Tag Archives: Signaling theory

Sabbatical is Here!

Have I started relaxing yet? Everyone asks me this. Do y’all not know me? We just arrived at my in-laws for the holiday, & I’m already thinking about how to fill my days. I don’t relax well. But I am … Continue reading

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Posted in American Association of Physical Anthropologists, Anthropology, Biological Anthropology, Christopher Lynn, Education, Evolution & Pop Culture, Evolution Outreach, Human Biology Association, Sabbatical, Southeastern Evolutionary Perspectives Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Sabbatical is Here!

Tattooing Primes the Immune System

…But First, a Test of the “Rap Guide to Evolution”… A few weeks ago I presented a poster at the Human Biology Association annual scientific meeting about the roles of emotions in learning about evolution via a performance of Baba … Continue reading

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Posted in Anthropology, Biological Anthropology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Menstrual Huts Signal Paternal Certainty

An article from 2012 by Beverly Strassmann & colleagues is the first piece I think I’ve read that connects religious signaling to actual reproductive fitness, instead of merely group commitment (not that there’s anything wrong with that).  They analyzed genetic … Continue reading

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The Wrong Holy Ghost

Out this week in Ethos is a paper I wrote called “‘The Wrong Holy Ghost’” Discerning the Apostolic Gift of Discernment using a Signaling and Systems Theoretical Approach.”  It’s about an incident I call “the wrong Holy Ghost” because that … Continue reading

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Signaling Religious Commitment in Brazilian Candomble

I was critiqued in a recent NSF grant proposal review that, while I elegantly integrated signaling & cultural consensus theories in my research design, my statements that (1) signaling theory derives from evolutionary biology & (2) that no one has … Continue reading

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Posted in Anthropology, Theory | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Evolutionary Tchotchkes as Objectified Cultural Capital

 I was recently skimming thru human behavioral ecologist Lee Cronk’s book That Complex Whole looking for a good definition of signaling theory (which I couldn’t find there but found in a recent Bulbulia & Sosis article). In rereading Lee’s intro, I saw that one … Continue reading

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Cueing Self-Deception thru Cosmetics & Speaking in Tongues

 In my friend Bria Dunham’s piece, “The Role for Signaling Theory and Receiver Psychology in Marketing,” I came across this line: In women, facial masculinity may serve as a cue of sexual attitudes and behavior due to the underlying association … Continue reading

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WHY CAESAR’S WIFE MUST BE ABOVE SUSPICION: MATES FUNCTION AS HONEST INDICATORS OF STATUS AND PRESTIGE. BY BEN AND BO WINEGARD.

In Plutarch’s Life of Julius Caesar, a story is related that Julius Caesar divorced his wife (Pompeia) because of rumors of opprobrious behavior. At trial, Caesar said he knew nothing about his wife’s rumored adultery, but asserted that he divorced her … Continue reading

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Posted in Adaptation, Evolution and Biology, Evolution and Psychology, Evolution by Natural Selection, Mating and Sexuality, Variation | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment