Books by David M. Buss
The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating
Sex, Power, Conflict: Evolutionary and Feminist Perspectives (Ed., with Neil Malamuth)
The Dangerous Passion: Why Jealousy Is as Necessary as Love and Sex
Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind
Personality Psychology: Domains of Knowledge About Human Nature (with Randy Larsen)
For Cindy
Copyright 1994 by David M. Buss
Revised edition 2003 by David M. Buss
Published by Basic Books, A Member of the Perseus Books Group
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, address Basic Books, 387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016-8810.
Designed by Ellen Levine
Library of Congress Control Number: 2002111010
ISBN-13 978-0-786-72484-0
20 19 18 17
Contents
SINCE THE publication of The Evolution of Desire in 1994, the field has witnessed an avalanche of new scientific research on human mating. Although neglected within mainstream psychology for decades, mating is beginning to command the attention it properly deserves. Nothing lies closer to the reproductive engine of the evolutionary process. Those who fail to mate fail to become ancestors. Each living human, therefore, has descended from a long and unbroken line of successful mateships stretching back millions of years. If any one of our ancestors had failed to traverse the complex hurdles posed by mating, we would not be alive to ponder these improbable feats. Our mating mindsthe glory of romance, the flush of passion, the triumph of loveare fortunate products of this evolutionary process.
The original publication of Desire was greeted with a gratifying amount of attention, but it also provoked some emotions. The intensity of sentiment probably reflects the importance of the topic. Humans dont seem well-designed for dispassionate intellectual discourse about domains that have profound personal relevance. Some readers told me before the book was even published that the information it contained should be suppressed. Some refused to believe that sex differences in mating strategies existed, since the dominant dogma in social science for years has contended that women and men are essentially identical in sexual psychology. Others acknowledged the formidable body of scientific findings, but refused to believe that sex differences have evolutionary origins. It is encouraging that the hostility to this work has largely, although certainly not entirely, subsided. Mating research has entered the mainstream and is now known throughout the worldthe first edition of The Evolution of Desire was translated into ten languages.
Although the publication of The Evolution of Desire shed some light on previous mysteries of human mating, it also pointed to gaps in knowledge, notably those surrounding the complexities of female sexuality. Because research since the books publication has filled some of the gaps, I embraced the opportunity to provide an updated revised edition of Desire. The two new chapters in the current editionChapters 11 and 12highlight these recent developments.
, Womens Hidden Sexual Strategies, begins with new research and theory on the possible functions of female orgasm and then proceeds to examine why women have affairs. The two issues turn out to be linked in ways previous theorists never envisioned. The second half of this chapter centers on whether womens menstrual cycles influence sexual strategies and whether men can detect when women ovulate. These intriguing domains of female sexuality were virtually unexplored when The Evolution of Desire was first published; now they require a full chapter.
, Mysteries of Human Mating, examines some of the enduring puzzles that have baffled scientists for centuries. Why does homosexuality exist? Can men and women be just friends? Do men have adaptations to rape? Do women have evolved anti-rape defenses? Are men and women hopelessly biased in reading each others minds? Although these topics were briefly discussed in the original edition, recent theory and research dictate a deeper examination.
I owe a heavy thanks to my research collaborators and former graduate students for some of the discoveries showcased in the two new chapters: Heidi Greiling and I collaborated on a raft of studies on the hidden side of womens sexuality. Work with Martie Haselton revealed some of the cognitive biases men and women display in making inferences about each others mating minds. Work with April Bleske exposed an intriguing new answer to the question of whether men and women can be just friends. Work with David Schmitt provided the first systematic studies of human mate poaching. Work with Todd Shackelford, and also with Kevin Bennett, Bram Buunk, Jae Choe, Mariko Hasegawa, Toshi Hasegawa, Lee Kirkpatrick, and Randy Larsen, explored the defenses against sexual treachery.
Many friends and colleagues, in addition to those thanked in the acknowledgments to the first edition, helped me in various ways with the new material presented in this revision: Rosalind Arden, Mike Bailey, April Bleske, Ruth Buss, Greg Cochran, Josh Duntley, Trish Ellis, Paul Ewald, Steve Gangestad, Heidi Greiling, Martie Haselton, Kim Hill, Owen Jones, Craig Palmer, David Schmitt, Todd Shackelford, John Gottschall, and Randy Thornhill. Basic Books Executive Editor Jo Ann Miller helped with enthusiasm and guidance. Steve Pinker and Don Symons deserve special thanks for extraordinary feedback on virtually every aspect of the two new chapters.
David M. Buss
July 8, 2002
DON SYMONS, the author of the most important treatise on the evolution of human sexuality in the twentieth century, guided the evolution of this book through his writings, friendship, and insightful commentary on each chapter. Leda Cosmides and John Tooby were fledgling graduate students at Harvard when I first met them in 1981, but they were already developing a grand theory of evolutionary psychology that profoundly influenced my own thinking about human mating strategies. Martin Daly and Margo Wilson had a seminal influence through their work on the evolution of sex and violence. I had the great fortune to collaborate with Martin, Margo, Leda, and John at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in Palo Alto, California, on a special project called Foundations of Evolutionary Psychology. That project formed the basis of this book.
I owe a major debt to my superlative research collaborators: Alois Angleitner, Armen Asherian, Mike Barnes, Mike Botwin, Michael Chen, Lisa Chiodo, Ken Craik, Lisa Dedden, Todd DeKay, Jack Demarest, Bruce Ellis, Mary Gomes, Arlette Greer, Heidi Greiling, Dolly Higgins, Tim Ketelaar, Karen Kleinsmith, Liisa Kyl-Heku, Randy Larsen, Karen Lauterbach, Anne McGuire, David Schmitt, Jennifer Semmelroth, Todd Shackelford, and Drew Westen.
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