Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind (Fourth Edition)

Author: David M. Buss Year: 2014 (4th ed., chapters originally Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc.) Original file: RAW/books/The Evolution of Psychology.md Source type: scholarly textbook (peer-reviewed) Publisher: Pearson Custom Library / Pearson Allyn & Bacon (Pearson New International Edition) ISBN: 978-1-292-02240-6 / 1-292-02240-X Pages: 470 (textbook body 1–6,906 lines in markdown; bibliography 6,912–11,200; index 11,200–12,467)

Core Argument

The human mind is a collection of evolved psychological mechanisms — not a general-purpose computer, not a blank slate, but a large suite of specific information-processing devices, each shaped by natural and sexual selection to solve specific adaptive problems faced recurrently by our ancestors over millions of years of human evolution. Mating, parenting, kinship, cooperation, aggression, status-striving, and the conflict between the sexes all become tractable as evolutionary problems with specific psychological solutions. The discipline that integrates this approach with modern psychology is evolutionary psychology, and this textbook is its canonical introduction.

Scope

Total length: 6,906 lines of body content (~270 KB markdown).

Chapter structure (13 chapters):

• Ch 1: The Scientific Movements Leading to Evolutionary Psychology — pre-Darwin, Darwin (natural + sexual selection), Modern Synthesis, ethology (Lorenz, Tinbergen), inclusive fitness revolution (Hamilton 1964), Williams 1966 Adaptation and Natural Selection, Trivers's three seminal theories (1971-1974), Sociobiology controversy (Wilson 1975), common misunderstandings, milestones in human evolution, behaviorism's fall, cognitive revolution.
• Ch 2: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology — three products of evolution (adaptations, by-products, noise), Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness (EEA), levels of evolutionary analysis, top-down vs bottom-up hypothesis generation, the Evolved Psychological Mechanism's six properties, properties of EPMs (problem specificity, behavioral flexibility, domain-specific vs domain-general debate), learning + culture as EPMs, methods + data sources for testing EP hypotheses, identifying adaptive problems.
• Ch 3: Combating the Hostile Forces of Nature — survival problems: food acquisition, disgust as disease-avoidance (Curtis/Oaten), pregnancy sickness as embryo protection (Profet), cooking hypothesis (Wrangham), antimicrobial spice hypothesis, frugivory by-product hypothesis (alcohol), hunting hypothesis (Tooby & DeVore), provisioning hypothesis, show-off hypothesis (Hawkes), gathering hypothesis, sex differences in spatial cognition (Silverman/Eals), savanna hypothesis (Orians), fears + phobias + adaptive biases (Six Defenses, Error Management Theory, Descent Illusion), Darwinian medicine (fever, iron-poor blood), senescence theory (Williams 1957 pleiotropy), evolutionary theory of suicide (de Catanzaro), homicide.
• Ch 4 / Ch 5: Long-Term Mating Strategies (Men's and Women's) — reproductive value vs fertility, evolved standards of female beauty, waist-to-hip ratio (Singh), concealed ovulation problem + 10 lines of evidence, paternity uncertainty + marriage as solution, contrast effects + modern mating mismatch, testosterone + mating effort, Necessities vs Luxuries (Norman Li), female preferences for resources/status/older men/ambition/dependability/height/health/symmetry/masculinity, romantic love as commitment device (Jankowiak/Fischer 168 cultures), homogamy, willingness-to-invest-in-children cue (La Cerra), structural powerlessness hypothesis falsified, mate copying, lesbian sexual orientation puzzle.
• Ch 6: Short-Term Sexual Strategies — sex differences in desire for variety (Schmitt 52-nation study), Trivers PI as basis for sex difference, sperm competition theory (testes-size cross-species, Baker/Bellis), psychological evidence (sexual fantasies, sex drive), behavioral evidence (extramarital affairs, prostitution, hooking up), women's short-term mating (orgasm physiology, five classes of benefits — Greiling/Buss table), ovulation-shift hypothesis, individual differences (SOI), context effects (father absence/stepfather presence, sex ratio, mate value, Dark Triad).
• Ch 7: Problems of Parenting — paternity uncertainty + mating opportunity cost hypotheses, three contexts of parental care (genetic relatedness, offspring's ability to convert care to fitness, alternative resource uses), resemblance perception + investment, Anderson/Kaplan/Lancaster Albuquerque college-investment study, Cinderella effect (Daly/Wilson stepparent risk), discriminative parental solicitude by age + health, Trivers-Willard hypothesis, parental effort vs mating effort, theory of parent-offspring conflict (Trivers 1974), mother-fetus conflict in utero (Haig hCG/preeclampsia), daughter guarding, killing parents.
• Ch 8: Problems of Kinship — Hamilton's rule c<rb (formal), kin recognition mechanisms (4 cues), birth-order niche specialization (Sulloway), grandmother hypothesis, life-or-death helping (Burnstein), genetic relatedness + emotional closeness, kinship + survival (Mayflower, Donner), patterns of inheritance, discriminative grandparental investment (DeKay/Euler/Weitzel — MoMo > MoFa > FaMo > FaFa), aunts/uncles/cousins laterality, Emlen's theory of family, dark side of families (sibling/parent-offspring/mother-father conflict).
• Ch 9: Cooperative Alliances — problem of altruism, theory of reciprocal altruism (Trivers 1971; Axelrod/Hamilton 1981 Tit-for-Tat), cooperation in vampire bats + chimps, social contract theory (Cosmides/Tooby five cognitive capacities + cheater-detection adaptations, Wason task), detection of altruists (Brown/Moore), indirect reciprocity (Alexander/Nowak), costly signaling theory, banker's paradox + becoming irreplaceable (Tooby/Cosmides 1996), fair-weather vs deep-engagement friends, costs/benefits of friendship by sex (Bleske/Buss), cooperative coalitions + free-rider problem, punitive sentiment (Price/Cosmides/Tooby), altruistic punishment + cultural group selection.
• Ch 10: Aggression and Warfare — six adaptive problems aggression solves, recalibration theory of anger (Sell/Tooby/Cosmides), why men > women in aggression, same-sex homicide cross-cultural, bullying patterns, Young Male Syndrome (Wilson/Daly 1985), contexts triggering each sex-pair of aggression, warfare, Tooby/Cosmides Risk Contract of War (4 conditions), homicide adaptation theory vs slip-up hypothesis.
• Ch 11/12: Status, Prestige, Social Dominance — emergence of dominance hierarchies cross-species, dominance vs prestige (Henrich/Gil-White), costly signaling for prestige, sex differences in status striving + sexual access (harem evidence + Genghis Khan effect), Social Dominance Orientation, sex differences in dominance expression (egoistic vs prosocial), Cummins's Dominance Theory + deontic reasoning, Social Attention-Holding Potential (Gilbert SAHP), determinants of dominance (verbal/nonverbal, size, testosterone, serotonin), self-esteem as status-tracking (Sociometer Theory), strategies of submissiveness (deceiving down, tall poppies, Schadenfreude).
• Ch 12: Conflict Between the Sexes — Strategic Interference Theory (Buss 1989b), conflict over sexual access (sexual overperception bias, commitment skepticism bias, sexual withholding), sexual harassment, sexual aggression + rape adaptation vs by-product debate, women's antirape defenses, jealous conflict (sexual vs emotional jealousy sex difference + 35-study replication evidence + fMRI Takahashi 2006), mate retention tactics from vigilance to violence, threat-as-deterrence theory of spousal violence, conflict over resources.
• Ch 13: Toward a Unified Evolutionary Psychology — evolutionary cognitive psychology (ecological rationality, frequentist hypothesis, language evolution debate, EDSC + Deadly Innovations hypotheses for human intelligence), evolutionary social psychology (six theoretical anchors, moral emotions Haidt, multilevel selection theory revival), evolutionary developmental psychology (Theory of Mind, Belsky/Steinberg/Draper Father Absence Theory of Socialization, attachment as life-history calibration), evolutionary personality psychology (reactive heritability, frequency-dependent selection, Mealey psychopathy theory, K-factor, Sulloway birth order), evolutionary clinical psychology (Wakefield 1992 dysfunction definition, mismatch as illness source), evolutionary cultural psychology (evoked vs transmitted culture, Display vs By-Product theories of art/music).

Key Contributions to Vault

Foundational EP Concepts:

• Definition of an Evolved Psychological Mechanism (six properties)
• Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness (EEA) — Tooby & Cosmides 1992 verbatim
• Three Products of Evolution (adaptations, by-products, noise)
• Tinbergen's Four Whys (1951)
• Domain-Specific vs Domain-General architecture debate (Pinker, Tooby/Cosmides, Chiappe/MacDonald)
• Evolutionary Mismatch / Stone-Age Brain in Modern Environment
• Levels of Evolutionary Analysis (general theory → middle-level → hypothesis → predictions)
• Top-down vs bottom-up hypothesis generation (Singh's WHR as bottom-up exemplar)
• Methods + 6 data sources for testing EP hypotheses
• Error Management Theory (Buss & Haselton 2000)

Survival Adaptations:

• Hunting Hypothesis + Provisioning (Tooby & DeVore 1987) and Show-Off Hypothesis (Hawkes 1991, 2001)
• Hunter-Gatherer Sex Differences in Spatial Cognition (Silverman & Eals 1992; Silverman/Choi/Peters 2007 across 40 countries)
• Disgust as Disease-Avoidance (Curtis/Aunger/Rabie 2004; Oaten/Stevenson/Case 2009)
• Pregnancy Sickness as Embryo Protection (Profet 1992; Yerushalmy/Milkovich 1965 N=3,853 miscarriage data)
• Savanna Hypothesis (Orians 1980)
• Six Functional Defenses against Acute Attack (Bracha 2004)
• Cooking Hypothesis (Wrangham), Antimicrobial Spice Hypothesis (Billing/Sherman), Frugivory By-Product (Dudley)
• Darwinian Medicine (Williams/Nesse 1991, 1994 — fever, iron-poor blood as functional)
• Senescence Theory (Williams 1957 pleiotropy)
• Evolved Navigation Theory + Descent Illusion (Jackson/Cormack 2007)
• Evolutionary Theory of Suicide (de Catanzaro 1991, 1995)

Mating + Sex Differences:

• Reproductive Value vs Fertility distinction
• Waist-to-Hip Ratio as Fertility Cue (Singh 1993; cross-cultural .67–.80)
• Concealed Ovulation + Paternity Uncertainty (10 lines of evidence including Miller/Tybur/Jordan 2007 lap-dancer study)
• Sperm Competition Theory (testes-size cross-species; Baker/Bellis 1995 sperm-insemination variation)
• Female Preference Architecture (Buss 1989/1990 37 cultures, N=10,047) — resources, status, older age, ambition, dependability, height, symmetry, masculinity
• Strategic Interference Theory of sex conflict (Buss 1989b)
• Sex differences in jealousy: emotional vs sexual (Buss 1992; 35+ replications cross-cultural)
• Five Classes of Benefits to Women's Short-Term Mating (Greiling/Buss 2000)
• Ovulation-Shift Hypothesis (Gangestad/Thornhill)
• Mate Copying, Sociosexuality (SOI)
• Romantic Love as Commitment Device (Jankowiak/Fischer 168 cultures, 88.5% prevalence)
• Sexual Overperception Bias + Commitment Skepticism Bias (paired EMT applications)

Parenting + Kinship:

• Hamilton's Rule (c < rb) formal
• Cinderella Effect (Daly/Wilson stepparent risk 40-100x)
• Discriminative Parental Solicitude
• Trivers-Willard Hypothesis
• Mother-Fetus Conflict (Haig 1993 hCG/preeclampsia)
• Discriminative Grandparental Investment (MoMo > MoFa > FaMo > FaFa)
• Daughter Guarding
• Theory of Parent-Offspring Conflict (Trivers 1974)
• Emlen's Theory of Family
• Sulloway Birth Order Niche Specialization

Cooperation + Aggression + Status:

• Tit-for-Tat + Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma (Axelrod/Hamilton 1981)
• Social Contract Theory + Cheater-Detection Adaptations (Cosmides/Tooby Wason task)
• Indirect Reciprocity Theory (Alexander/Nowak)
• Costly Signaling Theory
• Banker's Paradox + Becoming Irreplaceable (Tooby/Cosmides 1996) — friendship as deep engagement
• Punitive Sentiment + Free-Rider Problem (Price/Cosmides/Tooby 2002)
• Six Adaptive Problems Solved by Aggression
• Recalibration Theory of Anger (Sell/Tooby/Cosmides 2009)
• Young Male Syndrome (Wilson/Daly 1985)
• Risk Contract of War (Tooby/Cosmides 1988, 2010) — four conditions for warfare adaptations
• Homicide Adaptation Theory (Buss/Duntley 2005)
• Dominance vs Prestige (Henrich/Gil-White 2001)
• Social Attention-Holding Potential / SAHP (Gilbert 1990, 2000)
• Sociometer Theory (Leary/Baumeister 1995)
• Cummins Dominance Theory + Deontic Reasoning

Unified Theory:

• Ecological Rationality (Tooby/Cosmides) + Frequentist Hypothesis
• EDSC Hypothesis + Deadly Innovations Hypothesis for human intelligence
• Moral Emotions framework (Haidt)
• Multilevel Selection Theory revival (Sober/Wilson)
• Belsky/Steinberg/Draper Father Absence Theory of Socialization
• Reactive Heritability (Tooby/Cosmides 1990)
• Frequency-Dependent Selection + Mealey's Psychopathy Theory
• Wakefield Dysfunction Definition + evolutionary clinical psychology
• Evoked vs Transmitted Culture
• Display Hypothesis (Miller) vs Auditory Cheesecake (Pinker) for art/music

Epistemic Strengths

• Apex authority in field — Buss founded the cross-cultural mate preference research program (Buss 1989/1990 N=10,047 across 37 cultures), originated Strategic Interference Theory and Error Management Theory (with Haselton), edited The Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology. Many empirical findings cited are his own primary research.
• Rigorous treatment of competing hypotheses — repeatedly presents alternative explanations fairly (e.g., Hunting/Provisioning vs Show-Off; Homicide Adaptation vs Slip-Up; Rape Adaptation vs By-Product; Display Hypothesis vs Auditory Cheesecake)
• Distinguishes adaptation from by-product claims using Williams (1966) criteria of reliability, efficiency, economy, and precision
• Uses convergent multi-method evidence as standard (8 methods + 6 data sources, Table 3)
• Cross-cultural replication treated as core methodology, not afterthought
• Integration of theory with concrete empirical studies — every claim grounded in cited research
• Honest about limitations: explicitly notes failed predictions (e.g., mate deprivation hypothesis falsified), single-society non-replications (Pike 2000 Turkana pregnancy sickness), and ongoing debates

Epistemic Limitations

• Published 2014 — replication-crisis aftermath (especially in social priming, ovulation-shift findings, certain individual cognitive-load reanalyses) only partially reflected. Some single-study findings cited (e.g., specific ovulation-shift effects) warrant [REPLICATION SENSITIVE] tagging.
• Buss's own theoretical contributions (Strategic Interference Theory, Error Management Theory) presented favorably; competing frameworks sometimes get less space.
• Domain-general intelligence question increasingly relevant given LLM developments since publication — text predates this empirical pressure.
• Group selection / multilevel selection treatment leans Williams-1966 skeptical position; Sober/Wilson revival treated briefly.
• Limited engagement with replication failures of major effects (cognitive load critique of jealousy sex difference; effect-size questions for spatial sex differences per Voyer 2007).
• Treats EEA as somewhat unitary, though recognizes each adaptation has its own period of evolution.

Source Classification: Scholarly

This is a peer-reviewed textbook by the leading authority in evolutionary psychology. Tier-1 epistemic weight within the EP domain. Primary citations to Hamilton, Trivers, Williams, Tooby/Cosmides, Daly/Wilson, Symons, Singh, Gangestad/Thornhill are integrated with Buss's own primary empirical work.

Limitations

• Pre-replication-crisis-aftermath publication date (2014); single-study findings warrant verification
• Buss-favoring presentation of his own theoretical contributions (Strategic Interference, Error Management Theory)
• Limited treatment of gene-culture coevolution beyond Tooby/Cosmides framework
• Cross-cultural data heavily weighted toward Western and East Asian samples; smaller-scale societies treated more anecdotally
• Some empirical claims (e.g., specific ovulation-shift effects) are [REPLICATION SENSITIVE] and require post-2014 follow-up

Images

Source contains ~139 image references (img-0.jpeg through img-138.jpeg) for figures, tables, and photographs. Local images stored adjacent to source markdown. Tables (e.g., Table 1: Adaptive Problems in Long-Term Mating, Table 2: Hypothesized Benefits to Women, Table 3: Methods + Data Sources) are preserved as markdown.