This volume in the Springer Series in Evolutionary Psychology presents a state of the art view of the topic of sexuality and sexual behavior drawing on theoretical constructs and research of noted individuals in the field. Comprehensive and multi-disciplinary, this book seeks to provide a broad overview without sacrificing the complexity of a multi-faceted approach. The book is framed by introductory and closing sections that provide a context for the range of ideas contained within. Ample space is provided in designated sections that focus on key areas of sexuality from both male and female perspectives and that include information from primate studies. This volume can serve as a graduate text in sexual behavior in evolutionary terms and as a guide for further research.
"Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Sexual Psychology and Behavior is one of the first volumes in this series. It contains 20 informative and thought-provoking chapters on human sexual cognition and behavior. Most of the chapters (17 of 20) are organized into two sections: Male Sexual Adaptations and Female Sexual Adaptations.
The chapters are appreciably diverse, covering topics such as mate preferences (e.g., for facial characteristics and body types), physical manifestations of evolutionarily relevant information (e.g., body shape as an indicator of female fertility), sexual behavior (e.g., forced copulation), mating cognition (e.g., perception of sexual interest), and intrasexual competition (e.g., restricted eating among women). Sensibly, some important themes recur across various chapters, such as ovulatory cycle effects (which appear in chapters on men's sensitivity to female ovulation, male mate retention, female rape avoidance, female preferences for male characteristics, female disgust sensitivity, to name a few)...In conclusion, the editors of this book did an excellent job soliciting chapters on a variety of topics within human sexual psychology and behavior from an evolutionary perspective. The chapters are generally well written, and most of them present richly detailed literature reviews or helpful introductions to competing theories on a single topic. This book will appeal to researchers and connoisseurs of evolutionary psychology who will benefit from the mix of chapters containing tidy summaries and helpful comparisons of competing theories."
Christina M. Brown, PsycCRITIQUES
August 11, 2014, Vol. 59, No. 32, Article 7
The chapters are appreciably diverse, covering topics such as mate preferences (e.g., for facial characteristics and body types), physical manifestations of evolutionarily relevant information (e.g., body shape as an indicator of female fertility), sexual behavior (e.g., forced copulation), mating cognition (e.g., perception of sexual interest), and intrasexual competition (e.g., restricted eating among women). Sensibly, some important themes recur across various chapters, such as ovulatory cycle effects (which appear in chapters on men's sensitivity to female ovulation, male mate retention, female rape avoidance, female preferences for male characteristics, female disgust sensitivity, to name a few)...In conclusion, the editors of this book did an excellent job soliciting chapters on a variety of topics within human sexual psychology and behavior from an evolutionary perspective. The chapters are generally well written, and most of them present richly detailed literature reviews or helpful introductions to competing theories on a single topic. This book will appeal to researchers and connoisseurs of evolutionary psychology who will benefit from the mix of chapters containing tidy summaries and helpful comparisons of competing theories."
Christina M. Brown, PsycCRITIQUES
August 11, 2014, Vol. 59, No. 32, Article 7