The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined

178. Men are from justice, women are from mercy: Gilligan, 1982.

  179. Relational aggression in women: Crick et al., 2007; Geary, 2010.

  180. Revenge as disease, forgiveness as cure: McCullough, 2008; McCullough et al., 2010.

  181. Logic of deterrence: Daly & Wilson, 1988, p. 128.

  182. Models of the evolution of cooperation: Axelrod, 1984/2006; Axelrod & Hamilton, 1981; McCullough, 2008; Nowak, 2006; Ridley, 1997; Sigmund, 1997.

  183. Prisoner’s Dilemma as great idea: Poundstone, 1992.

  184. First Iterated PD tournament: Axelrod, 1984/2006; Axelrod & Hamilton, 1981.

  185. Reciprocal altruism: Trivers, 1971.

  186. More recent tournaments: McCullough, 2008; Nowak, May, & Sigmund, 1995; Ridley, 1997; Sigmund, 1997.

  187. Components of Tit for Tat: Axelrod, 1984/2006.

  188. Indirect reciprocity: Nowak, 2006; Nowak & Sigmund, 1998.

  189. Public Goods game: Fehr & Gächter, 2000; Herrmann, Thöni, & Gächter, 2008a; Ridley, 1997.

  190. Tragedy of the Commons: Hardin, 1968.

  191. Effectiveness of deterrence in economic games: Fehr & Gächter, 2000; Herrmann, Thöni, & Gächter, 2008b; McCullough, 2008; McCullough et al., 2010; Ridley, 1997.

  192. Fear of revenge mitigates revenge: Diamond, 1977; see also Ford & Blegen, 1992.

  193. Implacability of revenge: Frank, 1988; Schelling, 1960. Self-help justice: Black, 1983; Daly & Wilson, 1988.

  194. Vengeful anger as a recalibration mechanism: Sell, Tooby, & Cosmides, 2009.

  195. Target must know he has been singled out: Gollwitzer & Denzler, 2009.

  196. Audience effects on revenge: Bolton & Zwick, 1995; Brown, 1968; Kim, Smirth, & Brigham, 1998.

  197. Audience effects on fights: Felson, 1982.

  198. Ultimatum game: Bolton & Zwick, 1995; Fehr & Gächter, 2000; Ridley, 1997; Sanfey et al., 2003.

  199. Ultimatum game in the scanner: Sanfey et al., 2003.

  200. Moralization Gap and escalation of revenge: Baumeister, 1997.

  201. Boys in backseat: D. Gilbert, “He who cast the first stone probably didn’t,” New York Times, Jul. 24, 2006.

  202. Two eyes for an eye: Shergill, Bays, Frith, & Wolpert, 2003.

  203. Just deserts as justification of criminal punishment: Kaplan, 1973.

  204. Bafflegab about justice: Daly & Wilson, 1988, p. 256.

  205. Deterrence versus just deserts: Carlsmith, Darley, & Robinson, 2002.

  206. Pure justice as an antigaming strategy: Pinker, 2002, chap. 10.

  207. Informal cooperation in Shasta County: Ellickson, 1991.

  208. Spiteful punishment across societies: Herrmann et al., 2008a, 2008b.

  209. Forgiveness as the dimmer of revenge: McCullough, 2008; McCullough et al., 2010.

  210. Forgiveness in primates: de Waal, 1996.

  211. Boys at war at Robbers Cave: Sherif, 1966.

  212. Guilt, shame, embarrassment: Baumeister, Stillwell, & Heatherton, 1994; Haidt, 2002; Trivers, 1971.

  213. Common knowledge: Chwe, 2001; Lee & Pinker, 2010; Lewis, 1969; Pinker, 2007b; Pinker, Nowak, & Lee, 2008.

  214. Political apologies: Dodds, 2003b, accessed Jun. 28, 2010. See also Dodds, 2003a.

  215. Tolerating injustice: Long & Brecke, 2003, pp. 70–71.

  216. “If you want peace, work for peace”: Goldstein, 2011.

  217. Reconciliation gestures: Long & Brecke, 2003, p. 72.

  218. Shakespearean and Chekhovian tragedies: Oz, 1993, p. 260.

  219. Occasional effectiveness of torture: Levinson, 2004a, p. 34; P. Finn, J. Warrick, & J. Tate, “Detainee became an asset,” Washington Post, Aug. 29, 2009.

  220. Occasional justifiability of torture: Levinson, 2004a; Posner, 2004; Walzer, 2004.

  221. Ineffectiveness of most torture: A. Grafton, “Say anything,” New Republic, Nov. 5, 2008.

  222. Execution as entertainment: Tuchman, 1978.

  223. Serial killers versus mass murderers: Schechter, 2003.

  224. More serial murder scholars than serial murderers: Fox & Levin, 1999, p. 166.

  225. Decline in the number of serial killers: C. Beam, “Blood loss: The decline of the serial killer,” Slate, Jan. 5, 2011.

  226. Number of serial killers and victims: Fox & Levin, 1999, p. 167; J. A. Fox, cited in Schechter, 2003, p. 286.

  227. No identifiable cause of serial killers: Schechter, 2003.

  228. Morbid fascination: Nell, 2006; Tiger, 2006; Baumeister, 1997.

  229. Sadism as dominance: Potegal, 2006.

  230. Schadenfreude in the scanner: Takahashi et al., 2009.

  231. Revenge turns off empathy: Singer et al., 2006. Revenge requires knowledge of victim’s awareness: Gollwitzer & Denzler, 2009.

  232. More M than S: Baumeister, 1997; Baumeister & Campbell, 1999.

  233. Intertwined circuits for sex and aggression: Panksepp, 1998.

  234. Gun as hard-on: Quoted in Thayer, 2004, p. 191.

  235. Killing as orgasm: Quoted in Baumeister, 1997, p. 224.

  236. Martyrologies: Gallonio, 1903/2004; Puppi, 1990.

  237. Women in peril in macabre entertainment: Schechter, 2005.

  238. Aroused during flogging: Theweleit, 1977/1987, quoted in deMause, 2002, p. 217.

  239. Male serial killers: Schechter, 2003, p. 31.

  240. Female serial killers: Schechter, 2003, p. 31.

  241. Guilt is anticipatory: Baumeister, 1997, chap. 10; Baumeister et al., 1994.

  242. Prohibitions of torture: Levinson, 2004b.

  243. Torture warrants: Dershowitz, 2004b.

  244. Response to torture warrants: Dershowitz, 2004b; Levinson, 2004a.

  245. Taboo against torture is useful: Levinson, 2004a; Posner, 2004.

  246. Aversiveness of conspecifics in pain: de Waal, 1996; Preston & de Waal, 2002.

  247. Reasons for aversiveness of pain displays: Hauser, 2000, pp. 219–23.

  248. Anxiety while hurting others: Milgram, 1974.

  249. Trolley Problem: Greene & Haidt, 2002; Greene et al., 2001.

  250. Aversion to direct violence: Collins, 2008.

  251. Ordinary Germans: Browning, 1992.

  252. Nausea not soul-searching: Baumeister, 1997, p. 211.

  253. Distinguishing fiction from reality: Sperber, 2000.

  254. Blunted emotions in psychopathy: Blair, 2004; Hare, 1993; Raine et al., 2000.

  255. Variability among guards: Baumeister, 1997, chap. 7.

  256. Sadism as an acquired taste: Baumeister, 1997, chap. 7; Baumeister & Campbell, 1999.

  257. Escalating sadism and serial killers: Baumeister, 1997; Schechter, 2003.

  258. Opponent-process theory of motivation: Solomon, 1980.

  259. Sadism and opponent-process theory: Baumeister, 1997, chap. 7; Baumeister & Campbell, 1999.

  260. Benign masochism: Rozin, 1996. Benign masochism as an adaptation: Pinker, 1997, pp. 389, 540.

  261. Ideological violence: Baumeister, 1997, chap. 6; Chirot & McCauley, 2006; Glover, 1999; Goldhagen, 2009; Kiernan, 2007; Valentino, 2004.

  262. I thank Jennifer Sheehy-Skeffington for this insight.

  263. Group polarization: Myers & Lamm, 1976.

  264. Groupthink: Janis, 1982.

  265. Group animosity: Hoyle, Pinkley, & Insko, 1989; see also Baumeister, 1997, 193–94.

  266. Obedience experiments: Milgram, 1974.

  267. Fact and fiction about Kitty Genovese: Manning, Levine, & Collins, 2007. Bystander apathy: Latané & Darley, 1970.

  268. Stanford Prison Experiment: Zimbardo, 2007; Zimbardo, Maslach, & Haney, 2000.

  269. No Germans punished for disobedience: Goldhagen, 2009.

  270. Milgram replication: Burger, 2009. See Reicher & Haslam, 2006, for a partial replication of the Stanford Prison Experiment, but with too many differences to allow a test of trends over time.

  271. Obedience might be even lower: Twenge, 2009.

  272. Advantages of conformity: Deutsch & Gerard, 1955.
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  273. Positive feedback loops in popularity: Salganik, Dodds, & Watts, 2006.

  274. Pluralistic ignorance: Centola, Willer, & Macy, 2005; Willer et al., 2009.

  275. Spiral of silence and Basque terrorism: Spencer & Croucher, 2008.

  276. Asch conformity experiment: Asch, 1956.

  277. Enforcement and pluralistic ignorance: Centola et al., 2005; Willer et al., 2009.

  278. Too terrified to stop clapping: Glover, 1999, p. 242.

  279. Thought control in Maoist China: Glover, 1999, pp. 292–93.

  280. Simulated pluralistic ignorance: Centola et al., 2005.

  281. Growth of fascism: Payne, 2005.

  282. Six degrees of separation: Travers & Milgram, 1969.

  283. Pluralistic ignorance in the lab: Willer et al., 2009.

  284. Sokal Hoax: Sokal, 2000.

  285. Cognitive dissonance: Festinger, 1957.

  286. Moral disengagement: Bandura, 1999; Bandura, Underwood, & Fromson, 1975; Kelman, 1973; Milgram, 1974; Zimbardo, 2007; Baumeister, 1997, part 3.

  287. Politics and the English Language: Orwell, 1946/1970.

  288. Burke: Quoted in Nunberg, 2006, p. 20.

  289. Euphemism, framing, and plausible deniability: Pinker, 2007b; Pinker et al., 2008.

  290. Gradual slide into barbarism: Glover, 1999; Baumeister, 1997, chaps. 8 and 9.

  291. Milgram experiment as Escalation game: Katz, 1987.

  292. Diffusion of responsibility: Bandura et al., 1975; Milgram, 1974.

  293. Diffusion of responsibility in military units and bureaucracies: Arendt, 1963; Baumeister, 1997; Browning, 1992; Glover, 1999.

  294. Resistance to up-close harm: Greene, in press.

  295. Psychic numbing through large numbers: Slovic, 2007.

  296. Derogating the victim: Bandura et al., 1975.

  297. Advantageous comparison: Bandura, 1999; Gabor, 1994.

  298. A little psychology goes a long way: See also Kahneman & Renshon, 2007.

  Chapter 9: Better Angels

  1. Age of empathy: de Waal, 2009.

  2. Empathic civilization: Rifkin, 2009. Excerpt from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeremy-rifkin/the-empathic-civilization_b_416589.html.

  3. Building peace one child at a time: Gordon, 2009.

  4. Faculties of peaceful coexistence: Dawkins, 1976/1989; McCullough, 2008; Nowak, 2006; Ridley, 1997.

  5. Sentiments of virtue: Hume, 1751/2004.

  6. Titchener on empathy: Titchener, 1909/1973.

  7. Popularity of empathy, willpower, self-control: Based on an analysis of Google Books by the Bookworm program, Michel et al., 2011; see the caption to figure 7–1.

  8. Meanings of empathy: Batson, Ahmad, Lishmer, & Tsang, 2002; Hoffman, 2000; Keen, 2007; Preston & de Waal, 2002.

  9. James on sympathy and fox terriers: James, 1977.

  10. Senses of empathy: Batson et al., 2002; Hoffman, 2000; Keen, 2007; Preston & de Waal, 2002.

  11. Empathy as mind-reading: Baron-Cohen, 1995.

  12. Dissociability of reading thoughts and emotions: Blair & Perschardt, 2002.

  13. Psychopaths read but don’t feel emotions: Hare, 1993; Mealey & Kinner, 2002.

  14. Empathy versus distress at others’ suffering: Batson et al., 2002.

  15. Emotional contagion: Preston & de Waal, 2002.

  16. Sympathy not the same as contagion: Bandura, 2002.

  17. Discovery of mirror neurons: di Pellegrino, Fadiga, Fogassi, Gallese, & Rizzolatti, 1992.

  18. Possible mirror neurons in humans: Iacoboni et al., 1999.

  19. Mirror mania: Iacoboni, 2008; J. Lehrer, “Built to be fans,” Seed, Feb. 10, 2006, pp. 119–20; C. Buckley, “Why our hero leapt onto the tracks and we might not,” New York Times, Jan. 7, 2007; S. Vedantam, “How brain’s ‘mirrors’ aid our social understanding,” Washington Post, Sept. 25, 2006.

  20. Mirror neurons as DNA: Ramachandran, 2000.

  21. Nasty macaques: McCullough, 2008, p. 125.

  22. Empathy in the brain: Lamm, Batson, & Decety, 2007; Moll, de Oliveira-Souza, & Eslinger, 2003; Moll, Zahn, de Oliveira-Souza, Krueger, & Grafman, 2005.

  23. Skepticism about mirror neurons: Csibra, 2008; Alison Gopnik, 2007; Hickok, 2009; Hurford, 2004; Jacob & Jeannerod, 2005.

  24. Overlap in insula: Singer et al., 2006; Wicker et al., 2003.

  25. No overlap in insula when feeling revenge: Singer et al., 2006.

  26. Counterempathy in competition: Lanzetta & Englis, 1989.

  27. Empathy in the brain: Lamm et al., 2007.

  28. Atlas of empathy: Damasio, 1994; Lamm et al., 2007; Moll et al., 2003; Moll et al., 2005; Raine, 2008.

  29. Oxytocin: Pfaff, 2007.

  30. Maternal care as precursor to sympathy: Batson et al., 2002; Batson, Lishner, Cook, & Sawyer, 2005.

  31. Oxytocin induces trust: Kosfeld et al., 2005; Zak, Stanton, Ahmadi, & Brosnan, 2007.

  32. Cuteness: Lorenz, 1950/1971.

  33. Babies exploit cuteness response: Hrdy, 1999.

  34. Evolution of Mickey Mouse: Gould, 1980.

  35. Dangerous Mick: B. Barnes, “After Mickey’s makeover, less Mr. Nice Guy,” New York Times, Nov. 4, 2009.

  36. Baby-faced litigants: Zebrowitz & McDonald, 1991.

  37. Ugly children punished more: Berkowitz & Frodi, 1979.

  38. Unattractive adults judged more harshly: Etcoff, 1999.

  39. Forgiveness, sympathy, guilt: Baumeister et al., 1994; Hoffman, 2000; McCullough, 2008; McCullough et al., 2010.

  40. Communal versus exchange relationships: Baumeister et al., 1994; Clark, Mills, & Powell, 1986; Fiske, 1991; Fiske, 1992, 2004a.

  41. Taboos in communal relationships: Fiske & Tetlock, 1997; McGraw & Tetlock, 2005.

  42. Modicum of sympathy to strangers as default: Axelrod, 1984/2006; Baumeister et al., 1994; Trivers, 1971.

  43. Toddlers aid and comfort people in distress: Warneken & Tomasello, 2007; Zahn-Waxler, Radke-Yarrow, Wagner, & Chapman, 1992.

  44. Sympathy for those in need: Batson et al., 2005b.

  45. Similarity matters: Preston & de Waal, 2002, p. 16; Batson, Turk, Shaw, & Klein, 1995c.

  46. Shared traits and relief from shock: Krebs, 1975.

  47. Empathy-altruism hypothesis: Batson & Ahmad, 2001; Batson et al., 2002; Batson, Ahmad, & Stocks, 2005a; Batson, Duncan, Ackerman, Buckley, & Birch, 1981; Batson et al., 1988; Krebs, 1975.

  48. Psychological definition of altruism: Batson et al., 2002; Batson et al., 1981; Batson et al., 1988.

  49. Evolutionary definition of altruism: Dawkins, 1976/1989; Hamilton, 1963; Maynard Smith, 1982.

  50. Confusions about altruism: Pinker, 1997, chaps. 1, 6; Pinker, 2006.

  51. Empathy-altruism hypotheses: Batson & Ahmad, 2001; Batson et al., 2002; Batson et al., 2005a; Batson et al., 1981; Batson et al., 1988.

  52. Batson’s empathy-altruism research: Batson et al., 2002; Batson et al., 2005a.

  53. Similarity, empathy, and ease of escape: Batson et al., 1981.

  54. Empathy and social acceptability: Batson et al., 1988.

  55. Empathy and a one-shot Prisoner’s Dilemma: Batson & Moran, 1999.

  56. Empathy and an iterated Prisoner’s Dilemma: Batson & Ahmad, 2001.

  57. Empathy from superordinate goals, and in conflict resolution workshops: Batson et al., 2005a, pp. 367–68; Stephan & Finlay, 1999.

  58. Sympathy toward groups via perspective-taking: Batson et al., 1997.

  59. Taking a victim’s perspective induces altruism: Batson et al., 1988.

  60. Taking a victim’s perspective induces altruism toward group: Batson et al., 1997.

  61. Sympathy for convicted murderers: Batson et al., 1997.

  62. George Eliot on empathy through fiction: From “The natural history of German life,” quoted in Keen, 2007, p. 54.

  63. Fiction as an empathy expander: Hunt, 2007; Mar & Oatley, 2008; Mar et al., 2006; Nussbaum, 1997, 2006.

  64. Empathizers read fiction: Mar et al., 2006.


  65. Confusing fact with fiction: Strange, 2002.

  66. Empathy for a fictitious character and his group: Batson, Chang, Orr, & Rowland, 2008.

  67. Fiction as a moral laboratory: Hakemulder, 2000.

  68. The dark side of empathy: Batson et al., 2005a; Batson et al., 1995a; Batson, Klein, Highberger, & Shaw, 1995b; Prinz, in press.

  69. Empathy subverts fairness: Batson et al., 1995b.

  70. Empathy and public goods: Batson et al., 1995a.

  71. Ephemeral benefits from empathy: Batson et al., 2005a, p. 373.

  72. Utopia versus human nature: Pinker, 2002.

  73. Burnout and fatigue from excess empathy: Batson et al., 2005a.

  74. Lebanon war as a lapse of self-control: Mueller & Lustick, 2008.

  75. The logic of self-control: Ainslie, 2001; Daly & Wilson, 2000; Kirby & Herrnstein, 1995; Schelling, 1978, 1984, 2006.

  76. Ancestral versus modern discounting rates: Daly & Wilson, 1983, 2000, 2005; Wilson & Daly, 1997.

  77. Myopic retirement planning: Akerlof, 1984; Frank, 1988.

  78. Libertarian paternalism: Thaler & Sunstein, 2008.

  79. Myopic discounting: Ainslie, 2001; Kirby & Herrnstein, 1995.

  80. Hyperbolic discounting: Ainslie, 2001; Kirby & Herrnstein, 1995.

  81. Hyperbolic discounting as composite of two mechanisms: Pinker, 1997, p. 396; Laibson, 1997.

  82. Two selves: Schelling, 1984, p. 58.

  83. Hot and cool brain systems: Metcalfe & Mischel, 1999.

  84. Limbic grasshopper and frontal lobe ant: McClure, Laibson, Loewenstein, & Cohen, 2004.

  85. Frontal lobes: Fuster, 2008.

  86. Frontal lobes in temporal discounting: Shamosh et al., 2008.

  87. Gage and his modern counterparts: Anderson et al., 1999; Damasio, 1994; Macmillan, 2000; Raine, 2008; Raine et al., 2000; Scarpa & Raine, 2007.

  88. Cortical expansion during evolution: Hill et al., 2010.

  89. Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in cost-benefit analyses: Greene et al., 2001; McClure et al., 2004.

  90. Frontal pole: Gilbert et al., 2006; Koechlin & Hyafil, 2007; L. Helmuth, “Brain model puts most sophisticated regions front and center,” Science, 302, p. 1133.

  91. Limbic and prefrontal responses in batterers: Lee, Chan, & Raine, 2008.

  92. Importance of intelligence: Gottfredson, 1997a, 1997b; Neisser et al., 1996.

  93. Marshmallow test: Metcalfe & Mischel, 1999; Mischel et al., in press.