Explore the evolutionary roots of human behavior and learn about the psychological mechanisms of the Stone Age that govern our modern-day behavior. Evolutionary psychology explains the fundamentals of human behavior—those hard-wired tendencies that make us human before social conditioning has a chance to imprint itself upon us.
This article will explore the function of emotions from an evolutionary perspective. Imagine yourself in a zoo watching a caged lion. You’re amused as the majestic animal moves about, occasionally roaring and yawning in the bright sun. Hoping to get some kind of reaction, you roar back at the lion. Say the lion perceives your …
This article explores the psychology of honour killings- killings in which a family kills one of their own for bringing ‘shame’ and ‘dishonour’ to the family. Mostly, it’s the young women (with 23 being the worldwide average age) who’re the victims of honour killings and this practice, though more common in some cultures compared to …
To understand why female sexuality is suppressed in many cultures, we first need to understand what’s so special about female sexuality that it ends up being suppressed almost everywhere and not male sexuality. It all starts with the fact that evolution has rendered female sexuality more valuable than male sexuality, not just in humans but …
I’m sure you’ve come across women who think all the good guys are taken. Is that really true? In humans, females are the high investing sex meaning that they invest more in their offspring than males. Nine months of gestation followed by years of feeding, nurturing and caring means paying a huge price in terms of …
Before we tackle the question of why parents prefer sons over daughters, let’s review some fundamental concepts of evolutionary biology and psychology. You need to have an understanding of these concepts before proceeding and if you’re already familiar with them, a nice little review won’t hurt. Reproductive potential It is the number of children an …
It’s reasonably hard for many to conceive how on earth could a mother ever decide to take the life of her own baby. After all, we’ve all been told that motherhood is divine and mother’s love unconditional and sacrosanct. Yet, it’s a fact of life that infanticide happens and, as you’ll find out when you’re …
What is it about fire that fascinates us so much? Why are camping trips so incomplete without fires? Why do people like sitting by the fire and having deep, meaningful conversations? Growing up as a kid, I was always fascinated with fire. I bothered my parents with questions about it. I experimented with it. I burnt …
This article will explore the psychology of fatherless daughters in light of evolutionary theory. There are broadly two types of heterosexual mating strategies that humans pursue: short-term and the long-term mating strategy. Short-term mating strategy means forming brief relationships with multiple partners while a long-term mating strategy means forming an enduring relationship, typically with one …
This article will attempt to explain the psychology of gangs and gang violence in men using the concept of a dominance hierarchy. Timmy, a boy of fifth grade, was eating lunch at school, relishing his delectable dish in the peace and quiet of the school’s dining hall. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Jimmy and his friends …
Evolution has rendered female sexuality more valuable than male sexuality. There are two major reasons behind this: First, human males produce huge quantities of sperm while females produce only a limited number of eggs. Second, human females invest much more in offspring than males. The result being that female sexuality is a scarce and much …