Perceived crime severity and biological kinship

Two predictions concerning the perceived severity of crimes can be derived from evolutionary theory. The first, arising from the theory of inclusive f itness, is that crimes in general should be viewed as more serious to the d egree that the victim is genetically related to the perpetrator. The second , arising from the deleterious effects of inbreeding depression, is that he terosexual sexual coercion should be perceived as more serious the closer t he genetic relationship of victim and perpetrator, particularly when the vi ctim is a female of fertile age. Two hundred and thirty university students estimated the magnitude of the severity of brief crime descriptions in thr ee separate studies. In the first two, the biological kinship of victim and perpetrator was varied, and in the third, the hypothetical genetic related ness of the subject and the fictitious victim was varied. All three studies found the linear relationships between biological kinship and perceived cr ime severity predicted by theory.