Article

Evolutionary consumption

July 2013
Journal of Consumer Psychology 23(3):351-371

DOI:10.1016/j.jcps.2013.03.002

Authors:

An overview of the field of evolutionary consumption is provided. Brief summaries of disciplines within the evolutionary behavioral sciences that preceded evolutionary psychology (EP) are first offered. This is followed by a discussion of important EP principles including the domain-specificity of the human mind, and the difference between ultimate and proximate scientific explanations. The evolutionary bases of memory, attitude formation/change, emotions, perception (our five senses), personality, and decision making are addressed next, along with specific links to consumer research. Next, I demonstrate how numerous consumer acts could be classified into one of four basal Darwinian modules: survival, reproduction (mating), kin selection, and reciprocal altruism. The paper continues with an exploration of the evolutionary roots of cultural products (e.g., song lyrics) and Darwinian happiness (along with the evolutionary etiology of maladaptive phenomena such as pathological gambling and compulsive buying). I conclude with a discussion of key epistemological benefits of Darwinizing consumer research including greater consilience, increased interdisciplinarity, and an ethos of methodological pluralism.

Effects of Game Outcomes and Status Instability on Spectators’ Status Consumption: The Moderating Role of Implicit Team Identification

Article

Full-text available

Feb 2022

This study explores the interaction effects of game outcomes and status instability and the moderating role of implicit team identification on spectators’ status-seeking behavior (the pursuit and preservation of social status). The current study seeks to contribute to the existing consumer behavior and spectatorship literature by examining the counterintuitive outcomes of winner–loser effects through the application of the biosocial theory of status. In an online experiment, NFL fans’ retrospective spectating experiences were captured and manipulated. This experiment used a 2 (game outcome: victory vs. loss) × 2 (status instability: decisive vs. close) × 2 (iTeam ID: high vs. low) between-subjects design. The findings indicated that decisive victories and close losses positively influenced spectators’ future attendance as well as their intention to purchase luxury suites and merchandise featuring images of the team mascot. Conversely, decisive losses and close victories had a negative influence. Additionally, the more spectators implicitly identified with a particular team, the more they exhibited status-seeking behavior; even close victories positively influenced the outcomes. By applying a nascent theoretical approach in the field of consumer behavior (the hormonal account), our results provide fresh insight into explaining spectators’ status-seeking behavior. Also, the findings identify specific conditions in which spectators’ status-seeking behavior is enhanced, thus suggesting ways for managers to strategically allocate their resources.

Scarcity signaling in sales promotion: An evolutionary perspective of food choice and weight status

Article

Jul 2021
J Retailing Consum Serv

Anne Odile Peschel

Obesity rates are increasing worldwide, with an alarming number of associated co-morbidities and deaths. Evolutionary psychology explains this development with an inherent preference for fatty and sweet foods. Recent evidence shows that consumers with a low socioeconomic status are more prone to being obese, but also that consumers with few resources respond more to scarcity signals. Based on this background, this paper investigates whether overweight individuals with a low income respond more to scarcity signaling in terms of sales promotions than others. To this end, a large-scale online survey was conducted across four food product categories in the setting of an online supermarket. Results show that overweight or obese individuals with low income levels responded more strongly to scarcity signaling. The findings inform researchers in terms of explaining different responses to sales promotions and support practitioners in aligning sales promotions to target group-specific behavior.

Has Luxury Consumption Something to do with Fear and Love?

Chapter

Full-text available

Sep 2020

Evolutionary approach generally views conspicuous consumption as homogenous. However, conspicuous consumption incorporates two distinct typologies (i.e., bandwagon and snob). The primary aim of this study is to examine the role of emotions (i.e., fear versus romantic desire) on the type of conspicuous consumption behavior (i.e., bandwagon versus snob). Moderating role of personality traits such as need for belongingness and need-for-uniqueness have been included in the research model within the context of personality-situation interaction. Drawing upon modern evolutionary approach literature, persuasiveness and behavioral intentions depend on both the mind-set promoted by specific emotions and the specific psychological mechanism being activated by relevant overlapping fitness-enhancing cues that strengthen the goal-oriented behavior -i.e., protecting oneself or motivation to attract a mate-. Based on this approach, present study emphasizes the positive effect of fear on bandwagon luxury and negative effect on snob luxury versus the positive effect of romantic desire on snob luxury and negative effect on bandwagon luxury consumption. In order to test these evolutionary-driven hypotheses, an experimental study design has been recommended. The study also highlights the prominence of modern evolutionary approach within the consumer behavior realm and its potential conceptual and theoretical contribution capacity by its interdisciplinary and rich epistemological nature.

An Evolutionary Perspective on Appearance Enhancement Behavior

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2022
ARCH SEX BEHAV

Researchers have highlighted numerous sociocultural factors that have been shown to underpin human appearance enhancement practices, including the influence of peers, family, the media, and sexual objectification. Fewer scholars have approached appearance enhancement from an evolutionary perspective or considered how sociocultural factors interact with evolved psychology to produce appearance enhancement behavior. Following others, we argue that evidence from the field of evolutionary psychology can complement existing sociocultural models by yielding unique insight into the historical and cross-cultural ubiquity of competition over aspects of physical appearance to embody what is desired by potential mates. An evolutionary lens can help to make sense of reliable sex and individual differences that impact appearance enhancement, as well as the context-dependent nature of putative adaptations that function to increase physical attractiveness. In the current review, appearance enhancement is described as a self-promotion strategy used to enhance reproductive success by rendering oneself more attractive than rivals to mates, thereby increasing one’s mate value. The varied ways in which humans enhance their appearance are described, as well as the divergent tactics used by women and men to augment their appearance, which correspond to the preferences of opposite-sex mates in a heterosexual context. Evolutionarily relevant individual differences and contextual factors that vary predictably with appearance enhancement behavior are also discussed. The complementarity of sociocultural and evolutionary perspectives is emphasized and recommended avenues for future interdisciplinary research are provided for scholars interested in studying appearance enhancement behavior.

The interactive effects of religiosity and recognition in increasing donation Tung Moi Chiew

Article

Sep 2020
EUR J MARKETING

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine a three-way interaction between the two motivational orientations of religiosity (i.e. intrinsic and extrinsic) and recognition (in this study, an explicit expectation that behavior is recognized) on charitable behavior. Further, drawing upon the evolutionary psychology perspective, the status motive is predicted to mediate the predicted effects. Design/methodology/approach Three experimental studies were conducted using a 2 (intrinsic religiosity: low/high; measured) × 2 (extrinsic religiosity: low/high; measured) × 2 (recognition: yes/no; manipulated) between-subjects design to examine the predicted effects on likelihood to donate and donation allocations in two Asian countries, namely, Indonesia and Malaysia. Findings The results show that recognition increases charitable behavior among consumers with a high level of extrinsic religiosity but low level of intrinsic religiosity (Studies 1a, 1b and 2). Further, a status motive mediates the predicted effects (Study 2). Research limitations/implications The present research provides a novel perspective on how marketers can purposively use recognition in charitable advertising to encourage charitable behavior among religious consumers – but only in Asia. Practical implications This paper presents the case for how a non-profit organization can develop charitable advertising for disaster relief in Indonesia (Studies 1a and 1b) and Malaysia (Study 2). The findings of this research could potentially be extended to other organizations in Asia or other countries where religiosity places an important role in consumer behavior. Originality/value This research shows the interactive effect between extrinsic religiosity, intrinsic religiosity and recognition can increase charitable behavior in Asia.

Proud powerful, grateful powerless: the interactive effect of power and emotion on gift giving

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2020
EUR J MARKETING

Purpose Drawing upon the evolutionary psychology perspective, the current research aims to investigate the conditions under which power (high vs low) and emotion (pride vs gratitude) can influence consumers to purchase products for others via two fundamental motives (the signaling and affiliative motives). Design/methodology/approach Three experiments are conducted. Study 1 demonstrates that consumers with high (low) power are more likely to choose a wine promoted with pride (gratitude) appeals. Study 2 shows that consumers in the high- (low-) power condition report a higher willingness to pay for a wine promoted with pride (gratitude) appeals. Study 3 replicates the findings of Study 2 using a different product advertisement (chocolate bars). Findings This study provides concrete empirical evidence that powerful consumers experiencing pride will engage in gift giving because of an increased signaling motive. In contrast, powerless consumers experiencing gratitude will engage in gift giving because of an increased affiliative motive. Research limitations/implications This study explores the context of gift giving using wine and chocolate bars as the products. It would thus be of interest to examine and extend the effects in motivating other prosocial behaviors such as donating and volunteering. Practical implications The findings suggest how different states of power can be temporarily and purposively triggered and matched with the desired emotional appeals within adverting messages to increase persuasion. Originality/value This study illustrates a novel mechanism for gift giving from the evolutionary psychology perspective by showing that gift giving can be motivated by two distinct pathways – affiliative and signaling motives. Further, it tests how the interactive effects of power (high vs low) and emotion (pride vs gratitude) can activate such motives.

Using Sexual Selection Theories to Examine Contextual Variation in Heterosexual Women’s Orientation Toward High Heels

Article

Full-text available

Apr 2020
ARCH SEX BEHAV

High heels are symbols of female sexuality and are “costly signals” if the risks of wearing them are offset by improving women’s attractiveness to men. From a functionalist perspective, the costs versus benefits of wearing heels may vary according to personal and contextual factors, such as her effectiveness at competing for mates, or at times when such motives are stronger. Here, we examined potential differences between women (self-rated attractiveness, dyadic versus solitary sexual desire, women’s age, competitive attitudes toward other women) and contextual variation (priming mating and competitive motives) in their responses to high heels. Study 1 (N = 79) and Study 2 (N = 273) revealed that self-rated attractiveness was positively related to orientation toward heeled shoes. When examining responses to two very attractive shoes (one higher heel, one lower heel) in Study 2, dyadic sexual desire, but not solitary sexual desire or intrasexual competitiveness, predicted their inclination to buy the higher-heeled shoe. In Study 3 (N = 142), young women chose high heels when primed with free choice of a designer shoe (95% CI [53.02 mm, 67.37 mm]) and preferred a heel 22 mm (0.87”) higher than older women (Study 4, N = 247). Contrary to predictions, priming mating or competitive motives did not alter women’s preference toward a higher heel (Studies 3 and 4). Our studies suggest that attractive women augment their physical appeal via heels. High heels may be a subtle indicator of dyadic sexual desire, and preferences for heels are stronger at times in the lifespan when mating competition is relatively intense.

Evolutionary psychology for consumers: Awareness of ultimate explanations as a self-reflective tool for consumer empowerment

Thesis

Full-text available

Oct 2018

Samuel Piha

Evolutionary psychology is becoming a popular approach in consumer research. Evolutionary-based consumer research has, however, typically been undertaken from the managerial rather than from the consumer perspective. The current thesis aims to fill this gap by conceptually integrating evolutionary psychology and transformative consumer research through positive psychology. The objective is to investigate the usefulness of evolutionary psychology, especially the consumer’s awareness of ultimate explanations, as a self-reflective tool for consumer self-regulation and empowerment. The thesis consists of an introductory essay and three empirical articles about insect-based food (Article 1), customer toilets (Article 2) and sex toys (Article 3). First, the thesis lays down the principles of evolutionary-based consumer research, including the ultimate level of explanation and fundamental motives. Answering the first research question (How can ultimate explanations deepen the understanding of consumers’ need fulfilment?), the thesis builds an analytical framework of ultimate explanations behind the approach and avoidance tendencies towards need fulfilment. Then, after introducing the philosophical positioning of the role of evolutionary psychology as an instrumental method theory, the thesis answers the second research question (What ultimate explanations are related to the approach and avoidance tendencies concerning [a] buying insect-based food, [b] using customer toilets and [c] buying sex toys?) by applying this analytical framework to reinterpret the three consumer-related phenomena presented in the empirical articles. Ultimate reinterpretations suggest that regarding insect-based food (Article 1), the approach tendency is to eat healthily and sustainably, fundamentally motivated by status seeking, and the avoidance tendency is disgust and neophobia, fundamentally motivated by disease avoidance. Regarding customer toilets (Article 2), the approach tendency is to relieve a physiological urgency in a socially appropriate way based on the fundamental motive of affiliation, and the avoidance tendencies are fear and disgust, stemming from the fundamental motives of self-protection and disease avoidance. Finally, regarding sex toys (Article 3), the approach tendency relates to enhancing sexual pleasure, fundamentally motivated by mate retention and acquisition, and the avoidance tendency is the fear of being sexually exposed based on the fundamental motives of self-protection and affiliation. Following this ultimate-level reinterpretation, the thesis answers the third research question (How can ultimate explanations operate as a basis for consumer empowerment?) by constructing and illustrating the conceptual idea labelled as evolutionarily-informed empowerment. According to this idea, the awareness of the ultimate explanations and fundamental motives behind reactive behaviour (such as the behaviour illustrated in the three empirical phenomena) is argued to be the starting point in a process where consumers can critically deliberate over this reactive behaviour. Supposedly, this deliberation will empower consumers to adopt the habit of making wiser and more rationally-informed consuming decisions not only in these three illustrative cases but also in other consumption-related situations. Although the current doctoral thesis mainly aims at increasing consumers’ own understanding of their behaviour, the idea of evolutionarily-informed empowerment may also offer valuable insights for marketing practitioners. Additionally, evolutionarily-informed empowerment is suggested to operate as a useful tool in consumer and marketing education. While this thesis corroborates the role of ultimate explanations in consumer empowerment, it also acknowledges that evolutionarily-informed empowerment is only one source of consumer empowerment, and even psychological empowerment may take place without the awareness of ultimate explanations. Additionally, the conditions where the idea of evolutionary-informed empowerment is applicable is subject to certain limitations. Specifically, the interfaces between constructs (ultimate explanations, self-awareness, self-regulation and consumer empowerment) may be interfered with by certain factors such as the acceptance and understanding of evolutionary psychology, ego depletion and a consumer’s own sense of virtuosity. As the functionality of the frame-work is only illustrated through reinterpretation, future research is needed in order to deductively test its validity. A key research direction where the framework could also be applied is, for example, consumer behaviour related to mental and sexual health. Despite the limitations and questions that potentially direct future research on the topic, the thesis already contributes to the consumer research literature by taking a consumer perspective on evolutionary-based consumer research. In particular, the current thesis is among the first studies to use evolutionary psychology in understanding transformative consumer research and consumer empowerment. Keywords: Evolutionary psychology; Transformative consumer research (TCR); Consumer perspective; Consumer empowerment; Positive psychology; Instrumentalism; Ultimate explanations, Self-awareness; Self-regulation; Fundamental motives

Brand Gender: Increasing Brand Equity through Brand Personality

Book

Jan 2018

Theo Lieven

This book explores ways to drive and increase a brand’s most important property, its equity. Focussing on gender, the author analyses the impact of assigning personalities and characteristics to products and how this can affect the management of brands on a global scale. Using detailed examples, the author argues that brands with low masculine and feminine characteristics have the lowest equity, whilst brands with both high feminine and masculine characteristics are shown to have the strongest equity. Including notions of androgyny in brands, this significant study reveals the different factors which can affect a brand being perceived as either masculine or feminine. Aiming to develop a comprehensive theory and provide practitioners with a guide to increasing the equity of their brands, this controversial and pioneering book lays the foundation for creating a global brand personality model.

Understanding the application of evolutionary psychology in consumer behavior: A review and future research agenda

Article

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Jun 2024
PSYCHOL MARKET

This paper is the first to offer a comprehensive literature review of the role of evolutionary psychology (EP) in marketing and consumer behavior. This study takes a holistic approach, combining techniques of a systematic review with bibliometric analysis, to provide a performance analysis and identify theories and methodologies used in the literature. Most importantly, by studying the current state of EP, we elucidate six major themes: the role of gender in families, the role of affect in consumer behavior, food preferences and shopping behavior, motivations for and consequences of status signaling, the impact of ovulation on consumer motives and behaviors, and contributions to the greater good. The findings enable researchers to understand the current state of the literature. Further, to advance the application of EP in consumer behavior, we identify gaps related to each theme and offer research questions that can serve as catalysts for future research. Thus, we offer two primary contributions: a comprehensive overview of the literature as it relates to methods, theories, and themes and detailed guidance that can be used to invigorate research on EP.

As cute as a button: the effect of size on online product cuteness perception

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Aug 2023

Purpose Cute products have found market success. The literature has identified various factors of cuteness, but the effect of size is under-addressed. This study aims to investigate whether and how size perception influences consumers’ cuteness perception. Design/methodology/approach In three experiments, size was manipulated in terms of visual cue, product description and product name to determine its impact on cuteness perception. Findings The results of the three experiments demonstrate that a size cue of smallness can heighten consumers’ perception of product cuteness. The first two studies provided converging evidence for the main hypothesis that smaller objects are evaluated as cuter. Study 3 not only replicated the findings of the first two studies but also revealed that vulnerability acts as the underlying process for the smallness-cuteness relationship. Study 3 also showed that the purchase likelihood for an extended product warranty is higher in the small condition compared to the control condition. Research limitations/implications While the findings were robust across product types and size manipulations, possible boundary conditions related to product types or individual characteristics were not tested. Practical implications The findings suggest how brand managers can use size perceptions to influence consumers’ perceptions of the cuteness of their products and brands. Originality/value The findings inform brand managers about the nuances of size cues that may affect how customers perceive their products and identify a more generally applicable cuteness factor that may have downstream implications for marketing practitioners.

Enhancement of Appearance

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Proud volunteers: the role of self- and vicarious-pride in promoting volunteering

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Dec 2018
MARKET LETT

This research examines the role of self- and vicarious-pride in eliciting divergent mindsets and behaviors toward volunteering. We propose that the congruent matching of self-pride (vicarious-pride) emotions with promotion (prevention) focus-framed messages increases the effectiveness of promoting volunteering behaviors. The positive “match-up” effects arise because self-pride elicits a competitive mindset, whereas vicarious-pride elicits a collaborative mindset toward volunteering. We test our predictions across three experimental studies using behavioral measures in different non-profit organizational settings. The findings contribute to research on the role of pride in prosocial consumer behavior by providing empirical evidence that self-pride and vicarious-pride lead to different mindsets and behavioral outcomes.

Gift Giving at Israeli Weddings as a Function of Genetic Relatedness and Kinship Certainty

Article

Jan 2018

This study examines gift giving at Israeli weddings. In accordance with kin selection theory, we hypothesized that wedding guests possessing greater genetic relatedness to the newlyweds would offer greater sums of money as wedding gifts. We also hypothesized that family members stemming from the maternal side (where the genetic lineage has higher kinship certainty) would offer the newlyweds more money than those stemming from the paternal side. Data on the monetary gift sums of the wedding guests from 30 weddings were collapsed according to two criteria: (a) genetic relatedness (0%, 6.25%, 12.5%, 25%, and 50%) and (b) kinship certainty (maternal or paternal lineage). Both hypotheses were supported. We discuss the implications of these data in understanding family dynamics, as well as practical applications associated with the marketing of gifts.

Are Aesthetic Preferences Affected by Gender and Age Differences?

Article

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Apr 2024

Mittheera Leelayudthyothin

Aesthetic preferences can be crucial for any brand that considers consumer favorites as essential. Form and shape are the most fundamental design elements concerned for all kinds of products and services. Gender and age differences were the main explanatory variables of interest in this study. The perceptions of two forms comprising representation and geometry associated with two contrary shapes involving solid versus airy, were examined. One hundred and eighty respondents participated by using convenience sampling method. Data collection was obtained through an online questionnaire survey and analyzed by ANOVA statistics. The findings suggested that the representational form is recommended for all ages. All genders appreciate it when it combines with solid shape. In addition, the design of geometric form with airy shape is suggested for LGBTQ and younger clients. The implications in this research offer the insight design guidelines for the use of gender and age differences concerned businesses.

Beyond the Odds: Framing and Taming Base-Rate Neglect in Organizational and Consumer Decision-Making

Chapter

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Feb 2024

Caner Çeşmeci

This chapter offers an exploration of base-rate neglect in decision-making, focusing on its implications across various domains, including marketing, consumer behavior, and strategic management. The chapter unfolds in four key dimensions: first, it revisits and discusses base-rate neglect within a novel framework. Second, it provides theoretical perspectives elucidating how base-rate neglect operates in decision-making, incorporating theoretical stances from the heuristics and biases program, evolutionary paradigms, and construal level theory. Third, the chapter examines recent developments in the literature to identify mitigating factors that influence this bias. Lastly, it proposes managerially relevant remedies for decision-makers to counteract base-rate neglect, offering insights into the application of bias-mitigating strategies. In light of an interdisciplinary theoretical lens, this chapter contributes to a deeper understanding of base-rate neglect, offering theoretical insights and practical strategies for decision-makers at both the organizational and consumer levels. "Whenever there is a simple error that most laymen fall for, there is always a slightly more sophisticated version of the same problem that experts fall for." Amos Tversky

Consumer Behaviour and Digital Transformation

Book

Feb 2024

Ayantunji Gbadamosi

Child images affect sports fans' prosociality and aggression

Article

Dec 2023

This study explores the effect of child images in advertisements on financial support provided by team fans -including the intention to buy licensed club products- and reported aggression toward rival team fans. An online experiment was conducted on Turkey’s three largest rival club fans (Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray, and Bes¸iktas¸). Used visual materials were derived from Football (Study 1) and Basketball (Study 2). Fans (N = 496) exposed to the appeals with child images showed a higher intention to support their team financially and buy licensed club products; however, the stated aggression toward rival club fans did not differ. A follow-up experimental study (N = 132) was conducted on Fenerbahçe fans to retest this insignificant effect, in which fans’ state aggression is increased through a motivation video. It is concluded that this approach was only effective on aggression for the fans whose team identification was significantly higher. Findings are discussed within the kin selection theory and kindchenschema cuteness concept.

Bases ecológicas e evolutivas do comportamento humano

Book

Full-text available

Oct 2022

Ulysses Paulino de Albuquerque

Este livro foi pensado para ser um primeiro texto introdutório às bases ecológicas e evolutivas do comportamento humano, voltado para o ensino ao nível de graduação. Embora cada capítulo possa ser lido em qualquer ordem, organizamos de modo que a sequência sugerida permita ao aprofundamento paulatino dos diferentes conceitos e disciplinas dedi- cadas aos estudos do comportamento humano.

Integrating an evolutionary perspective of 'self-concept' in consumer research

Research

Full-text available

Oct 2022
J Consum Market

Purpose The purpose of the study is to propose a framework for understanding the dynamism of the human self-system from evolutionary and socio-psychological perspective. The study aims to help scholars interested to use an evolutionary lens for examining consumer behaviour. Design/methodology/approach Relying on the principle of self-cybernetics, the study proposed a general framework explaining the operating mechanism of human self-system. The proposed framework incorporates the socio-psychological and the evolutionary perspective of the human self-concept. Findings The framework may help consumer scholars to integrate socio-psychological and evolutionary theories to produce novel and testable hypotheses. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt to propose a framework based on the principle of cybernetics to facilitate the use of an evolutionary lens in consumer research.

The pandemic consumer response: A stockpiling perspective and shopping channel preferences The pandemic consumer response: A stockpiling perspective and shopping channel preferences

Article

May 2022
BRIT J MANAGE

Covid-19 has changed consumer behaviour, probably forever. Initial consumer stockpiling led to stockouts, threat and uncertainty for consumers. To overcome shortages, consumers expanded their use of channels and many consumers started buying online for the first time. In this paper we aim to address important research gaps related to consumer behaviour during the pandemic and especially stockpiling. Our paper starts by presenting the findings of our pre-study, which used social media to elicit or confirm potential constructs for our quantitative models. These constructs complemented the Protection Motivations Theory (PMT) to explain stockpiling behaviour, forming the basis for Study 1, the stockpiling preparation stage, and Study 2, the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic disruptor on customer service logistics and lockdown shopping channel preferences. For studies 1 and 2 we gathered data via a UK online panel structured questionnaire survey (n=603). Results confirm that consumer-driven changes to supply chains emanate largely from consumer uncertainty. Lockdown restrictions lead to consumers feeling socially excluded, but enhance consumers' positive attitudes towards shopping online and increase consumers' altruism. In response, consumers stockpiled by visiting physical stores and/or ordering online. Lockdown restrictions led to feelings of social exclusion but, importantly, stockpiling helps to minimise consumer anxiety and fear and even increases wellbeing.

Chooser or suitor? The effects of mating cues on men’s versus women’s reactions to commercial rejection

Article

Full-text available

Nov 2021
MARKET LETT

Men are more likely than women to pursue a romantic relationship; thus, men might also be more prepared than women to face rejection. In this research, we suggest that a mating goal might induce a low treatment expectation in men when they seek a romantic relationship and that this motivation can be generalized as a commercial treatment expectation in a marketing context to alleviate men’s negative response to commercial rejection. However, this effect might not occur for women, who have relatively high status when seeking a romantic relationship. Three studies examined these possibilities and showed that activating a mating goal may cause men to respond to commercial rejection less negatively but may not influence women’s response to commercial rejection and that commercial treatment expectation mediates these effects.

Why display motion on packaging? The effect of implied motion on consumer behavior

Article

Jan 2022
J Retailing Consum Serv

Visual packaging elements play a crucial role in influencing consumer behavior in stores. Front of pack (FOP) formats frequently present images of the product in motion (i.e., implied motion), especially in food categories. Despite the popularity of implied motion in real-world business, little research has been done to understand its effect on consumer behavior. To fill this gap, the present study adopts an evolutionary lens to investigate the impact of implied motion as a packaging design technique on consumers’ attention, product evaluation, purchase intention and choice. We carried out two experiments using realistic milk and orange juice packaging. Specifically, Experiment 1 was conducted in a lab using an eye tracking method to provide an objective measure of attention. The findings show that implied motion significantly increases visual attention and consequently generates more frequent choices. Using an online experimental design and declarative measures, Experiment 2 indicates that implied motion also enhances freshness, which translates into greater tastiness, product attractiveness and, ultimately, purchase intention. The study provides marketers with an inexpensive yet efficient way to enhance in-store marketing performance by incorporating implied motion into the FOP design.

Subpopulations of Addictive Behaviors in Different Sample Types and Their Relationships with Gender, Personality, and Well-Being: Latent Profile vs. Latent Class Analysis

Article

Full-text available

Aug 2021
Int J Environ Res Publ Health

Background: Relatively strong theoretical assumptions and previous studies concerning co-occurring addictive behaviors suggest a subpopulation representing general proclivity to behavioral addictions (BAs), and there are gender-specific subpopulations. This study aimed to compare latent profile analysis (LPA) and latent class analysis (LCA) as the methods of investigating different clusters of BAs in the general student population and among students positively screened for at least one BA. Participants and procedure: Analyses of six BAs (study, shopping, gaming, Facebook, pornography, and food) and their potential antecedents (personality) and consequences (well-being) were conducted on a full sample of Polish undergraduate students (N = 1182) and a subsample (n = 327) of students including individuals fulfilling cutoff for at least one BA. Results: LPA on the subsample mostly replicated the previous four profiles found in the full sample. However, LCA on a full sample did not replicate previous findings using LPA and showed only two classes: those with relatively high probabilities on all BAs and low probabilities. LCA on the subsample conflated profiles identified with LPA and classes found with LCA in the full sample. Conclusions: LCA on dichotomized scores (screened positively vs. negatively) were less effective in identifying clear patterns of interrelationships between BAs based on relatively strong theoretical assumptions and found in previous research. BAs can be investigated on the whole spectrum of behavior, and person-centered analyses might be more useful when they are based on continuous scores. This paper provides more detailed analyses of the four basic clusters of BAs, prevalence, and co-occurrence of particular BAs within and between them, their gender and personality risk factors, relationships to well-being, and their interrelationships as emerging from the results of this and previous studies.

Consumer confidence and conspicuous consumption: A conservation of resources perspective

Article

Full-text available

Feb 2021
Int J Consum Stud

As the global economy faces major contraction, speculation abounds that conspicuously branded products will be especially vulnerable. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between consumer confidence and conspicuous consumption. Drawing on conservation of resources theory, we develop a theoretical model, which we test with data from a sample of Brazilian consumers (n = 1,043), using structural equation modeling and moderated mediation analysis. Results reveal that financial insecurity, need for status, and anticipated luxury guilt each positively mediate the consumer confidence‐conspicuous consumption relationship. The effects of consumer confidence on conspicuous consumption via financial insecurity and anticipated luxury guilt are strongest for the highest socioeconomic status consumers.

Text is gendered: the role of letter case

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2021
MARKET LETT

This research investigates the association between letter case and perception of gender. We propose that referents are judged as more feminine (vs. masculine) when their names are written with lowercase (vs. uppercase) letters. This effect emerges independent of differences in the size in which the letters appear and cannot be fully explained by differences in angularity. We further identify that evaluations of feminine (vs. masculine) objects become more favorable upon presenting their names in lowercase (vs. uppercase) letters. This association between gender and letter case is more pronounced for referents with a clear gender identity (e.g., fragrances and not vacuums). By first identifying and then exploring consequences of the novel link between letter case and gender, the present investigation contributes to research on linguistics, inference, and conceptual associations while also providing insights as to how to construct communication tools most effectively.

Cosmetic surgeries as conspicuous consumption: Disclosing information about having undergone cosmetic surgery signals social status

Preprint

Full-text available

Dec 2020

Despite the risks associated with cosmetic procedures, the global cosmetic surgery market is growing rapidly. What motivates consumers to engage in these costly and risky beautification efforts? The existing literature, laypeople, and plastic surgeons point to variables such as thinking styles, social media use, and aesthetics-related reasons. Drawing on evolutionarybased theories, we challenge these assumptions by proposing and providing empirical evidence for the notion that both men and women can increase their inferred social status by disclosing participation in cosmetic procedures (Studies 1–3). In addition, women—but not men—receive a "beauty premium" and hence are perceived as more physically attractive when they disclose such information, leading to an increase in their perceived social status (Study 4). Finally, we show that status seeking, both measured and manipulated, predicts consumers’ willingness to undergo cosmetic procedures (Study 5). Taken together, our results extend previous research by showing that consumers may "go under the knife" to signal social status.

Mind Genomics: Accelerating and Scaling Our Understanding of the Everyday Mind and its Prospects for Efforts in Nutrition

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Full-text available

Nov 2020

Fear Of Missing Out Scale: A self‐concept perspective

Article

Full-text available

Nov 2020
PSYCHOL MARKET

Fear of missing out (FOMO) is an emerging topic in consumer psychology. However, the theoretical foundations of FOMO are underdeveloped and extant FOMO scales confine the construct to the context of social media. Without a theoretical foundation and a new FOMO scale, the future development of research on this promising phenomenon is limited. This article provides a new conceptualization of FOMO and a new FOMO scale. Using self‐concept theory, the authors propose that FOMO is an emotional response to perceived psychological threats to one's self‐concept. Because the self‐concept involves a private and a public self, FOMO involves two dimensions: a personal FOMO and a social FOMO. Accordingly, a new scale was developed. The results of four studies support the validity and reliability of the two‐dimensional scale. This new conceptualization and scale will enable consumer researchers to examine FOMO in a broader set of contexts, test the relationship between FOMO and related constructs, and develop a nomological network around the construct.

Conspicuous gifting: When and why women (do not) appreciate men's romantic luxury gifts

Article

Mar 2020

While research suggests that conspicuously displaying luxury goods can help men signal desirable qualities such as high earning capacity and social status, little is known about how women evaluate and interpret luxury items given as romantic gifts by men. The current research explores this under-researched question and reveals that women do not always react favorably to luxury gifts. Instead, women are wary that accepting luxury gifts may lead to relationship power imbalance, which prompts less favorable reactions to such gifts. We also test the competing explanation of relationship commitment and find that signaling commitment does not emerge until a relationship becomes more established. Furthermore, individual differences in power distance belief (PDB) are explored to test our theoretical explanation with results indicating that women low in PDB are more likely to have concerns about power imbalance. Together, these findings highlight the unique role of luxury gifts in romantic relationships and thereby advance our understanding of when and why men's romantic luxury gifts will be appreciated by women. More generally, our findings provide nuanced insights into the power dynamics between men and women and the progression of a romantic relationship. Implications for luxury consumption and gender stereotypes are discussed.

Women’s Strategic Defenses Against Same-Sex Aggression: Evidence From Sartorial Behavior

Article

Nov 2019

Women’s intrasexual competition has received significant attention only in the last decades, with even less work investigating women’s defenses against such aggression. Yet, we should expect that women can (a) grasp which perceptually-salient cues evoke same-sex aggression and (b) strategically damp the display of (some of) those cues when aggression risk is greatest, thereby avoiding the potentially high costs of victimization. Women selectively aggress against women displaying cues of sexual permissiveness (e.g., revealing dress) and/or desirability (e.g., physical attractiveness). We find that (a) women (and men) anticipate greater intrasexual aggression toward women dressed revealingly versus modestly, especially if targets are attractive. Employing behavioral and self-report measures, we also find (b) women create outfits baring less skin, select more modest clothing, and intend to dress less revealingly to encounter other women, flexibly damping permissiveness cues depending on individual features (physical attractiveness) and situational features (being a newcomer) that amplify aggression risk.

Are identical twins more similar in their decision making styles than their fraternal counterparts?

Article

Apr 2019
J BUS RES

Using a twin study paradigm, the genetic basis of decision making styles was explored using psychometric scales as well as actual choices. Study 1 compared monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins along the General Decision Making Scale (GDMS) and the Maximizing-Satisficing Inventory (MAX). MZ twins exhibited greater similarity than their DZ counterparts in terms of their overall GDMS scores, three of the GDMS subscales, and the MAX inventory. Study 2 measured key information processing metrics of actual choices that individuals made via a computerized informational display board. MZ twins are more similar to one another than DZ twins when it comes to the extent of information search prior to making a choice. There were no differences between the two groups of twins in terms of the selectivity and pattern of searches. The results of the two studies suggest that individuals' decision making styles are in part shaped by their genes.

Gendered products act as the extended phenotype of human sexual dimorphism: They increase physical attractiveness and desirability

Article

Full-text available

Mar 2019
J BUS RES

Gendered marketing is a pervasive trend, despite the public controversies it generates. Most of research so far has focused on the socialization-based perspectives of gendered marketing to explain this phenomenon. In this research, we ask the following instrumental question: which benefits can men and women derive from owning gender-typical variants of consumer goods? We propose that gender-typical products can act as the extended phenotype of human sexual dimorphism, broadcasting a cultural equivalent to the signals issued by biological, secondary sexual characteristics. Based on evidence showing that secondary sexual characteristics increase attractiveness and desirability, we predict that gender-typical products increase the attractiveness and desirability of their owners by acting as supernormal stimuli of sexual dimorphism. An internal meta-analysis across three studies confirms that consumers who own gender-typical products are mentally pictured as more physically attractive. We also find that owners of gender-typical products can be perceived as sexier, and more desirable partners.

Emotions and Feelings: Some Aspects for the HCI-Community – A Work in Progress Paper

Chapter

Full-text available

Jun 2018
Lect Notes Comput Sci

Everyone has experienced emotions and everybody knows what they are – at least, we think we know. Asked for an explanation, the response will likely be something along the lines of “happiness is an emotion” or “if I’m scared of something, it is also an emotion.” Such imprecise and in the narrower sense incorrect definitions are entirely sufficient for everyday use. But this is obviously not the case in science as well as in corporate practice. After all, important recommendations for the economy should be derived from well-founded studies. As a first step, this requires that the term “emotions” means the same to everybody. At the present time, this is wishful thinking. A steadily rising number of publications are produced within the HCI community, in which in part elaborate measuring techniques are used to account for emotions with different study designs. However, this approach appears to be problematic, because a standard definition of “emotions” has yet to be established. The purpose of this publication is to draw the attention of the HCI community to this issue and to start a worthwhile conversation with an attempt at providing a definition. It concludes with a specific recommendation as to which physiological measuring methods would be conducive for answering corporate research questions.

The initiator effect in reciprocal altruism: The impact of brand’s role on consumers’ prosocial behavior in reciprocal relations

Article

Jan 2025
Acta Psychol Sin

He Loves the One He Has Invested In: The Effects of Mating Cues on Men’s and Women’s Sunk Cost Bias

Article

Jul 2024

The sunk cost bias, that is, people’s suboptimal tendency to continue to pursue previously invested options, has been found in many domains, and various mechanisms have been proposed. The current study offers a novel perspective for understanding sunk cost bias. Drawing on previous findings suggesting that sunk cost bias may be adaptive and promoted by fundamental motives, it is theorized that sunk cost bias may be a goal-oriented behavior in the mating domain and that this bias can extend to consumption domains (e.g., product/service with nonrefundable deposits, lotteries earned through prior effort, loyalty program memberships obtained through previous purchases) when mating cues are salient. One field study and seven experiments (six of which were pre-registered) demonstrated that mating cues strengthen an implemental mindset among men (vs. women). Consequently, men exhibit a stronger sunk cost bias in consumption when mating cues are salient. However, this effect was not found among women due to differences in their mating tactics. In addition, this article distinguishes sunk cost effect from status quo bias and rules out multiple alternative explanations for the results (including affect, overconfidence, the investment-payoff link, persistence, perceived morality, shame, guilt, and disgust associated with abandoning the original option).

A avaliação do investimento parental e aloparental em humanos

Chapter

Full-text available

Aug 2022

Mate Retention

Chapter

Jul 2022

Jitka Lindova

The interface of sexual behavior and evolutionary psychology is a rapidly growing domain, rich in psychological theories and data as well as controversies and applications. With nearly eighty chapters by leading researchers from around the world, and combining theoretical and empirical perspectives, The Cambridge Handbook of Evolutionary Perspectives on Sexual Psychology is the most comprehensive and up-to-date reference work in the field. Providing a broad yet in-depth overview of the various evolutionary principles that influence all types of sexual behaviors, the handbook takes an inclusive approach that draws on a number of disciplines and covers nonhuman and human psychology. It is an essential resource for both established researchers and students in psychology, biology, anthropology, medicine, and criminology, among other fields. Volume 3: Female Sexual Adaptations addresses theory and research focused on sexual adaptations in human females.

Brand Gender und Equity durch Markendesign

Chapter

May 2023

Theo Lieven

Price preferences reveal asymmetric price effect—A preliminary study

Article

Jun 2021

In the context of the consumption of two food products, we demonstrate that the price-framing affect distribution is bi-model, rather than normal. We do this through a preference typology for expensive versus cheap products, conducted through two independent tasting experiments: one involving chocolate the other, cheese. Participants made product quality judgments, first without price information and then with. Crucially, each tasting line-up carried a pair of identical but differently priced products. In each experiment the results split the sample populations into two subsets: those who preferred the more expensive duplicate products and those who either preferred the cheaper alternative or were price neutral. Through testing of a high/low price-preference typology, we find evidence of strong-positive price affectation for individuals that prefer high priced, but identical products. Such asymmetrical susceptibility to price information suggests that food-based price framing effects may be also experienced by different populations at markedly different intensities. Practical Applications Practical implications for marketers of fast-moving consumer goods are provided. Due to the bi-model distribution of price-framing affect rates, we submit that vulnerability to the framing effect is not universal among consumers. Therefore, by identifying those consumers who are more price sensitive, emphasis can be placed on highlighting the extrinsic product characteristics of these goods, such as price, rather than on the intrinsic qualities such as smell, taste and texture. Advertising should also be tailored in content, style and tone when targeting these different types of consumers. The study also builds on the work relating to cue-based segmentation of consumers and posits the idea that segmentation can be conducted based on their sensitivity to the price cue.

A Thematic Exploration of Strong Emotional Appeals Based on Evolutionary Psychology

Chapter

Jun 2021

Marketers frequently use emotional appeals in their ads to attract the attention of consumers and to effectively persuade them to buy the advertised product. There is, however, no study yet that presents a content overview of possible strong emotional appeals. Previous studies on emotional appeals mostly used own pretested stimuli or pictures from the International Affective Picture System. Why these stimuli evoke an emotional response is, however, unclear. This could be derived from evolutionary psychology that proposes general human goals that we all (consciously or unconsciously) try to achieve. Although there are plenty of theoretical papers concerning these human goals, in our knowledge, there is only one study that empirically tested these motives. Therefore, we first performed an exploratory study to investigate which human goals could be derived out of the four basic evolutionary selection mechanisms (natural, sexual, kin and social selection). Out of this study, we proposed six evolutionary goals (survival, short term mating, long term mating, parental investment, kin investment and social investment) that are all found to be very important and that are broadly in line with the dimensions of previously proposed goal models. Next, we performed an experimental study with a 6 (goals: survival, short term mating, long term mating, parental investment, kin investment and social investment) x 2 (success in achieving versus failure to achieve the goal) within subjects design. The results of this study confirmed that pictures of success in achieving or failure to achieve the various proposed evolutionary goals are respectively strong positive or negative emotionally competent stimuli. In addition, we found some small differences across life stages, gender and parental status.

Vicarious animosity: Taking sides on provocative issues

Article

Dec 2020
J BUS RES

This study introduces the concept of vicarious animosity, which is a type of consumer antagonism held against a country involved in a geopolitical conflict outside the consumer’s home country. Our study is grounded in values theory and we present arguments for Schwartz’s values of power, universalism, and openness to change as systematic predictors of anger and hope in a third-party conflict. We examine our conceptual framework among Croatian consumers evaluating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and find that power value systematically predicts anger toward Palestine, whereas universalism predicts anger toward Israel. Universalism is also found to be significantly associated with hope. The openness to change value is only related to hope. Consistent with expectations, we find significant effects between anger/hope and consumers’ buying intentions. Vicarious animosity has important theoretical implications for our understanding of consumer animosity and managerial implications for the managers of brands from countries involved in geopolitical conflicts.

Evolutionary psychological consumer research: Bold, bright, but better with behavior

Article

Jul 2020
J BUS RES

This special issue includes state-of-the-art papers that leverage various theories from evolutionary psychology (EP) to shed light on important consumption-related phenomena. Our guest editorial provides an overview of this EP-based consumer research, highlighting the key content, common denominators, and significant strengths of the articles. The papers cover a wide variety of topics, characteristic of evolutionary-informed research, that we structure around the following three themes: (1) Mating, marketing, and meaningful motivating forces, (2) Conspicuous consumption and salient signs of "showing off," and (3) Human hormones and biologically-based business research. We close our guest editorial by highlighting the crucial challenges of capturing real behavior, favoring field work, and promoting wisely conducted replication studies, which we deem to be fundamental in order to move this research area further forward.

The evolution-similarity matrix: an evolutionary psychology perspective on cross-cultural advertising

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2020

The standardization/adaptation debate in cross-cultural advertising is a topic on which little consensus prevails and which remains heavily discussed. Using evolutionary psychology, this paper presents a typology of advertising cues and explains their cross-cultural relevance and transportability. The paper highlights three distinct categories – human universals (evolved similarities), local adaptations (evolved differences), and local socialization (differences not due to evolution). The paper contributes to advertising theory by providing a meta-framework for the study of cross-cultural similarities and differences in the processing of advertising cues. It further assists advertising practice by delivering a framework aiding in cross-cultural advertising copy decisions. By raising the questions that the paper poses to develop the proposed typology categories, advertisers can identify which advertising cues are malleable by advertising and which are based on innate human preferences and are relatively stable. With that knowledge in hand, advertisers can decide when and to what extent to use a standardization approach versus an adaptation approach.

Structure, Evidence, and Heuristic: Evolutionary Biology, Economics, and the Philosophy of Their Relationship

Book

Apr 2020

Armin W. Schulz

Konsumentenverständnis und Marketing

Chapter

Feb 2020

Harald Kindermann

Ausgehend von einem umfassenden und ganzheitlichen Marketing-Verständnis, das die Wünsche und Bedürfnisse der Konsumentinnen/Konsumenten in den Mittelpunkt stellt, werden die in diesem Buch vorgestellten theoretischen Erläuterungen zum Konsumentenverständnis auf relevante Fragestellungen des Marketings umgelegt. Dabei werden die Arten von unterschiedlichen Kaufentscheidungen vorgestellt und eine Käufertypologie und Marktsegmentierungsansätze vorgeschlagen. Abschließend wird noch ein sogenanntes Einstellungsveränderungsmodell erläutert.

A Chronology of Health Care Marketing Research

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2019

Dawn Iacobucci

This monograph describes the marketing research that has been published in the top marketing journals since their inception relating to health care, broadly defined. Over 1,000 articles are summarized across the chapters relating to consumer behavior and food, consumer behavior and other consumption, and business marketing issues. Research from outside of marketing is also briefly reviewed. This monograph celebrates the research that has been accomplished and closes with suggestions for future research.

Tourism boycotts and animosity: A study of seven events

Article

Full-text available

Nov 2019
ANN TOURISM RES

The impacts of tourism boycotts on a destination's tourist economy can be vast, yet few studies have examined such events. This paper explores the effects of tourism boycotts by analysing seven events involving Chinese tourism boycotts during the past decade. The findings show that boycotts can significantly decrease visitor numbers. Also, non-political animosity boycotts and political animosity boycotts differ in their intensity and impact; the former are found to exert immediate short-term impacts, whereas the latter tend to have enduring effects. These results are based on local projection techniques using narratively identified boycott events and are robust to several specifications. This paper highlights tourism boycotts as a key risk factor in destination management.

NÖROPAZARLAMA DAVRANIŞSAL DENEYLERLE REKLAMIN TÜKETİCİ ÜZERİNDEKİ ETKİSİ

Book

Full-text available

Apr 2019

Selçuk Köylüoğlu

Consumers transferring from agriculture society to industrial society, changing life standards and rich product options have necessitated radical changes in the concept of marketing beyond traditional perspective by breaking the routine. In this regard, business establishments desire to have fewer mistakes in defining human wishes and needs; in other words they intend to gain strategic competitive advantage upon their rivals through a conceptual point of view. It is a fact that such a success as having the mentioned specialities and standing on foot among the giant rivals by doubling the corporate value in long term cannot be an example of a success gained through traditional methods in a market where innovative changes can occur anytime. Hence, experts taking place in a market where no isolation of change exists have to take subconscious elements into consideration lying under body&mind correlation if they are willing to learn what consumers think of, the dynamics they care when they make decisions and the secrets of their decisions. Neuromarketing, which has futuristic qualifications by using various measuring techniques in terms of scientific data and statistical calculations away from utopia, which is also a field of study creating foresights in this direction besides being a field of study with high reality and a window opening into human brain , and a marriage of marketing and science, is trying to solve the riddle by mixing marketing researches with science in accordance with the reasons mentioned above. The problem that individuals, with their complexity, behave under the effect of both their logic and emotions and this can cause them to become distanced to reality is the focus of neuromarketing and in this study neuromarketing is compared to traditional marketing and covered in details; in the empiric part advertisements preparing the potential customers for the seller visits and the effects of messages hidden in them on consumers are investigated through neuromarketing point of view. With the practice, it is aimed to increase the effect level and added value of the topic that is covered in multiple dimensions.

User design through self-customization

Chapter

Jan 2015

Introduction Open any introductory marketing textbook and you will learn that the role of the firm is to create, communicate, and deliver value to the consumer who, in turn, takes the passive role of paying and consuming. For many years, this was, in fact, how marketers, consumer researchers, and psychologists perceived these two roles; the notion of consumer input into value creation was almost entirely neglected.This began to change when researchers in the area of innovation identified product users modifying and innovating on their own. In fact, von Hippel, De Jong, and Flowers (2012) found that in a representative sample of UK consumers, more than 6 percent had engaged in product modification or innovation during the prior three years, resulting in annual product development expenditures 1.4 times larger than the respective research and development (R&D) expenditures of all UK firms. More broadly, what emerged was the concept of “democratizing innovation,” that getting users actively involved in the process of new product development (NPD) can be a great source of value to the consumer and, thus, the firm (von Hippel, 2005). Today, consumer input is a recognized force in new product development, so much so that the Marketing Science Institute (MSI) listed it as one of its top priorities for exploration for 2008 through 2010.A parallel development in the marketplace has been that firms are going after smaller and more well-defined segments (Dalgic & Leeuw, 1994; Kotler & Armstrong, 2013). This is due to a number of factors, including the abundance of brands competing in many sectors; the rapid growth in media outlets, particularly online; and the increasing amount of information available on individual consumers. The result is that, in both media (Nelson-Field & Riebe, 2011) and products (Dalgic, 2006), the use of niche marketing is on the rise, while mass marketing is becoming an increasingly less viable option, particularly for new products.These two developments, consumer involvement in design as well as smaller target markets, have resulted in the practice of self-customization, where instead of offering ready-made products, the firm equips consumers with the tools to customize and design their own product. This can be viewed as the ultimate form of niche marketing, where the resulting segments consist of individuals.

Machiavellianism: A Synthesis of the Evolutionary and Psychological Literatures

Article

Full-text available

Mar 1996

Manipulative strategies of social conduct (Machiavellianism) have been studied by both psychologists and evolutionary biologists. The authors use the psychological literature as a database to test evolutionary hypotheses about the adaptive advantages of manipulative social behavior. Machiavellianism does not correlate with general intelligence and does not consistently lead to real-world success. It is best regarded as 1 of several social strategies, broadly similar to the “defect” strategy of evolutionary game theory, which is successful in some situations but not others. In general, human evolutionary psychology and evolutionary game theory provide useful frameworks for thinking about behavioral strategies, such as Machiavellianism, and identify a large number of specific hypotheses that have not yet been tested by personality and social psychologists.

Unified Psychology

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2001

The authors describe an approach to psychology they refer to as unified psychology, which is the multiparadigmatic, multidisciplinary, and integrated study of psychological phenomena through converging operations. In this article, they unpack this definition and explore some of its implications. First, they review some previous efforts to conceive of a unified psychology and consider objections to such an undertaking. Second, they discuss the importance of converging operations for psychology. Third, they consider the need for multidisciplinary and integrated study of psychological phenomena that focuses on the phenomena rather than on particular lines of disciplinary inquiry. Fourth, they ponder the problem of investigators' becoming locked into a single paradigm with its attendant set of presuppositions about psychological theory and research. Fifth, they outline some possible objections to their proposal and respond to them. Finally, they discuss some implications of their views.

Fears, Phobias, and Preparedness: Toward an Evolved Module of Fear and Fear Learning

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2001

An evolved module for fear elicitation and fear learning with 4 characteristics is proposed. (a) The fear module is preferentially activated in aversive contexts by stimuli that are fear relevant in an evolutionary perspective. (b) Its activation to such stimuli is automatic. (c) It is relatively impenetrable to cognitive control. (d) It originates in a dedicated neural circuitry, centered on the amygdala. Evidence supporting these propositions is reviewed from conditioning studies, both in humans and in monkeys; illusory correlation studies; studies using unreportable stimuli; and studies from animal neuroscience. The fear module is assumed to mediate an emotional level of fear learning that is relatively independent and dissociable from cognitive learning of stimulus relationships.

Family Relationships: An Evolutionary Perspective

Book

Full-text available

Oct 2007

Kinship ties - the close relationships found within the family - have been a central focus of evolutionary biological analyses of social behavior ever since biologist William Hamilton extended the concept of Darwinian fitness to include an individual's actions benefiting not only his own offspring, but also collateral kin. Evolutionary biologists consider organisms not only reproductive strategists, but also nepotistic strategists. If a person's genes are just as likely to be reproduced in her sister as in her daughter, then we should expect the evolution of sororal investment in the same way as one expects maternal investment. This concept has revolutionized biologists' understanding of social interaction and developmental psychologists' understanding of the family. However, kinship ties have largely been ignored in other areas of psychology, particularly social psychology. This book illustrates the ways in which an evolutionary perspective can inform our study and understanding of family relationships. It is argued that family psychology is relationship specific: the relationship between mother and daughter is different from that between father and daughter or that between brother and sister or sister and sister. In other words, humans have evolved specialized mechanisms for processing information and motivating behavior that deal with the distinct demands of being a mate, father, mother, sibling, child, or grandparent. Such an evolutionary perspective on family dynamics provides a unique insight into human behavior.

Parental Investment and Sexual Selection

Chapter

Full-text available

Jan 1972

Robert Trivers

An Evolutionary Interpretation of Gift-Giving Behavior in Modern Norwegian Society

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2006

We have studied gift giving at Christmas among 50 graduate students in Norway. The students invested more the closer the coefficient of relatedness. However, partners ranked highest, which is natural for people at the start of their reproductive career. All students gave to their parents, siblings, and children, most gave to their grandparents, and only a third gave to some, but not all, of their genetic aunts/uncles. Twenty percent gave to first cousins, and none to second or third cousins. Similar patterns for gifts received were found. There were also sex differences (e.g. women had larger exchange networks than men), and birth order effects. Firstborns spent more on relatives than laterborns. However, middleborns gave more to their male friends than both firstborns and lastborns. We conclude that the results are consistent with theories of kin selection, reciprocity, sex differences and birth order effects.

Gender differences in risk taking: A meta-analysis

Article

Full-text available

May 1999

The authors conducted a meta-analysis of 150 studies in which the risk-taking tendencies of male and female participants were compared. Studies were coded with respect to type of task (e.g., self-reported behaviors vs. observed behaviors), task content (e.g., smoking vs. sex), and 5 age levels. Results showed that the average effects for 14 out of 16 types of risk taking were significantly larger than 0 (indicating greater risk taking in male participants) and that nearly half of the effects were greater than .20. However, certain topics (e.g., intellectual risk taking and physical skills) produced larger gender differences than others (e.g., smoking). In addition, the authors found that (a) there were significant shifts in the size of the gender gap between successive age levels, and (b) the gender gap seems to be growing smaller over time. The discussion focuses on the meaning of the results for theories of risk taking and the need for additional studies to clarify age trends.

The baby effect and young male syndrome: Social influences on cooperative risk-taking in women and men

Article

Full-text available

Sep 2012
EVOL HUM BEHAV

Parental investment theory predicts differences in risk-taking for females and males as a consequence of reproductive context, with females attempting to reduce risks in relation to their own offspring (here called the baby effect) and males taking more risks in competition with one another (young male syndrome). The experiment we report tests these predictions in a cooperative context by introducing the Social Balloon Analogue Risk Task—the Balloon Analogue Risk Task modified to include a social partner (adult male, adult female, or baby)—along with a commitment device in which participants choose among several possible social partners, with whom they will share their earnings. Results were consistent with the predictions of parental investment theory. Females did not change their levels of risk-taking when paired with adult males or females, but showed a strong reduction in risk when paired with babies. Consistent with previous research, males were strongly inclined to take more risks when paired with another male of the same age, but males showed no change in risk-taking when paired with a female of the same age or a child. The current work provides the first experimental evidence of gender differences in cooperative social risk-taking, as well as the first experimental evidence of a mediator of female risk-taking, i.e., babies.

You ain't woman enough to take my man: Female intrasexual competition as portrayed in songs

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2012

The goal of the current study was to explore, via qualitative means, female intrasexual competition for mates as documented in the lyrics of popular songs that are sung by female musicians. Similar to the recent Darwinian analyses of art and literature, we sought to explore the various tactics and emotions underlying the female competitive experience by way of examining a selection of these songs. Our review shows a wide array of topics, such as reactions to mate poaching, feelings of ownership for mates, attempts to persuade a mate that the rival is not a suitable alternative, and noting differences in mate value between oneself and a perceived potential rival. Most of these topics fall within the documented strategies for intrasexual competition. We discuss these findings within the context of women's competition for mates, as well as the applicability of Darwinian literary analysis to other human artifacts. © 2012 Journal of Social, Evolutionary, and Cultural Psychology.

Sensory Factors and Consumer Behavior

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2008

Determinants of Male Attractiveness: "Hotness" Ratings as a Function of Perceived Resources

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2010

Evolutionary theories have been used in numerous studies to successfully predict the mate selection preferences of both sexes. These studies have consistently shown that men throughout the world place a greater degree of emphasis on physical beauty while women place greater emphasis on financial prospects. Previous studies have also demonstrated that symbols designating resource accruement can be manipulated experimentally to enhance or diminish the attractiveness of a male in a controlled environment. Our study seeks to build upon this research by seeking to establish a linear, positive relationship between a male's attractiveness as perceived by the opposite sex and resource accruement. We utilize the popular online dating/rating website HotOrNot.com whereby users rate the "hotness" of strangers. The website offers a platform to obtain high N values from a naturalistic setting that should confer high external reliability. We manipulated the resources of a target male by placing him in an identical position next to three cars of vastly different monetary values that implies ownership of each car. Our results generally support the hypothesis of a positive linear relationship between a male's attractiveness and the value of his resources.

Applications of Evolutionary Psychology in Marketing

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2000
PSYCHOL MARKET

Evolutionary psychology is an emerging paradigm in psychological science. The current article introduces this framework to marketing scholars and presents evidence for its increasing acceptance within the social science community. As a result, a case is made for the application of evolutionary psychology to marketing, and especially consumer behavior. Application of the evolutionary framework in studying gender-related consumption behavior is illustrated by comparing the evolutionary predictions with results obtained from previous studies, by supporting these predictions with market-level consumption data, and by proposing new hypotheses based on this framework. Also discussed are the potential applications of evolutionary psychology to other consumption-related phenomena like evaluation of endorser attractiveness in advertising, biologically driven consumption choices among women, consumer-experienced emotions in service encounters, and consumption choices as inclusive fitness maximization rather than utility maximization. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

A proposed taxonomy of human evolved psychological adaptations

Article

Full-text available

Sep 2011

Niruban Balachandran

This paper discusses the need for a comprehensive taxonomy of human evolved psychological adaptations (EPAs). The classification system tentatively proposed here, a Functional Table of Human Evolved Psychological Adaptations, categorizes EPA taxa according to their corresponding mechanisms of evolutionary change (e.g. natural, sexual, and kin selection). Space is also included for each EPA taxon’s neurolocalization and neurochemical substrates, putative functions in the ancestral environment, elicitors, and outputs. Schmitt and Pilcher's interdisciplinary diagnostic criteria for evaluating evidence of psychological adaptation are also utilized in this taxonomy to describe each EPA's corresponding evidentiary breadth and depth for quality control purposes. The hypothesis-generation and didactic functions of this taxonomy and its organizing structures are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved)

How Can Evolutionary Psychology Successfully Explain Personality and Individual Differences?

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2009

David M Buss

Although evolutionary psychology has been successful in explaining some species-typical and sex-differentiated adaptations, a large question that has largely eluded the field is this: How can the field successfully explain personality and individual differences? This article highlights some promising theoretical directions for tackling this question. These include life-history theory, costly signaling theory, environmental variability in fitness optima, frequency-dependent selection, mutation load, and flexibly contingent shifts in strategy according to environmental conditions. Tackling the explanatory question also requires progress on three fronts: (a) reframing some personality traits as forms of strategic individual differences; (b) providing a nonarbitrary, evolutionary-based formulation of environments as distributions and salience profiles of adaptive problems; and (c) identifying which strategies thrive and which falter in these differing problem-defined environments. © 2009 Association for Psychological Science.

Effects of Potential Partners' Costume and Physical Attractiveness on Sexuality and Partner Selection

Article

Full-text available

Nov 2012

Male and female college students in the United States (N = 224) viewed models who had been prerated for physical attractiveness and who were dressed in costumes representing one of three levels of socioeconomic status (SES). Subjects reported their willingness to engage with these stimulus persons in six relationships involving various levels of marital potential and sexual involvement. Models' costume status had greater effects on female subjects' willingness than on male subjects' willingness to enter all six relationships. This difference was larger when the physical attractiveness of models was low than when it was high. Costume status also affected female subjects' ratings of male models' attractiveness but did not affect male subjects' ratings of female models' attractiveness. Results supported eight hypotheses derived from evolutionary theory: In choosing partners, men and women weighed potential partners' SES and physical attractiveness differently, and these factors may have different behavioral implications depending on the degree to which sexual relations, or marital potential, or both, are involved.

A Tiger and a President: Imperceptible Celebrity Facial Cues Influence Trust and Preference

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2012

Neuroscientiﬁc research suggests that the brain has evolved speciﬁc capabilities enabling automatic social judgments of others to be made based on facial properties alone. However, little research in marketing has considered the consequences of how facial imagery is automatically processed. We explore automatic perceptions of familiarity by using morphing software to digitally combine unfamiliar faces with those of Tiger Woods and George Bush. Despite a complete lack of conscious recognition, trustworthiness ratings of the composite faces are clearly inﬂuenced by the celebrities in question. This appears to be due to implicit recognition being sufﬁcient for individuals to automatically access their own summary valence judgments of either Woods or Bush.

Discriminative grandparental solicitude as reproductive strategy

Article

Full-text available

Mar 1996

1,857 adults rated the grandparental solicitude they received in childhood. Through a simple model based on the evolutionary concepts of ontogenetically differentiated reproductive strategy and paternity confidence, an ordered discriminative pattern of grandparental caregiving was predicted and confirmed by solid main effects, based on 603 complete cases. The maternal grandmother was the most caring. Unlike prevalent gender stereotypes, she was followed by the maternal grandfather, the paternal grandmother, and the paternal grandfather. The preferential grandparental solicitude was not influenced by residential distance, grandparent age, and availability of other grandparents. A predicted higher correlation for male than for female progenitors between solicitude and phenotypic resemblance could be confirmed.

Evolutionary Theory and the Ultimate–Proximate Distinction in the Human Behavioral Sciences

Article

Full-text available

Feb 2011

To properly understand behavior, we must obtain both ultimate and proximate explanations. Put briefly, ultimate explanations are concerned with why a behavior exists, and proximate explanations are concerned with how it works. These two types of explanation are complementary and the distinction is critical to evolutionary explanation. We are concerned that they have become conflated in some areas of the evolutionary literature on human behavior. This article brings attention to these issues. We focus on three specific areas: the evolution of cooperation, transmitted culture, and epigenetics. We do this to avoid confusion and wasted effort-dangers that are particularly acute in interdisciplinary research. Throughout this article, we suggest ways in which misunderstanding may be avoided in the future. © The Author(s) 2011.

Sex Differences in Jealousy: A Meta-Analytic Examination

Article

Full-text available

Nov 2012
EVOL HUM BEHAV

The theory of evolved sex differences in jealousy predicts sex differences in responses to sexual infidelities and emotional infidelities. Critics have argued that such differences are absent in studies that use continuous measures to assess responses to hypothetical infidelities or in studies that assess responses to real infidelities. These criticisms were tested in two random-effects meta-analyses of 40 published and unpublished papers (providing 209 effect sizes from 47 independent samples) that measured sex differences in jealousy using continuous measures. A significant, theory-supportive sex difference emerged across 45 independent samples using continuous measures of responses to hypothetical infidelities, g*=0.258, 95% confidence interval (CI) [0.188, 0.328], p<.00001. Measured emotion significantly moderated effect size. Effects were strongest when measures assessed distress/upset (g*=0.337) and jealousy (g*=0.309). Other commonly measured negative emotions yielded weaker effects, including hurt (g*=0.161), anger (g*=0.074), and disgust (g*=0.012). Across the 45 independent samples, six significant moderators emerged: random sampling, population type (student vs. nonstudent samples), age, inclusion of a forced-choice question, number of points in the response scale, and year of publication. A significant, theory-supportive effect also emerged across seven studies assessing reactions to actual infidelities, g*=0.234, 95% CI [0.020, 0.448], p=.03. Results demonstrate that the sex difference in jealousy neither is an artifact of response format nor is limited to responses to hypothetical infidelities.

Envy: Functional specificity and sex-differentiated design features

Article

Full-text available

Aug 2012
PERS INDIV DIFFER

In two studies, we explore causal domains of envy and test predictions about whether it is sex differentiated in nature. Study 1 explored the contexts in which envy is most frequently experienced by men and women. Study 2 built on these results, explicitly testing predictions about sex differences in envy. The results provide needed insight into sex differences in envy and provide the basis for a deeper understanding of the function served by this unpleasant emotion.

An evolutionary formulation of person–situation interactions

Article

Full-text available

Apr 2009

David M Buss

This article proposes a novel evolutionary psychological formulation of person-situation interactions. Situations are defined by adaptive problems encountered and the corresponding evolved psychological mechanisms that render some clusters of cues psychologically salient and other information invisible. Developmental environments are defined by the distribution, salience, and sequencing of adaptive problems encountered over time. Person-situation interactions come in two main forms: (1) the ways in which person variables, through the processes of selection, evocation, and manipulation, lead to non-random exposure to different suites of adaptive problems, and (2) individual differences in the strategies deployed toward solving the adaptive problems that people non-randomly encounter.

Men’s Social Status and Attractiveness: Women’s Receptivity to Men’s Date Requests

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2012

Research has found that, for long-term dating, women value men with greater financial resources and higher status, while for short-term dating they value men with greater physical attractiveness. However, there are discrepant results for both long- and short-term dating. As most of the previous studies used only questionnaires, we conducted a field experiment to evaluate women’s receptivity to men’s date requests. Young male confederates who ostensibly had high, middle, or low incomes, depending on the experimental condition, asked young women walking down the street for their phone number. We found that men’s financial resources were positively associated with compliance with their request. Evolutionary theory proposing that women select men with greater resources for them and their offspring is used to explain the results.

Testosterone, Financial Risk-Taking, and Pathological Gambling

Article

Full-text available

Nov 2011

The current review article considers the relationship between testosterone and pathological gambling (PG). Recent evidence suggests that high-testosterone individuals have a greater appetite for financial risk-taking and are more likely to succumb to certain impulsivity-related pathologies. Further, two markers of androgenization have recently been shown to be predictive of financial risk-taking propensity, namely second-to-fourth digit length ratio and facial masculinity. Given that financial risk-taking propensity and PG susceptibility share neurobiological and phenomenological similarities, it is argued in this review that circulating testosterone levels, second-to-fourth digit length ratio, and facial masculinity may be predictors of PG susceptibility. Potential caveats and future research avenues are discussed.

Pregnancy Sickness as Adaptation: A Deterrent to Maternal Ingestion of Teratogens

Chapter

Aug 1992

Margie Profet

Anthropologists have long recognized that cultural evolution critically depends on the transmission and generation of information. However, between the selection pressures of evolution and the actual behaviour of individuals, scientists have suspected that other processes are at work. With the advent of what has come to be known as the cognitive revolution, psychologists are now exploring the evolved problem-solving and information-processing mechanisms that allow humans to absorb and generate culture. The purpose of this book is to introduce the newly crystallizing field of evolutionary psychology, which supplied the necessary connection between the underlying evolutionary biology and the complex and irreducible social phenomena studied by anthropologists, sociologists, economists, and historians.

The Adapted Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and the Generation of Culture

Article

Aug 1992

Cognitive Adaptations for Social Exchange

Chapter

Aug 1992

The Evolutionary Instincts of Homo consumericus

Chapter

Sep 2014

Saad Gad

Evolutionary Psychology in the Business Sciences

Book

Jan 2011

Gad Saad

All individuals who operate in the business sphere, whether as consumers, employers, employees, entrepreneurs, or financial traders to name a few constituents, share a common biological heritage and are defined by a universal human nature. As such, it is surprising that so few business scholars have incorporated biological and evolutionary-informed theories within their conceptual toolboxes. This edited book addresses this lacuna by culling chapters at the intersection of the evolutionary behavioral sciences and specific business contexts including in marketing, consumer behavior, advertising, innovation and creativity, intertemporal choice, negotiations, competition and cooperation in organizational settings, sex differences in workplace patterns, executive leadership, business ethics, store design, behavioral decision making, and electronic communication. To reword the famous aphorism of T. G. Dobzhansky, nothing in business makes sense except in the light of evolution.

The Evolutionary Bases of Consumption

Article

Jan 2012

Gad Saad

The Evolutionary Bases of Consumption by Gad Saad applies Darwinian principles in understanding our consumption patterns and the products of popular culture that most appeal to individuals. The first and only scholarly work to do so, this is a captivating study of the adaptive reasons behind our behaviors, cognitions, emotions, and perceptions. This lens of analysis suggests how we come to make selections such as choosing a mate, the foods we eat, the gifts that we offer, and more. It also highlights how numerous forms of dark side consumption, including pathological gambling, compulsive buying, pornographic addiction, and eating disorders, possess a Darwinian etiology.

Consumer memory, fluency and familiarity

Article

Jan 2008

Gift-giving for courtship or mate-retention?: Insights from animal models

Article

Jan 2009

Song lyrics as windows to our evolved human nature

Article

Jan 2011

G. Saad

High heels and evolution: Natural selection, sexual selection and high heels

Article

Jan 1999
Psychol Evol Gend

E.O. Smith

Isn't It Cute: An Evolutionary Perspective of Baby-Schema Effects in Visual Product Designs

Article

Dec 2011

Through applying an evolutionary approach, we examined affective consumer responses to facial features in product designs. Previous studies have suggested that consumers might perceive the fronts of cars similarly to how they perceive human faces, but how consumers respond on an affective level to evolutionarily significant features when they are part of artifacts such as product designs has not been thoroughly studied. Therefore, we studied affective responses to features of an important stimulus that is known to elicit affect and approach behavior: the baby schema. We tested whether the affective responses to this stimulus were generalized to product designs, and how stable these generalized responses were over repeated exposures. We manipulated car fronts and faces as controls - in accordance with the baby schema (e.g., by enlarging the headlights/eyes). Combining facial electromyography with cuteness ratings to assess innate affective responses, we found that our participants (n = 57) showed more positive affective responses to the babyfaced car fronts than to the original stimuli, and that the effect of the baby-schema features on positive affect was stable over two repeated exposures, thus did not show effects of fast habituation. These results confirm that consumers' affective responses to visual product designs are affected by evolutionarily-implemented features.

How universal are preferences for female waist-to-hip ratios?

Article

Jan 1999

Darwinian Gastronomy: Why We Use Spices: Spices taste good because they are good for us

Article

Jun 1999
BIOSCIENCE

Humans have borrowed plants' chemical 'recipes' for evolutionary survival for use in cuisine to combat foodborne microorganisms and to reduce food poisoning.

On the Verifiability of Evolutionary Psychological Theories: An Analysis of the Psychology of Scientific Persuasion

Article

Jan 2002
PERS SOC PSYCHOL REV

Evolutionary psychological theories have engendered much skepticism in the modern scientific climate. Why? We argue that, although sometimes couched in the language of unfalsifiability, the skepticism results primarily from the perception that evolutionary theories are less verifiable than traditional psychological theories. It is more difficult to be convinced of the veracity of an evolutionary psychological theory because an additional layer of inference must be logically traversed: One not only has to be persuaded that a particular model of contemporary psychological processes uniquely predicts observed phenomena, one must also be persuaded that a model of deeply historical processes uniquely predicts the model of psychological processes. This analysis of the psychology of scientific persuasion yields a number of specific suggestions for the development, testing, and discussion of evolutionary psychological theories.

Evolved Responses to Landscapes

Chapter

Aug 1992

A multitude of environments for a consilient Darwinian meta-theory of personality: The environment of evolutionary adaptedness, local niches, the ontogenetic environment and situational contexts

Article

Aug 2007

Gad Saad

A consilient and complete evolutionary-based theory of personality must explain the adaptive mechanisms that maintain personality, variance at four distinct 'environmental' levels: (1) the environment of evolutionary adaptedness (EEA); (2) the environment as defined by a given local niche; (3) the ontogenetic environment and (4) the situational environment germane to the person-situation debate in personality theory. Copyright (C) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Cause and Effect in Biology: Kinds of causes, predictability, and teleology are viewed by a practicing biologist

Article

Nov 1961

Ernst Mayr

Compulsive Buying Disorder

Article

Jan 2001

Donald W. Black

Compulsive buying disorder is characterised by excessive or poorly controlled preoccupations, urges or behaviours regarding shopping and spending, which lead to adverse consequences. Compulsive buying disorder has been estimated to affect from 2 to 8% of the general adult population in the US; 80 to 95% of those affected are female. Onset occurs in the late teens or early twenties, and the disorder is generally chronic. Psychiatric comorbidity is frequent, particularly mood, anxiety, substance use, eating and personality disorders. Treatment has not been well delineated, but individual and group psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioural therapy and 12-step programmes may be helpful. Debt consolidation and credit counselling will be appropriate for many individuals who have compulsive buying disorder. Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) reuptake inhibitors may help some patients regulate their buying impulses. Self-help books are also available.

Foraging: An ecology model of consumer behaviour?

Article

Jun 2012
Market Theor

Victoria K. Wells

Foraging theory is a well established set of models and ideas in ecology, anthropology and behavioural psychology. Two areas of research, the behavioural ecology of consumption and information foraging, have made strides in the application of foraging theories in relation to consumption and related behaviours. These focus on online situations and restrictions in methodologies utilized allows application to only a small range of marketing problems. This paper broadens the application of these notions and introduces foraging ideas/terminology to a wider business and marketing audience by contextualizing and comparing with current research in marketing and related areas. The paper makes a number of suggestions for use of the foraging model in both academic and practitioner based environments. The paper ends with discussion of future research on the assembly and wider application of a foraging ecology model of consumer behaviour.

Advertised Waist-to-Hip Ratios of Online Female Escorts

Article

Sep 2010

Gad Saad

The Webâ€™s global reach provides evolutionary behavioral scientists unique opportunities to investigate human universals steeped in a common and evolved human nature. In the current article, it is argued that many forms of online sexual communication are indicative of our evolved mating minds, including the manner by which female escorts are â€œadvertisedâ€ online. It is demonstrated that online advertisers provide a restricted set of morphological cues whilst advertising female escorts, these being congruent with menâ€™s evolved aesthetic preferences. Specifically, it is shown that irrespective of cultural setting, online escorts advertise waist-to-hip ratios (WHR) that are in line with the near-universal male preference for women that possess WHRs of 0.70.

The Evolution of Personality and Individual Differences

Book

Jan 2011

Rather than viewing individual differences as merely the raw material upon which selection operates, this book provides theories and empirical evidence which suggest that personality and individual differences are central to evolved psychological mechanisms and behavioral functioning. The book draws theoretical inspiration from life history theory, evolutionary genetics, molecular genetics, developmental psychology, personality psychology, and evolutionary psychology, while utilizing the theories of the "best and the brightest" international scientists working on this cutting edge paradigm shift. The first three sections analyze personality and the adaptive landscape; here, the book offers a novel conceptual framework for examining "personality assessment adaptations." Because individuals in a social environment have momentous consequences for creating and solving adaptive problems, humans have evolved "difference-detecting mechanisms" designed to make crucial social decisions such as mate selection, friend selection, kin investment, coalition formation, and hierarchy negotiation. The second section examines developmental and life-history theoretical perspectives to explore the origins and development of personality over the lifespan. The third section focuses on the relatively new field of evolutionary genetics and explores which of the major evolutionary forces-such as balancing selection, mutation, co-evolutionary arms races, and drift-are responsible for the origins of personality and individual differences.

When Is the Recognition Heuristic an Adaptive Tool?

Chapter

Apr 2012

"More information is always better, and full information is best. More computation is always better, and optimization is best." More-is-better ideals such as these have long shaped our vision of rationality. Yet humans and other animals typically rely on simple heuristics to solve adaptive problems, focusing on one or a few important cues and ignoring the rest, and shortcutting computation rather than striving for as much as possible. In this book, we argue that in an uncertain world, more information and computation are not always better, and we ask when, and why, less can be more. The answers to these questions constitute the idea of ecological rationality: how we are able to achieve intelligence in the world by using simple heuristics matched to the environments we face, exploiting the structures inherent in our physical, biological, social, and cultural surroundings.

The Best Kind of Feedback

Article

Jan 2013

Charles Tobey

Futures of evolutionary psychology Introduction

Article

Oct 2011
FUTURES

Gad Saad

Monetary Sacrifice Among Strangers is Mediated by Endogenous Oxytocin Release after Physical Contact

Article

Nov 2008
EVOL HUM BEHAV

Humans frequently sacrifice resources to help others—even strangers. The proximate mechanisms inducing such sacrifices are not well understood, and we hypothesized that touch might provoke a sacrifice of money to a stranger. We found that touch significantly elevated circulating oxytocin (OT) levels but only when it was followed by an intentional act of trust. Touch followed by trust increased monetary sacrifice by 243% relative to untouched controls. We also found that women were more susceptible than men to OT release and monetary sacrifice after touch. This suggests that touch draws on physiologic mechanisms that support cooperative behaviors in humans.

Sex Differences in Response to Children's Toys in Non-Human Primates (Ceropithecus Aethiops sabaeus)

Article

Nov 2002
EVOL HUM BEHAV

Sex differences in children's toy preferences are thought by many to arise from gender socialization. However, evidence from patients with endocrine disorders suggests that biological factors during early development (e.g., levels of androgens) are influential. In this study, we found that vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus) show sex differences in toy preferences similar to those documented previously in children. The percent of contact time with toys typically preferred by boys (a car and a ball) was greater in male vervets (n=33) than in female vervets (n=30) (P

The interdisciplinarity of evolutionary approaches to human behavior: A key to survival in the Ivory Archipelago

Article

Oct 2011
FUTURES

This paper explores the degree of interdisciplinarity of evolutionary approaches to the study of human behavior, and the implications that any such interdisciplinarity may have for the future of evolutionary psychology (EP) as a field of scholarship. To gauge the extent of interdisciplinarity of EP, the departmental affiliation of first-authors from 1000 journal articles evenly distributed across ten leading peer-reviewed psychology journals was assessed. Findings show that journals that are evolutionary-based have more first-authors from outside of psychology, and also include a wider variety of represented disciplines. These findings are discussed in terms of their influence on the future of EP, as a model for interdisciplinary research. EP's future will be successful if it continues to promote interdisciplinarity as well as recognize the epistemological worth of multiple evolutionary paradigms and frameworks. Evolutionary principles have been successfully applied to a broad range of topics, suggesting there is great utility in evolution serving as a common language for interdisciplinary pursuits within the behavioral and social sciences. As such, academic programs such as Evolutionary Studies (EvoS) programs, whose presence continues to increase across academic institutions worldwide, epitomize the future of successful interdisciplinary scholarly training.

Evolutionary consumption

Abstract

No full-text available