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The sociopath: Cheater or warrior hawk?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 February 2010

Kent G. Bailey*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23284-2018

Abstract

Mealey's excellent target article rests on several assumptions that may be questioned, including the overarching assumption that sociopathy reflects the failure of a small minority of males to cooperate with the larger group. I suggest that violent competition in ancestral bands – and not “cheating” in the “game” of cooperation – was the primary evolutionary precursor of sociopathy. Today's violent sociopath is far more a “warrior hawk” than a failed cooperator.

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Type
Article Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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