Category Archives: Evolution and Psychology
2012’s Cheap Thrills thru Evolution in Review
I sit in Highland, NY at my in-laws’ watching crappy bowl games (Rutgers v. Va Tech, can either of you find an offense?), reading a cool manuscript draft about psychoneuroimmunological disparity in monastic cemetery remains for my friend Sharon DeWitte, & … Continue reading
The Evolutionary Psychology of Marathon Running: Long May You Run!
Marathon running is not evolutionarily natural. While our ancestors ran a heck of a lot more than we do (on average), 26.2 miles in a single shot is not likely something that our ancestors did frequently. And intensive training for … Continue reading
Cosmetics Enhance Appearance of Femininity, Lack of Cosmetics Increases Appearance of Masculinity
Research by neuroscientist Richard Russell of the Gettysburgh Perception Lab suggests that sexual dimorphic differences between male and female faces, especially under circumstances of minimal sexual dimorphism, is all about contrast. Males have darker skin except for eyes and lips. … Continue reading
2012 EvoS Summit at New Paltz – 10/26 – Evolution in Higher Education, Collaboration with Robb Wolf, Grant Activities, and More!
EvoS Summit Conference – 10/26/2012 Since David Sloan Wilson implemented the first undergraduate evolutionary studies (EvoS) program at Binghamton University about a decade ago, the notion of Darwin’s Big Idea guiding educational experiences across academic areas has led to significant … Continue reading
If you could store sperm in your abdomen & have 150 million daughters…
When I was in Costa Rica two years ago to lay the groundwork for my ongoing study of religious ecology, the pastor who was showing me around had me stop along the road from Limón to Puerto Viejo to show … Continue reading
Mating Intelligence (or How I Completely Missed the Boat)
I don’t want to steal any of Glenn’s thunder here, but I do want to point that one of the costs of doing a side project that is not theoretically related to the main thread of one’s research is that … Continue reading
The Motivated Ape: Lessons from a 5K in the Outerbanks of North Carolina
The human spirit is amazing. I write from a beach house in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where my brothers (Seth and Adam) and I – and our families – are doing our first annual all-family vacation. In modern … Continue reading
A Direct Test of Alloparenting and the Grandmother Effect – Thanks for all your Help, Mom!
Why are we different from the Neanderthals? Why do we roam the planet in the billions while our likely intelligent distant cousins permeate only ancient gravesites or the halls of natural history museums? Continue reading
The Adaptiveness of Gossip re HIV in Africa
I was listening to an old This American Life podcast from 2011 the other day & heard a great piece about the work of sociologist Susan Watkins. Watkins runs the Malawi Journals Project, thru which she has been studying gossip … Continue reading
HBES 2012 Roundup 4: Father’s Day & the Parasite-Driven Wedge
So I blew Father’s Day. Totally didn’t realize I’d booked myself to go to HBES on Father’s Day. And much as I love my dad, it wasn’t because I wasn’t going to be with him. It was because my wife … Continue reading
