The evolutionary basis of belonging: its relevance to denial of offending and labelling those who offend

Purpose The adaptationist approach of evolutionary psychology provides a model of substantial scope for understanding the function of human behaviour, including harmful behaviour. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the evolutionary importance of social belonging, and also its relevance to why people deny stigmatised harmful behaviour, and the potential problems of labelling them by it. Design/methodology/approach The paper takes the form of a discussion and professional opinion. Findings Evolution reveals how natural selection has shaped the human nervous system for threat-detection and cooperation. It casts a light on why people convicted of harmful and stigmatised behaviour may hide, deny and lie as a means of limiting social devaluation and maintaining their fitness to belong in groups. Practical implications Amidst all our efforts as forensic practitioners to empower people to pro-socially reconnect and lead safer crime-free lives, endlessly associating them with their most unacceptable and harmful acts, might not help. Originality/value Evolutionary forensic psychology and evolutionary criminology are sub-disciplines of science that are progressively emerging. They place the adaptationist approach front and centre in the study and theory of criminal behaviour. This paper aims to offer an example of this synergy, but with a specific focus on forensic practice itself.