#88 David Buss: Evolutionary Psychology, and the Basics of Human Mating

Dr. David Buss is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. He’s one of the founders of the field of evolutionary psychology. His primary research focus is on strategies of human mating. He’s the author of many books, including The Evolution of Desire, and the first textbook in Evolutionary Psychology, Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind.

In this episode, we start off by talking a bit about Dr. Buss’ background, and what led him to Evolutionary Psychology. Then, we get into his research on human mating, from the conceptual foundations to universal sex differences in mate preferences, and mate retention tactics. We also discuss how modern technology might be tweaking our brains into preferring short-term mating strategies, namely with things like dating websites and online pornography. And we finish with some current work he’s doing on sexual morality, and if all of this knowledge can help couples with their intimate relationships.

https://youtu.be/BgmE8wHLol8

Link to podcast version (Anchor): https://tinyurl.com/yyxfegk7