Evolutionary Forensic Psychology: Darwinian Foundations of Crime and Law

329 Pages·2008·1.59 MB·English

by  Joshua Duntley

EVOLUTIONARY FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY
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EVOLUTIONARY FORENSIC
PSYCHOLOGY
Darwinian Foundations of
Crime and Law
Edited by
Joshua D. Duntley and Todd K. Shackelford
2008
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Evolutionary forensic psychology : Darwinian foundations of crime and law/
edited by Joshua D. Duntley, Todd K. Shackelford.
p. ; cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN: 978-0-19-532518-8
1 . Forensic psychology. 2. Evolutionary psychology. I. Duntley, Joshua. II. Shackelford,
Todd K. (Todd Kennedy), 1971–
[ DNLM: 1. Evolution. 2. Forensic Psychiatry. 3. Adaptation, Psychological.
4. Crime—psychology. 5. Crime Victims. 6. Genetics, Behavioral. W 740 E93 2008]
RA1148.E98 2008
614'.15—dc22 2007051354
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
Dedications
Joshua Duntley dedicates this volume to Helena and Paula. Todd Shackelford
dedicates this volume to Viviana, Helayna, Avelina, Rex, Ethan, and Mackenzie.
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Preface
Evolutionary Forensic Psychology is not a completely accurate title for this volume.
It may suggest to some readers that the topics explored here are representative of
a subdiscipline of the fi eld of forensic psychology. This is not the case. Evolution by
natural selection is the only known process capable of generating the complex adap-
tations that compose the human mind. Because all psychological mechanisms owe
their existence to evolutionary processes, there is no such thing as a nonevolution-
ary forensic psychology. All forensic psychology is inherently evolutionary, whether
or not it is explicitly acknowledged. Our understanding of forensic psychology can
benefi t from knowledge of the causal processes that designed our psychological
mechanisms.
T he book is titled Evolutionary Forensic Psychology because the profoundly im-
portant insights that evolutionary perspectives provide are relatively new. This vol-
ume presents a critical introduction to the application of evolutionary perspectives
to prominent issues in forensic psychology, exploring theories and research fi ndings
that will help to move the fi eld of forensic psychology rapidly forward.
Forensic psychology encompasses a large and diverse range of issues. In con-
structing this volume, we sought contributions from experts on topics that are of the
greatest relevance to the fi eld. Each chapter demonstrates how evolutionary logic has
enriched our understanding of topics and generated new hypotheses and research
fi ndings, progress that would not have occurred without the unique contribution of
a Darwinian perspective.
Although most of the chapters explore the nature of psychological mechanisms
that produce criminal behavior, an evolutionary perspective has the power to inform
research across domains of forensic psychology. It can help us to differentiate between
crimes resulting from psychopathology and those that are the product of cognitive
adaptations functioning as they were designed to function. It can help us to under-
stand the origins and evolved functions of cognitive adaptations that produce crime
and the psychological mechanisms that generate the perception that some behaviors
are criminal. An evolutionary perspective also can inform our understanding of why
some crimes are considered to be worse than others, why some people are thought
to deserve longer sentences than others who committed the same crime, and why
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sex differences are pervasive in the commission and perceptions of crime. Current
and future forensic psychological research informed by an evolutionary perspective
will have an impact on the prevention of crime, how laws are written and enforced,
how clinical forensic psychologists and forensic psychiatrists evaluate criminals, the
selection of juries and the methods of presenting information to them, and the kinds
and structure of punishments in the penal system. The ultimate goal of this volume
is much more ambitious than to provide information about how evolutionary theory
can inform forensic psychology—we hope it will provide a spark that will ignite theo-
retical innovation and new programs of research in this important area.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the contributors for their brilliant work in the outstanding
chapters they wrote for this volume. Our special thanks go to Professor David M.
Buss for his mentorship in evolutionary psychology and its application to the dark
side of human nature. We would also like to thank Andy Thomson for his insightful
feedback during the conception of the volume and on early drafts of the introduc-
tory chapter of the book. We extend our gratitude to our editor, Lori Handelman,
assistant editor, Jenna Hocut, and production editor, Angelique Rondeau, at Oxford
University Press for their insights and support during the production of the volume.
Finally, we would like to thank our families for their enduring patience and support,
which made it easier for us to spend hours away from them to complete work on this
book.
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