help People Form Complex Societies?
The debate over how well ritual killings maintained social order.
The Atlantic
Topics: Cultural Evolution Evolution of Religion Power Ritual Scientific Study of Religion Social Inequality Violence
Meditation May Not Make You a Better Person After All
A critical look at the research suggests its benefits are less than advertised.
Pacific Standard
Topics: Compassion Empathy Meditation Violence
Why Human Society Isn’t More — or Less—Violent Than in the Past
As populations scale up, the proportion of people killed in battle scales down, suggesting we’re no more or less violent than our forebears who lived in smaller societies.
Science
The Root of All Cruelty?
Perpetrators of violence, we’re told, dehumanize their victims. The truth is worse.
The New Yorker
Topics: Group Conflict Morality Violence
© 2014 - 2021 ScienceSites Inc.