A greater understanding of psychopathology will be found in the integration of genetic and evolut... more A greater understanding of psychopathology will be found in the integration of genetic and evolutionary perspectives on adaptation and function. Evolutionary theory proposes that adaptive traits are reproduced more successfully than maladaptive ones. However, some traits, while contributing to fitness in the ancestral environment, may contribute to fitness no longer. This is known as mismatch theory. Evolutionarily informed research into various "pathologies" has yielded interesting results, some based on this theory. This paper serves to distinguish between genetic and evolutionary perspectives on psychopathology as well as to examine some recent research on the selective forces that may be implicated in psychopathy, anorexic behavior, and ADHD. We suggest that research into psychopathy in general would benefit from an evolutionary perspective and an examination of the assumptions behind past research.
... E96 2004 155.7dc21 2003054726 CIP Books published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates are printed... more ... E96 2004 155.7dc21 2003054726 CIP Books published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates are printed on acid free paper, and their bindings are ... Kirsten N. Barr & Vernon L. Quinsey 15 Cultivating Morality and Constructing Moral Systems: How to Make Silk Purses From Sows ...
Classic models of sexual selection by female choice invoke conflicts of interest between the sexe... more Classic models of sexual selection by female choice invoke conflicts of interest between the sexes. While it is in a male’s genetic best interests to fertilize all of the eggs of any female he encounters, that is not necessarily in the same best interests of any particular females. Thus, female traits that discriminate between males are in conflict with the reproductive interests of any particular rejected male. There are a number of models of such conflicts and how they can influence female choice. One model views males as evolving to entice females into mating and females evolving resistance to males, as opposed to attraction to them, in order to reduce the direct costs associated with mating (Gavrilets et al. 2001). Another model suggests that females might evolve resistance to males in order to gain indirect benefits, perhaps by allowing the female to select for males based on their ability to manipulate females or their physical strength in cases where male defense of offspring and mate might be required to select for “better genes” or material resources (Cordero and Eberhard 2003; West-Eberhard 2014)
... The message was from Catherine Salmon, whom I had never met, a doctoral candidate in evolutio... more ... The message was from Catherine Salmon, whom I had never met, a doctoral candidate in evolutionary psychology at McMaster University in Hamilton ... novels and slash fiction may be a bit reminiscent of the reactions that many women have when viewing porn videos, especially ...
Adaptive human behavior and physiology, Apr 14, 2021
A substantial body of research has investigated the effects of early family environments on sexua... more A substantial body of research has investigated the effects of early family environments on sexual maturity and behavior, focusing mostly on effects on females. The purpose of the current study was to test the assumption that physiological maturation and casual sexual behavior are similarly influenced by early environmental stressors such as father absence (FA). Specifically, the current study investigated whether FA affects males’ and females’ casual sexual behavior and pubertal timing in the same way. Young adults (89 females, 46 males) were asked to report the ages at which they lived with their biological father, their casual sexual behavior, and the age at which they experienced a major pubertal marker (menarche for females, first nocturnal emission for males). FA by itself did not predict casual sexual behavior, although it did predict pubertal timing such that FA was associated with earlier pubertal timing. Interaction effects, however, indicate the effect of FA on behavior and maturation was sex-specific. For females, FA was associated with more casual sexual behavior; whereas, for males, FA was associated with less casual sexual behavior. With regard to maturation, FA was associated with earlier pubertal timing for males but did not have much an effect on females’ pubertal timing. Findings from the current study suggest the effects of FA on pubertal timing and casual sexual behavior are not specific to females. Furthermore, these findings suggest that sexual maturation and behavior may not be influenced in the same way by early environmental stressors.
This chapter focuses on maternal care, including the specialized psychological mechanisms designe... more This chapter focuses on maternal care, including the specialized psychological mechanisms designed to shape maternal solicitude and the various factors to which these mechanisms are sensitive. It identifies factors that influence levels of maternal parental investment. Maternal factors that lead to increased investment include the amount of resources available, potential for future mating opportunities and maternal age, and number of offspring. Child factors that lead to greater investment include reproductive value, age of the child, sex, offspring need, and relatedness to the mother. Although there has been an abundance of research on maternal parental investment, most of the studies have focused on individual factors that influence parental investment levels with only a few investigating interactive models. Therefore, more research investigating interactive models is necessary to better understand under which circumstances mothers would be more or less likely to invest in their offspring.
Conflict between siblings is common, not only in humans, but also in a wide variety of other spec... more Conflict between siblings is common, not only in humans, but also in a wide variety of other species. It is also an unsurprising phenomenon, as offspring compete for dominance as well as food resources (in birds and many mammals, as well as other species) and, in the case of human siblings, for parental attention, affection, and monetary resources. While the majority of sibling conflict has no long-lasting deleterious effects in humans, in several animal species (and occasionally in humans) it can be violent and lead to physical injury and even death. When such conflicts are fatal, they are referred to as siblicides. An evolutionary perspective would predict that, even though siblicide is quite rare, when it does occur, it is likely to be influenced by some of the same factors that influence milder sibling disputes. The human and nonhuman research on the role of sex of sibling, resource availability, birth spacing, and relatedness in siblicide and sibling conflict is discussed.
The debate over pornography has drawn attention to sex differences not only in the frequency of p... more The debate over pornography has drawn attention to sex differences not only in the frequency of pornography consumption but also in the different ways males and females may perceive sexually explicit images and respond to them. Some of these differences may be due to sex differences in a variety of factors including sexual strategies and disgust, in particular, disgust related to pathogen avoidance. There is a large literature that focuses on how pathogen avoidance has shaped human behavior from political ideology to in-group/outgroup behavior to sexual risk taking/avoidance. This study examined sex differences in perceptions and how they are influenced by the emotional context of the image as well as individual difference factors, including disgust sensitivity, mate value, sociosexuality, and sexual orientation. Participants viewed a series of sexually explicit images of external ejaculations and rated them in terms of being positive, neutral, or negative. The factors accounting for the greatest variance in perceptions were target affect and sex, sexual orientation, and respondent sex, followed by pathogen and sexual disgust, self-perceived mate value, and sociosexual attitudes and desire.
A greater understanding of psychopathology will be found in the integration of genetic and evolut... more A greater understanding of psychopathology will be found in the integration of genetic and evolutionary perspectives on adaptation and function. Evolutionary theory proposes that adaptive traits are reproduced more successfully than maladaptive ones. However, some traits, while contributing to fitness in the ancestral environment, may contribute to fitness no longer. This is known as mismatch theory. Evolutionarily informed research into various "pathologies" has yielded interesting results, some based on this theory. This paper serves to distinguish between genetic and evolutionary perspectives on psychopathology as well as to examine some recent research on the selective forces that may be implicated in psychopathy, anorexic behavior, and ADHD. We suggest that research into psychopathy in general would benefit from an evolutionary perspective and an examination of the assumptions behind past research.
... E96 2004 155.7dc21 2003054726 CIP Books published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates are printed... more ... E96 2004 155.7dc21 2003054726 CIP Books published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates are printed on acid free paper, and their bindings are ... Kirsten N. Barr & Vernon L. Quinsey 15 Cultivating Morality and Constructing Moral Systems: How to Make Silk Purses From Sows ...
Classic models of sexual selection by female choice invoke conflicts of interest between the sexe... more Classic models of sexual selection by female choice invoke conflicts of interest between the sexes. While it is in a male’s genetic best interests to fertilize all of the eggs of any female he encounters, that is not necessarily in the same best interests of any particular females. Thus, female traits that discriminate between males are in conflict with the reproductive interests of any particular rejected male. There are a number of models of such conflicts and how they can influence female choice. One model views males as evolving to entice females into mating and females evolving resistance to males, as opposed to attraction to them, in order to reduce the direct costs associated with mating (Gavrilets et al. 2001). Another model suggests that females might evolve resistance to males in order to gain indirect benefits, perhaps by allowing the female to select for males based on their ability to manipulate females or their physical strength in cases where male defense of offspring and mate might be required to select for “better genes” or material resources (Cordero and Eberhard 2003; West-Eberhard 2014)
... The message was from Catherine Salmon, whom I had never met, a doctoral candidate in evolutio... more ... The message was from Catherine Salmon, whom I had never met, a doctoral candidate in evolutionary psychology at McMaster University in Hamilton ... novels and slash fiction may be a bit reminiscent of the reactions that many women have when viewing porn videos, especially ...
Adaptive human behavior and physiology, Apr 14, 2021
A substantial body of research has investigated the effects of early family environments on sexua... more A substantial body of research has investigated the effects of early family environments on sexual maturity and behavior, focusing mostly on effects on females. The purpose of the current study was to test the assumption that physiological maturation and casual sexual behavior are similarly influenced by early environmental stressors such as father absence (FA). Specifically, the current study investigated whether FA affects males’ and females’ casual sexual behavior and pubertal timing in the same way. Young adults (89 females, 46 males) were asked to report the ages at which they lived with their biological father, their casual sexual behavior, and the age at which they experienced a major pubertal marker (menarche for females, first nocturnal emission for males). FA by itself did not predict casual sexual behavior, although it did predict pubertal timing such that FA was associated with earlier pubertal timing. Interaction effects, however, indicate the effect of FA on behavior and maturation was sex-specific. For females, FA was associated with more casual sexual behavior; whereas, for males, FA was associated with less casual sexual behavior. With regard to maturation, FA was associated with earlier pubertal timing for males but did not have much an effect on females’ pubertal timing. Findings from the current study suggest the effects of FA on pubertal timing and casual sexual behavior are not specific to females. Furthermore, these findings suggest that sexual maturation and behavior may not be influenced in the same way by early environmental stressors.
This chapter focuses on maternal care, including the specialized psychological mechanisms designe... more This chapter focuses on maternal care, including the specialized psychological mechanisms designed to shape maternal solicitude and the various factors to which these mechanisms are sensitive. It identifies factors that influence levels of maternal parental investment. Maternal factors that lead to increased investment include the amount of resources available, potential for future mating opportunities and maternal age, and number of offspring. Child factors that lead to greater investment include reproductive value, age of the child, sex, offspring need, and relatedness to the mother. Although there has been an abundance of research on maternal parental investment, most of the studies have focused on individual factors that influence parental investment levels with only a few investigating interactive models. Therefore, more research investigating interactive models is necessary to better understand under which circumstances mothers would be more or less likely to invest in their offspring.
Conflict between siblings is common, not only in humans, but also in a wide variety of other spec... more Conflict between siblings is common, not only in humans, but also in a wide variety of other species. It is also an unsurprising phenomenon, as offspring compete for dominance as well as food resources (in birds and many mammals, as well as other species) and, in the case of human siblings, for parental attention, affection, and monetary resources. While the majority of sibling conflict has no long-lasting deleterious effects in humans, in several animal species (and occasionally in humans) it can be violent and lead to physical injury and even death. When such conflicts are fatal, they are referred to as siblicides. An evolutionary perspective would predict that, even though siblicide is quite rare, when it does occur, it is likely to be influenced by some of the same factors that influence milder sibling disputes. The human and nonhuman research on the role of sex of sibling, resource availability, birth spacing, and relatedness in siblicide and sibling conflict is discussed.
The debate over pornography has drawn attention to sex differences not only in the frequency of p... more The debate over pornography has drawn attention to sex differences not only in the frequency of pornography consumption but also in the different ways males and females may perceive sexually explicit images and respond to them. Some of these differences may be due to sex differences in a variety of factors including sexual strategies and disgust, in particular, disgust related to pathogen avoidance. There is a large literature that focuses on how pathogen avoidance has shaped human behavior from political ideology to in-group/outgroup behavior to sexual risk taking/avoidance. This study examined sex differences in perceptions and how they are influenced by the emotional context of the image as well as individual difference factors, including disgust sensitivity, mate value, sociosexuality, and sexual orientation. Participants viewed a series of sexually explicit images of external ejaculations and rated them in terms of being positive, neutral, or negative. The factors accounting for the greatest variance in perceptions were target affect and sex, sexual orientation, and respondent sex, followed by pathogen and sexual disgust, self-perceived mate value, and sociosexual attitudes and desire.
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