ory of the species,” Crabb wrote. (Normal, in this context, refers to something that happens more than it would by chance, or to thoughts or fantasies that are found in most human beings.)
“My argument is that we are descended from the most aggressive, murderous ancient humans,” Crabb said. “The nice peaceful folks of 100,000 years ago, they died off, and we didn’t get their genes. We got the genes of our aggressive, murderous ancestors, and so it shouldn’t surprise us, that under certain conditions, humans can be vicious, destructive creatures.”
Aggression during COVID-19
In a recent study on deliberate malicious attempts to spread the COVID-19 virus, Crabb found that reports of pathogen-spreading behavior increased fourfold during the early months of the pandemic. A typical perpetrator was an adult male who spat at other people and often claimed to be infected with the virus. In the paper, Crabb said the causes or motives for this behavior are unclear.
But he speculates that the behavior may have been sparked by stress. “Let’s start with the probability that most people are capable of being aggressive,” Crabb said.
“During the pandemic, the stress on people was huge. We couldn't do the things we normally did. We were living in fear of getting infected ourselves, or our families getting infected, and [the pandemic] disrupted our work lives. Psychologists have known at least since the 1930s, that when you have a lot of stress on individuals, they may well act out aggressively.”
In the future, Crabb hopes to research historical records and determine whether people acted out aggressively during earlier pandemics, such as the Black Death in the 1300s or the 2014-16 Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa.
Psychology, technology and sustainability
Crabb’s said his class on the psychology of technology helps students understand the technological world.
“They are the main adopters of new technologies, and I think it’s important for them to understand what they’re getting into when they adopt new technologies,” Crabb said.
For instance, every day students are using social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter and Facebook — but they may not realize that things they post to social media can be seen by potential future employers and could work against them.
In another class, on psychology and a sustainable world, Crabb tries to sensitize students to how their behavior impacts the Earth.
“Obviously, global warming, overpopulation and resource depletion are all issues that are happening right in front of our eyes,” Crabb said. “I think students need to be armed with some basic understanding of what’s happening to the planet, and why people’s thoughts and behaviors are making [detrimental environmental impacts] happen.”
Similarly, Crabb believes that the global economic system is in trouble and that huge shock waves are coming soon.
“I think we’ve reached the limits of growth, and we’re going to see some of that growth fall apart,” Crabb said. “Resources are finite. The planet is finite.”
It’s nice to live in a “consumer dream” where we can buy anything we want online, anytime we want, Crabb said. It seems like a wonderful way of life. And yet, unrestrained consumerism is harming the planet, is not sustainable, and can’t go on forever, Crabb tells his students. “My job is to teach young people, and that’s what I try to do,” he said.