Van Vugt, M. (in press). Sex differences in intergroup aggression and violence: The male warrior hypothesis. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 

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Abstract:

The social science literature abounds with examples of human tribalism, the tendency to categorize individuals on the basis of their group membership and treat ingroup members benevolently and outgroup members malevolently. I argue that this tribal inclination is an evolved response to the threat of intergroup violence and warfare that were endemic in ancestral human environments (and are still common today). Here I hypothesize that intergroup conflict has profoundly affected the social psychology of human males in particular – the male warrior hypothesis -- and present evidence consistent with this claim. I also discuss implications of this hypothesis for managing intergroup relations in our society.