Hey Cara,
Thanks for taking the time to respond.
I see what you mean about me missing the key point there.

The thing im wondering is where does xenophobia come into this and why xenophobia specifically during football matches? Why not simply ritualistic posturing and intimidation?

Also is the power-threat hypothesis and dehumanization a way of describing adaptive behaviour in lynch mobs? or are they social explanations?

Im looking at sports events and xenophobia and it doesnt seem to make much sense – it sounds silly stating such behaviour is adaptive…I was wondering whether to switch to lynch mobs which seems to make better sense.

Could I use the power-threat hypothesis and dehumanization as a way of explaining lynch mob behaviour and how it could be adaptive?

Sorry to be a pain and many thanks for your patience and advice =)

Hey cara,
Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Just to clarify; for adaptive explanations for lynch mobs – Are the power-threat hypothesis and Dehumanisation “adaptive” explanations? I imagine I highlight how they are adaptive in my explanations by stating how the power-threat allows the unification of groups to ensure cooperative defence and antagonism of outsider groups in the face of threats to fight back (as was the case in lynchings with black people)

Also I imagine dehumanisation is adaptive because it makes for the act of killing easier by releasing people from the moral constraints of killing another human through viewing them as sub-human and animals?

Is this good enough for adaptive explanations?

Im so sorry for being a pain! 2 weeks to go!!

Hey Cara,

Would it sound something like this?:
for example:
The group displays shown in lynching behaviour is adaptive as it allowed groups to unify together in the face of rival threats from other groups; in this case black people who were raising in power,status and support.
Such behaviour would have been adaptive as unified groups can defend against threats better that may threaten to reduce their adaptive fitness; here black people were beginning to become landowners and share-croppers which would reduce the fitness of white people as they would have to compete for resources more (women, status, jobs) and thus as a response; lynching behaviour scared black people to back down from threatening their status and thus their adaptive fitness increasing their survival through higher status.

The group behaviour shown in dehumanising behaviour is also adaptive as it allows for the process of killing of rival group members and makes this easier.
If conducted in a group display; this is adaptive as such behaviour will eliminate rivals that threaten adaptive fitness but also scare away other black people from threatening their dominance also and this means white people gain priority over local resources such as jobs, land and women due to higher status.

Is this right? Sorry I really am trying to expand this and understanding it best I can but difficult when there is no one to ask! :S

Grab? (does that mean good? ? )

As for dehumanising behaviour; the group is acting in a way to desecrate the remains of the killed victims by burning their remains and selling them as souvinirs; this I imagine scares other black people into backing down and not threaten the dominance of the majority white group.. (is this right?)
From what I can see the behaviour makes it easier to kill people in groups because the act of killing is easier with more people behaving in the same way also?

All the text books talk about dehuminisation simply making the process of killing another individual easier by desercrating their remains and making them resemble anything but a human..they dont actually explain the adaptive benefits in any way beyond this?

Sorry cara – would you help point out what it is im actually missing?

I have 4 textbooks; the AQA one by phillip allen (a2 sized one, the colinss book with cardwell, the complete companion with yourself and even the jean-mark lawton one for the new spec and none actually expand more than this? unless im missing something key?
im so sorry for being a pain!

For dehumanisation, couldn’t it be along the lines of:

Members of the white community (the group) desecrated the bodies of murdered, black people (the display of aggression). This dehumanised the black race in order to justify their killing in the minds of the white community, making the behaviour easier to repeat to promote their own survival (adaptive response).