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Summary: The Future of Psychology
Review: After a century of confusion, psychology as a discipline seems to be finally emerging as a unified science under the evolutionary perspective. This pioneering textbook surveys most of the important research that have been conducted in evolutionary psychology, and every university should have a course based on this textbook. If you want to find out more about yourself, don't confuse yourself with the Freudian unconscious pop psychology stuff. Read about evolutionary psychology.
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Summary: This is an excellent textbook for undergraduate students.
Review: By working from the premises of Tooby & Cosmides' Integrated Causal Model, David Buss has done an outstanding job of making accessible not only the complex historical development of evolutionary psychology, but also inclusive fitness theory, specific evolutionary hypotheses and specific predictions derived from these hypotheses. Furthermore, Buss is comprehensive, balanced and precise when asserting theories and empirical substantiation from other major thinkers, viz., Trivers, Pinker, Bloom, Ridley, Symons, Williams, Mayr, Plomin, DeFries, etc.
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Summary: Buss has touched all the bases regarding human behavior.
Review: David Buss has touched all the bases when it comes to explaining human behavior. Written as a textbook, it reads like a mystery novel. The central mystery being: Why do humans behave the way they do? And, can we do anything to change? The primary tenet of psychology is: bringing into awareness the reasons why we act in certain ways, gives us the power to act differently, i.e. to change. Buss argues, using empirical as well as analogous evidence, that we behave as we do because in our ancestral past, specific behaviors prevailed because they solved specific problems; and that these behaviors now come programed in the brain, activated by situational cues. That's the short version, which if you take exception to, read the long version and then let the debate begin. The truly intriguing aspect of this theory is: if it is correct, then perhaps we can stop doing what we have always done and move towards a more peaceful existence in a more non-violent way. This theory, and this book, should become a part of all high school curriculum and let all students debate, study, and test its hypotheses.
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Summary: HUMAN CIVILIZATION FROM THE PRESENT: WHY WE ACT THIS WAY
Review: Each day for twenty-something years I woke up to see reality as it was presented to me. I noticed many patterns in life that are hard not to notice -- such as the difference between men and women in how they approach sexual opportunities. Men will readily say yes, women firmly no. Why? Evolution is such an intriguing and elegant theory on its approach to our current behavior. Boss's contention is that the present behaviors we see today in our modern era -- fear of snakes, high male sexual drive -- arose from our ancestors. Those who did not have such characteristics did not become our ancestors. Thus, over time, certain characteristics were more likely to be successful in the mating process, and those are the same characteristics we see today. Boss's insight required a lot of keen intellectual insight into many different hypothesis. Some of these hypothesis seemed far-fetched at first. Who would think that there would be statistical differences in how maternal grandparents v. paternal grandparents relate to their grandchildren. There are, however. Maternal grandmothers have less risk in investing in a grandchild who is not biologically related since she is confident that her daughter is biologically hers, and she can be certain that her daughter's child is biologically related, too. The hypothesis that paternal grandfathers would be most distant -- since they have the most to lose -- turned out to be true. (Paternal grandfathers cannot be 100% certain that they fathered their son or daughter, and thus, they cannot be sure that that child's son or daughter is biologically related). This is perhaps one of the most important contributions in scientific literature since Watson and Clark's published report on their findings of DNA. Michael Gordon
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Summary: HUMAN CIVILIZATION FROM THE PRESENT: WHY WE ACT THIS WAY
Review: Each day for twenty-something years I woke up to see reality as it was presented to me. I noticed many patterns in life that are hard not to notice -- such as the difference between men and women in how they approach sexual opportunities. Men will readily say yes, women firmly no. Why? Evolution is such an intriguing and elegant theory on its approach to our current behavior. Boss's contention is that the present behaviors we see today in our modern era -- fear of snakes, high male sexual drive -- arose from our ancestors. Those who did not have such characteristics did not become our ancestors. Thus, over time, certain characteristics were more likely to be successful in the mating process, and those are the same characteristics we see today. Boss's insight required a lot of keen intellectual insight into many different hypothesis. Some of these hypothesis seemed far-fetched at first. Who would think that there would be statistical differences in how maternal grandparents v. paternal grandparents relate to their grandchildren. There are, however. Maternal grandmothers have less risk in investing in a grandchild who is not biologically related since she is confident that her daughter is biologically hers, and she can be certain that her daughter's child is biologically related, too. The hypothesis that paternal grandfathers would be most distant -- since they have the most to lose -- turned out to be true. (Paternal grandfathers cannot be 100% certain that they fathered their son or daughter, and thus, they cannot be sure that that child's son or daughter is biologically related). This is perhaps one of the most important contributions in scientific literature since Watson and Clark's published report on their findings of DNA. Michael Gordon
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Summary: A landmark contribution
Review: Evolutionary psychology needed an undergraduate textbook - and here it is. Lucid and balanced, Buss provides a readable introduction to this important and rapidly burgeoning field. Useful as well as a milestone to those following developments in this area.
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Summary: A thorough, rigorous, and illuminating book.
Review: In "Evolutionary Psychology -- The New Science of Mind," David M. Buss delivers a comprehensive, well-detailed, and illustrative presentation of evolved psychological mechanisms that have become universal across the human species while detailing the biology necessary to understand evolutionary theory and how it applies to human psychology. Organizationally-sound, the textbook reads like a novel, clearly providing theoretical and empirical information requisite for a fundamental understanding of Evolutionary Psychology. Buss' volume is essential reading for students of Evolutionary Psychology and very suitable reading for those of us interested in why we are the way we are. For more advanced readers, "The Adapted Mind," edited by Barkow, Cosmides, and Tooby is an ideal choice.
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Summary: A triumphantly successful milestone for modern psychology.
Review: Professor Buss has taken upon himself the formidable challenge of producing the first evolutionary psychology textbook, a milestone that is long overdue. In his endeavor he has succeeded magnificently. In 411 pages he manages a sterling job of covering the most important topics in evolutionary psychology, bringing to bear the most up to date literature in a simple to read yet academically compelling format. He begins with a complete and intelligent introduction to both evolutionary theory and the events leading to the development of an evolutionary psychology. Thereafter, he covers broad branches of human behavior - kin relations, cooperative relationships, warfare, aggression, status-seeking, parenting and, of course, human mating strategies. This last topic is covered in several different chapters and highlights the author¹s own valuable, ground-breaking work done in the area. His book provides a miraculous combination of both utterly fascinating and effortless reading, rare qualities in textbooks.No review can be complete without mention of a few blemishes, however minor and in this case it is particularly tempting to simply omit them entirely. However, Dr. Buss occasionally relies heavily, too heavily perhaps, on secondary or general sources of information (i.e., Dawkins, de Waal, Pinker) when more research oriented sources are available. No doubt this stems, at least in part, from the fact that there is simply not as much primary literature on the subject as one could hope for (at least where humans are concerned). This will undoubtedly be improved by the time the next edition rolls off the press. Too, one would greatly hope that future editions of this text might include a section on foraging/hunting and food adaptations since they are so fundamental to survival and because so many other primate species display overt and well-studied feeding adaptations.However, such minor details are utterly dwarfed by the magnitude, importance and quality of this work. The breadth, depth and timeliness of this textbook cannot be overstated. If you are planning on teaching an undergraduate course on evolutionary psychology or are simply interested in learning more about the subject, this is, without question, the most authoritative and comprehensive vehicle available, eclipsing even the extraordinary Adapted Mind.
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Summary: Very interesting reading
Review: This text begins with a section on the various views that have been held about our origins before Buss goes on to talk about the evolutionary perspective. It was especially interesting to note how deftly he handled mention of the religious approach, especially since science and religion are often at odds with each other. Very skillful maneuvering indeed.
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