Category Archives: Evolution and Scientific Method
HBES 2012 Roundup 1: Joint Day with the Animal Behavior Society
The Human Behavior & Evolution Society (HBES) 2012 Annual Meetings took place this past weekend in Albuquerque, NM, in conjunction with the Animal Behavior Society, hosted by Steve Gangestad & others. I’ve only been to HBES one other time & … Continue reading
Evolution Triggers the “Oh Shit!” Circuit
Jonah Lehrer discusses the new Gallup poll numbers on the (non)acceptance of evolutionary theory versus creationist beliefs in his New Yorker blog post “Why We Don’t Believe in Science.” He cites a study by Andrew Shtulman in Cognition that finds … Continue reading
Issues & Questions: Cultural Knowledge (& Self-Deception) & Mating Success
First, thank you to all who participated in our recent “Pop Culture & Mating Success” survey. Frankly, I am stunned at our success in collecting over 1000 responses in just over one week. As an anthropologist, I don’t often rely … Continue reading
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
Patrick Clarkin’s Humans are (blank)-ogamous Series
The image Patrick Clarkin uses in his 6th installment of the “Humans are (Blank) -ogamous” is so excellent that I have to repost it & give props to Patrick, a biological anthropologist at UMass Boston. In this series, he explores … Continue reading
Pop Culture & Mating Success Study
Please participate in an internet-based survey of cultural knowledge and mating success of adults 18 years and older. The survey takes about 15 minutes and asks some personal questions of a sexual nature. Follow this link to the survey if … Continue reading
Towards a Bottom-Up Approach to Self-Deception
As I read John Hartung’s 1988 chapter on “self-deceiving down,” I am further convinced of the nonsense of arguing about theoretical distinctions & that we are considering the issue at too high a conceptual level to understand the influence of … Continue reading
Are We Confusing Self-Deceptive Enhancement with Illusory Superiority?
A New Statesman post by Uta Frith found its way to me this morning via a Tweet by @SteveSilberman with the catchphrase, “Men are more likely to think their IQ is 5 pts higher than it is, and women think theirs … Continue reading
Pivoting around Smartphones & Cigarettes: Evolved to Play in Extra-structural Interludes
Smartphones are like cigarettes are like junk food are like chewing your nails or doodling. Right. What do they have in common? Easy. Things we do when we’re bored. Bored in my class? Doodle. There were some amazing Jurassic landscapes … Continue reading
Assholes and Self-Deception
Findings just published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology by Kristina Durante et al. indicate that women are hormonally deluded during ovulation to believe that hot guys will stick around. This is a crass way of saying … Continue reading
