The evolution of intimate partner violence

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 co-evolved defenses to prevent intimate partner violence and to minimize its costs when it occurs.

Research highlights► Cost-inflicting violent tactics. ► Sexual conflict in mating relationships. ► Mate guarding and infidelity. ► The adaptive problem of mate poachers. ► Consequences of mate-value discrepancies.