In this article, the authors reevaluate Carneiro's (1970) circumscription theory of state formation. They do this by examining relationships between the degree of political hierarchy and whether warfare is conducted for conquest, land acquisition, or plunder. While they find evidence that this theory is plausible in some situations, there is not enough to support the theory wholesale. Thus, they suggest that other theories of state formation should be investigated.

This article tests various explainations for corporal punishment of children, including social complexity, a societal culture of violence, and whether help in child rearing is available. Analysis suggests that corporal punishment may be a parent's way to prepare children for societal power inequality.

This study examines some of the environmental and psychological predictors of warfare frequency and interpersonal aggression. Results suggest that socialization for aggression in boys is the most significant predictor of warfare. However, authors suggest that socialization for aggression may be a consequence, rather than a cause, of war.

The present study tests the theory that intrasexual selection or male attraction may explain variation in male aggression in a sample of 78 societies. Measures of intrasexual selection include: male subsistence, male war mortality, polygyny, sex ratio, and wives variance. The authors claim support for the theory.

This article examines resource problems and warfare in a sample of societies from eastern Africa. The frequency and predictability of resource problems are examined, as are two other dimensions of warfare: resource-taking and commission of atrocities. Differences between state and nonstate societies, as well as pacified and non-pacified societies, are also examined and shown to affect associations between resource and warfare variables.

Thi study tests a hypothesis on the relationship between frequency of warfare and sociocultural development.

Researchers sampled 106 Austronesian societies from the Pulotu database to study the way political complexity evolves in relation to religious beliefs and practices. Specifically, they attempt to test the causal theory that supernatural punishment played a causal role in the emergence of large, complex societies. They use phylogenetic models to control for Galton's Problem in testing the supernatural punishment hypothesis in an effort to demonstrate the effectiveness of utilizing cross-cultural datasets in evaluating evolutionary change in human social organization.

This paper presents empirical tests of two theories put forth to explain violence toward women. The first predicts that warfare promotes socialization for aggression and legitimizes violence toward women, while the second predicts that violence works as a way to control potential for female infidelity. An association is found between high male-to-female sex ratio and violence towards women, suggesting support for the second theory over the first, which is consistent with more narrowly-focused studies by Avakame (1999), Bose et al. (2013), and D'Alessio & Stolzenberg (2010).

This study explores several correlates of interpersonal violence. Multiple regression analysis suggests that socialization for aggression in boys in late childhood is the strongest predictor of higher rates of homicide and assault. Path analysis suggests that socialization for aggression is a consequence, not a cause, of war.

This article examines the relationship between warfare and trade and concludes that the relationship varies within different levels of political organization.