Stability-Driven Behavioral Adaptation: A Structural Model of Behavioral Shifts in Long-Term Peaceful Societies

This work develops a structural model explaining why human behavioral tendencies shift toward lower aggression and higher cooperation in long-term peaceful societies. The model integrates findings from behavioral neuroscience, stress physiology, and evolutionary psychology with comparative historical evidence. It argues that stable environments systematically alter the adaptive payoff of behavioral strategies: when long-term predictability, institutional continuity, and strong social monitoring are present, cooperative and low‑aggression strategies become more advantageous than short-term, risk-seeking, or dominance-oriented strategies.

From a medical and physiological perspective, the paper draws on research showing that chronic structural stress increases impulsivity, short-term reward seeking, and aggressive responses, whereas stable environments support long-term planning, emotional regulation, and alliance maintenance. From an evolutionary-psychological perspective, the model interprets these shifts as context-dependent strategic adaptations rather than biological determinism.

Historical cases—examined exclusively through secondary sources—serve as empirical illustrations of the model rather than its foundation. The paper clarifies operational criteria for “long-term stability,” distinguishes socio-structural adaptation from genetic explanations, and explains why legal systems are treated as mechanisms within stability rather than independent causal factors.

Overall, the study provides a generalizable interdisciplinary framework linking environmental structure, physiological stress responses, and behavioral strategy selection, offering a foundation for future research on stability-driven behavioral adaptation.