Evolutionary Psychology and Motivation

by Nebraska Symposium on Motivation (2001); French, Jeffrey A.; Kamil, Alan C.; Leger, Daniel W.

• ISBN13: 9780803229266
• ISBN10: 0803229267
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-12-01
• Publisher: Univ of Nebraska Pr

Summary

Recent media coverage of the controversial theory of sexual violence as a product of biological evolution has once again brought the question of the origins of human motivation into the public eye. In this volume leading scholars in behavioural studies examine the value of evolutionary perspectives in understanding psychological motivations. Beginning with the fundamental fact that humans are part of the biological world, evolutionary psychologists contend that human motivations and mental processes should be understood as by-products of natural selection. By viewing human psychology - both normal and abnormal - within this framework, evolutionary psychologists intend to bridge the disciplinary divide between traditional psychology and fields such as biology.Daniel W. Leger is a professor of psychology and Alan C. Kamil is a professor of biology at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.Jeffrey A. French is Kayser Professor of Psychology and Biology at the University of Nebraska, Omaha.

Author Biography

Daniel W. Leger is a professor of psychology and Alan C. Kamil is a professor of biology at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.



Jeffrey A. French is Kayser Professor of Psychology and Biology at the University of Nebraska–Omaha.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Fear and Loathing of Evolutionary Psychology in the Social Sciences	ix
Daniel W. Leger
Alan C. Kamil
Jeffrey A. French
Risk-taking, Intrasexual Competition, and Homicide	1	(36)
Martin Daly
Margo Wilson
Adaptive Design, Selective History, and Women's Sexual Motivations	37	(38)
Steven W. Gangestad
Pheromones and Vasanas: The Functions of Social Chemosignals	75	(38)
Martha K. McClintock
Suma Jacob
Bethanne Zelano
Davinder J.S. Hayreh
The Adaptive Toolbox: Toward a Darwinian Rationality	113	(32)
Gerd Gigerenzer
Cognitive Strategies and the Representation of Social Relations by Monkeys	145	(34)
Robert M. Seyfarth
Dorothy L. Cheney
Motivation and Melancholy: A Darwinian Perspective	179	(26)
Randolph M. Nesse
Subject Index	205	(8)
Author Index	213