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Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science pp 1–11Cite as

Aggression for Sexual Access

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Synonyms

Sexual aggression; Sexual coercion; Rape

Definition

Aggression that is used to gain access to sexual activity to which one of the participants does not consent.

Introduction

This article describes evolutionary psychological (EP) perspectives on aggression that is used to gain access to sexual activity to which one of the participants does not consent. Rape is one of the extreme forms of sexual aggression, and it will be focused on primarily in the discussion here.

EP perspectives seek to identify ultimate causes of behavior, complementing the focus on proximate causes characteristic of other psychological theorizing. In addressing ultimate causation, evolutionary psychologists have often asked whether the ability to inflict sexual aggression, and/or to avoid being a victim of it, contributed to reproductive success in our species’ ancestral history, possibly giving rise to dedicated psychological mechanisms pertaining to coercive sex. Although addressing such questions is...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of California, Communication Studies, 2225 Rolfe Hall, 405 Hilgard Ave, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1538, USA

    Mark Huppin & Neil M. Malamuth

Authors
  1. Mark Huppin
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  2. Neil M. Malamuth
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Correspondence to Mark Huppin .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA

    Kevin Beaver

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Huppin, M., Malamuth, N.M. (2017). Aggression for Sexual Access. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1681-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1681-1

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

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