Psychology 594JR Syllabus: Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Mating
Winter, 2005
Prof. Jim Roney (roney@psych.ucsb.edu)
Class: Wednesdays, 4:00-6:00pm, Psych 1523
Office Hours: Thursdays, 9:30-11:30 AM, Psych 3243
Most of the readings are from journals to which the UCSB library has an online subscription. These are designated “online journal” below and can be accessed via the MELVYL system. The remaining readings are on e-reserve: http://eres.library.ucsb.edu/.
Assignments and Grading:
Students will alternate leading discussion of specific readings. A brief summary of the readings should be sent to the impending class e-mail list by 1 PM on the day on which you are leading discussion. The summary should include: (1) a brief description of the main arguments/findings in the reading, (2) possible criticisms of the arguments or alternative explanations for the findings, and (3) a description of possible research studies that might test or extend the ideas presented in the reading. In addition, a brief paper will be assigned later in the quarter in which students will write a review of a research article related to one or more of the topics discussed in class. Grades will be based on both overall discussion performance (~60%) and on the written paper (~40%). Students who elect to take the class P/NP do not have to write the paper.
Week 1. January 5. Organizational Meeting.
Week 2. January 12. Theoretical Foundations: Sexual Selection.
Andersson, M. (1994). The theory of sexual selection. In Sexual selection
(pp. 3-31).
Trivers, R. L. (1972). Parental investment and sexual selection. In B. Campbell
(Ed.), Sexual selection and the descent of man (pp. 136-179).
Zahavi, A., & Zahavi, A. (1997). Mate selection. In The handicap principle
(pp. 25-40).
Week 3. January 19. Survey Research on Human Mate Preferences.
Buss, D. M. (1989). Sex differences in human mate preferences: Evolutionary hypotheses tested in 37 cultures. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 12, 1-49.
Eagly, A. H., & Wood, W. (1999). The origins of sex differences in human behavior: Evolved dispositions versus social roles. American Psychologist, 54, 408-423. Online journal.
Li, N.P., Bailey, J. M., Kenrick, D. T., & Linsenmeier, J.A.W. (2002). The necessities and luxuries of mate preferences: Testing the tradeoffs. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 947-955. Online journal.
Week 4. January 26. Neuroendocrinology of Mating Psychology.
Carter, C. S. (1992). Neuroendocrinology of sexual behavior in the female.
In J. B. Becker, S. M. Breedlove, D. Crews (Eds.), Behavioral endocrinology
(pp. 72-95).
Hamann, S., Herman, R. A., Nolan, C. L., & Wallen, K. (2004). Men and women differ in amygdala response to visual sexual stimuli. Nature Neuroscience, 7, 411-416. Online journal.
Roney, J. R., Mahler, S. V., & Maestripieri, D. (2003). Behavioral and hormonal responses of men to brief interactions with women. Evolution and Human Behavior, 24, 365-375. Online.
Sipos, M. L., & Nyby, J. G. (1996). Concurrent androgenic stimulation of the ventral tegmental area and medial preoptic area: synergistic effects on male-typical reproductive behaviors in house mice. Brain Research, 729, 29-44. Online journal.
Wallen, K. (2001). Sex and context: Hormones and primate sexual motivation. Hormones and Behavior, 40, 339-357. Online journal.
Wood, R. I. (1997). Thinking about networks in the control of male hamster sexual behavior. Hormones and Behavior, 32, 40-45. Online journal.
Week 5. February 2. Female Physical Attractiveness.
Ellison, P. T. (1994). Salivary steroids and natural variation in human ovarian
function. Annals of the
Grammer, K., & Thornhill, R. (1994). Human (Homo sapiens) facial attractiveness and sexual selection: The role of symmetry and averageness. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 108, 233-242. Online journal.
Jasienska, G., Ziomkiewicz, A., Ellison, P. T., Lipson, S. F., & Thune,
Lipson, S. F., & Ellison, P. T. (1996). Comparison of salivary steroid profiles in naturally occurring conception and non-conception cycles. Human Reproduction, 11, 2090-2096.
Manning, J. T., Trivers, R. L., Singh, D., & Thornhill, R. (1999). The mystery of female beauty. Nature, 399, 214-216. (include replies by Tovee & Cornelissen, Yu & Shepard). Online.
Singh, D. (1993). Adaptive significance of female physical attractiveness: Role of waist-to-hip ratio. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 293-307. Online journal.
Yu, D. W., & Shepard, G. H. (1998). Is beauty in the eye of the beholder? Nature, 396, 321-322. Online.
Week 6. February 9. Male Physical Attractiveness.
Gangestad, S. W., Simpson, J. A., Cousins, A., Garver-Apgar, C. E., & Chistensen, P. N. (2004). Women’s preferences for men’s behavioral displays change across the menstrual cycle. Psychological Science, 15, 203-207. Online journal.
Gangestad, S. W., & Thornhill, R. (1998). Menstrual cycle variation in
women’s preferences for the scent of symmetrical men. Proceedings of the
Royal Society of
Maisey, D. S., Vale, E. E., Cornelissen, P. L., & Tovee, M. J. (1999). Characteristics of male attractiveness for women. Lancet, 353, 1500. Online journal.
Penton-Voak,
Penton-Voak,
Perrett,
Swaddle, J. P., & Reierson, G. W. (2002). Testosterone increases perceived
dominance but not attractiveness in human males. Proceedings of the Royal
Society of
Thornhill, R., Gangestad, S. W., & Comer, R. (1995). Human female orgasm and mate fluctuating asymmetry. Animal Behaviour, 50, 1601-1615. Online journal.
Week 7. February 16. Pheromones/Ovulation Detection.
Kuukasjarvi, S., Eriksson, P., Koskela, E., Mappes, T., Nissinen, K., & Rantala, M. J. (2004). Attractiveness of women’s body odors over the menstrual cycle: the role of oral contraceptives and receiver sex. Behavioral Ecology, 15, 579-584. Online.
McClintock, M. K. (1971). Menstrual synchrony and suppression. Nature, 229, 244-245.
Preti, G., Wysocki, C. J., Barnhart, K. T., Sondheimer, S. J., &
Singh, D., & Bronstad, P. M. (2001). Female body odour is a potential cue
to ovulation. Proceedings of the Royal Society of
Wedekind, C., Seebeck, T., Bettens, F., & Paepke, A. J. (1995). MHC-dependent
mate preferences in humans. Proceedings of the Royal Society of
Wilson, H. C. (1992). A critical review of menstrual synchrony research. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 17, 565-591. Online.
Week 8. February 23. Jealousy.
Buss, D. M., Larsen, R. J., Westen, D., & Semmelroth, J. (1992). Sex differences in jealousy: Evolution, physiology, and psychology. Psychological Science, 3, 251-255. Online.
Buunk, B. P., Angleitner, A., Oubaid, V., & Buss, D. M. (1996). Sex differences
in jealousy in evolutionary and cultural perspective: Tests from the
DeSteno, D. A., & Salovey, P. (1996). Evolutionary origins of sex differences in jealousy? Questioning the “fitness” of the model. Psychological Science, 7, 367-372. Online.
Buss, D. M., Larsen, R. J., & Westen, D. (1996). Sex differences in jealousy: Not gone, not forgotten, and not explained by alternative hypotheses. Psychological Science, 7, 373-375. Online.
Buss, D. M., et al. (1999). Jealousy and the nature of beliefs about infidelity:
Tests of competing hypotheses about sex differences in the
Harris, C. R. (2000). Psychophysiological responses to imagined infidelity: The specific innate modular view of jealousy reconsidered. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 1082-1091. Online.
DeSteno, D.,
Week 9. March 2. Sperm Competition.
Baker, R. R., & Bellis, M. A. (1989). Number of sperm in human ejaculates varies in accordance with sperm competition theory. Animal Behaviour, 37, 867-869.
Baker, R. R., & Bellis, M. A. (1993). Human sperm competition: ejaculate adjustment by males and the function of masturbation. Animal Behaviour, 46, 861-885. Online.
Baker, R. R., & Bellis, M. A. (1993). Human sperm competition: ejaculate manipulation by females and a function for the female orgasm. Animal Behaviour, 46, 887-909. Online.
Birkhead, T. R. (2000). Excerpt from Promiscuity (pp. 21-29).
Shackelford, T. K., et al. (2002). Psychological adaptation to human sperm competition. Evolution and Human Behavior, 23, 123-138. Online.
Week 10. March 9. Prenatal Hormones and Sexual Orientation.
Bailey, J. M., Dunne, M. P., & Martin, N. G. (2000). Genetic and environmental influences on sexual orientation and its correlates in an Australian twin sample. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 524-536. Online.
Bem, D. J. (1996). Exotic becomes erotic: A developmental theory of sexual orientation. Psychological Review, 103, 320-335. Online.
Blanchard, R. (2001). Fraternal birth order and the maternal immune hypothesis of male homosexuality. Hormones and Behavior, 40, 105-114. Online.
Lippa, R. A. (2003). Are 2D:4D finger-length ratios related to sexual orientation? Yes for men, no for women. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 179-188. Online.