Someone has a bad day at work...and goes home and yells at his wife, or kicks the dog. A student gets a bad grade on an essay and "takes it out" on her boyfriend. But this pattern isn't limited to people: A baboon, attacked by a higher-ranking individual, is liable to respond by attacking a lower-ranking animal, or even a bush! In Payback , evolutionary psychologist David Barash and psychiatrist Judith Lipton show how the act of passing pain to others evolved, how and why it occurs, and some of its surprising ...
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Someone has a bad day at work...and goes home and yells at his wife, or kicks the dog. A student gets a bad grade on an essay and "takes it out" on her boyfriend. But this pattern isn't limited to people: A baboon, attacked by a higher-ranking individual, is liable to respond by attacking a lower-ranking animal, or even a bush! In Payback , evolutionary psychologist David Barash and psychiatrist Judith Lipton show how the act of passing pain to others evolved, how and why it occurs, and some of its surprising manifestations, along with suggestions for avoiding these behaviors. Moreover, the book has remarkable reach, ranging from day-to-day psychology to international headlines, but also illuminating much of anthropology, psychiatry, and history, while providing surprising insights into literature, theology, and our conception of justice.
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