Examines human psychology and behavior through the lens of modern evolutionary psychology.

 

Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind, 5/e provides students with the conceptual tools of evolutionary psychology, and applies them to empirical research on the human mind. Content topics are logically arrayed, starting with challenges of survival, mating, parenting, and kinship; and then progressing to challenges of group living, including cooperation, aggression, sexual conflict, and status, prestige, and social hierarchies. Students gain a deep understanding of applying evolutionary psychology to their own lives and all the people they interact with.

 

David M. Buss received his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkley in 1981. He began his career in academics at Harvard, later moving to the University of Michigan before accepting his current position as Professor of Psychology at the University of Texas. His primary research interests include human sexuality, mating strategies, conflict between the sexes, homicide, stalking, and sexual victimization. The author of more than 200 scientific articles and 6 books, Buss has won numerous awards including the American Psychological Association (APA) Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contribution to Psychology (1988), the APA G. Stanley Hall Lectureship (1990), the APA Distinguished Scientist Lecturer Award (2001), and the Robert W. Hamilton Book Award (2000) for the first edition of Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind. He is also the editor of the first comprehensive Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology (2005, Wiley). He enjoys extensive cross-cultural research collaborations and lectures widely within the United States and abroad.

In This Section:

I) Brief Table of Contents

II) Detailed Table of Contents

 

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I) Brief Table of Contents

 

PART ONE - FOUNDATIONS OF EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY  

Chapter 1. The Scientific Movements Leading to Evolutionary Psychology  

Chapter 2. The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology   

 

PART TWO – PROBLEMS OF SURVIVAL

Chapter 3. Combating the Hostile Forces of Nature: Human Survival Problems  

 

PART THREE - CHALLENGES OF SEX AND MATING  

Chapter 4. Women’s Long-Term Mating Strategies  

Chapter 5. Men’s Long-Term Mating Strategies  

Chapter 6. Short-Term Sexual Strategies 

 

PART FOUR -  CHALLENGES OF PARENTING AND KINSHIP  

Chapter 7. Problems of Parenting  

Chapter 8. Problems of Kinship  

 

PART FIVE - PROBLEMS OF GROUP LIVING  

Chapter 9. Cooperative Alliances  

Chapter 10. Aggression and Warfare  

Chapter 11. Conflict between the Sexes  

Chapter 12. Status, Prestige, and Social Dominance   

 

PART SIX - AN INTEGRATED PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE  

Chapter 13. Toward a Unified Evolutionary Psychology  

 

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II) Detail Table of Contents

 

PART ONE - FOUNDATIONS OF EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY  

Chapter 1. The Scientific Movements Leading to Evolutionary Psychology  

Landmarks in the History of Evolutionary Thinking  

Common Misunderstandings about Evolutionary Theory  

Milestones in the Origins of Modern Humans  

Landmarks in the Field of Psychology  

 

Chapter 2. The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology   

The Origins of Human Nature  

The Core of Human Nature: Fundamentals of Evolved Psycho-logical Mechanisms  

Methods for Testing Evolutionary Hypotheses  

Sources of Data for Testing Evolutionary Hypotheses  

Identifying Adaptive Problems  

 

PART TWO – PROBLEMS OF SURVIVAL

Chapter 3. Combating the Hostile Forces of Nature: Human Survival Problems  

Food Acquisition and Selection  

Finding a Place to Live: Shelter and Landscape Preferences  

Combating Predators and Other Environmental Dangers: Fears, Phobias, Anxieties, and "Adaptive Biases"  

Why Do People Die?  

 

PART THREE - CHALLENGES OF SEX AND MATING  

Chapter 4. Women’s Long-Term Mating Strategies  

Theoretical Background for the Evolution of Mate Preferences  

The Content of Women’s Mate Preferences  

Context Effects on Women’s Mate Preferences  

How Women’s Mate Preferences Affect Actual Mating Behavior  

 

Chapter 5. Men’s Long-Term Mating Strategies  

Theoretical Background for the Evolution of Men’s Mate Preferences  

The Content of Men’s Mate Preferences  

Context Effects on Men’s Mating Behavior  

Effect of Men’s Preferences on Actual Mating Behavior  

 

Chapter 6. Short-Term Sexual Strategies 

Theories of Men’s Short-Term Mating  

Evidence for an Evolved Short-Term Mating Psychology  

Women’s Short-Term Mating  

Context Effects on Short-Term Mating  

 

 

PART FOUR -  CHALLENGES OF PARENTING AND KINSHIP  

Chapter 7. Problems of Parenting  

Why Do Mothers Provide More Parental Care Than Fathers?  

An Evolutionary Perspective on Parental Care  

The Theory of Parent–Offspring Conflict  

 

Chapter 8. Problems of Kinship  

Theory and Implications of Inclusive Fitness  

Empirical Findings that Support the Implications of Inclusive Fitness Theory  

 

PART FIVE - PROBLEMS OF GROUP LIVING  

Chapter 9. Cooperative Alliances  

The Evolution of Cooperation  

A Theory of Reciprocal Altruism  

Cooperation among Nonhumans  

Cooperation and Altruism among Humans  

 

Chapter 10. Aggression and Warfare  

Aggression as a Solution to Adaptive Problems  

Why Are Men More Violently Aggressive Than Women?  

Empirical Evidence for Distinct Adaptive Patterns of Aggression  

 

Chapter 11. Conflict between the Sexes  

Strategic Interference Theory  

Conflict about the Occurrence and Timing of Sex  

Sexual Aggression and Evolved Defenses against Sexual Aggression  

Jealous Conflict  

From Vigilance to Violence: Tactics of Mate Retention  

Conflict over Access to Resources  

 

Chapter 12. Status, Prestige, and Social Dominance   

The Emergence of Dominance Hierarchies  

Dominance and Status in Nonhuman Animals 

Evolutionary Theories of Dominance, Prestige, and Status 

 

PART SIX - AN INTEGRATED PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE  

Chapter 13. Toward a Unified Evolutionary Psychology  

Evolutionary Cognitive Psychology  

Evolutionary Social Psychology  

Evolutionary Developmental Psychology  

Evolutionary Personality Psychology  

Evolutionary Clinical Psychology  

Evolutionary Cultural Psychology  

Toward a Unified Psychology