Notes on Evolutionary Psychology

The following are my notes on Dr. David Buss' interviews on evolutionary psychology.

Notes on Huberman Interview

• We don’t know why we find certain qualities attractive

  • DB’s analogy: We find certain foods tasty. We don’t know why. We didn’t really “evolve” to know why. We just like the foods we like 

  • Most men aren’t walking around thinking about women’s reproductive and evolutionary fitness, unless they’re weird (DB’s joke) 

• “We know statistically the higher mate value person is more likely to have an affair and is more likely to dump the other person and trade up on the dating market.” – DB

• If both partners have a secure attachment style, that’s conducive to long term mateship

Notes on Peterson Interview

• Women found to be more selective in casual sex, short term mating  

• Survey question

  • “’Sex without love is ok.’ Do you agree with that or disagree with that?”

  • On a 7 point scale where 4 is the midpoint, men are about 5.5 and women average about 3.5, below the midpoint

• Ways to get ahead in life

  • Inflict costs 

  • Confer benefits 

  • Competence (basically benefit conferral)

  • DB’s lab found significant evidence in favor of the confidence and benefits, conferral model, and little evidence for the cost inflicting model of getting ahead

• Dark triad

  • May be a way to indirectly look like you can confer benefits, inflict costs, or be competent 

  • For example, narcissists are confident, which makes you seem like you may be confident and capable 

  • YOUNGER women tend to be more attracted to dark triad. They also tend to grow out of this with maturity and dating experience

  • Dark triads are “disastrous” for long term mating.

    • As they cheat, abandon, abuse, and etc. more 

• Scott Barry Kaufman has tried to psychometrically outline a light triad

Notes on Fridman Interview

• Concealed ovulation in humans may have coevolved with and led to human long term pair bonding (ovulation is not concealed in chimps)

• Women go for cues to good genes in the short term, cues to good resources in the long term