Sexology & Sexual Behavior - General & Miscellaneous, Sex - Psychological Aspects

The Evolution of Desire - Revised Edition 4

Name: The Evolution of Desire - Revised Edition 4
Author: David M. Buss
ISBN: 9780465008025

by David M. Buss

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Overview

With two new chapters by the author.If we all want love, why is there so much conflict in our most cherished relationships? To answer this question, says noted psychologist David Buss, we must look into our evolutionary past. Based on the most massive study of human mating ever undertaken, encompassing more than ten thousand people of all ages from thirty-seven cultures worldwide, The Evolution of Desire is the first book to present a unified theory of human mating behavior. Now in a revised and updated edition, Buss's classic presents the latest research in the field, including startling new discoveries about the evolutionary advantages of infidelity, orgasm, and physical attractiveness.

Synopsis

David Buss updates his classic study of the origin of human mating behavior with fascinating new research.

Elle

An ambitious addition to the ever-growing shelves of books on sex wars.... Buss is refreshingly evenhanded.

About the Author, David M. Buss

David M. Buss is Professor of Psychology at the University of Texas, Austin, and the author of six books, including Personality: Domains of Knowledge about Human Nature and The Dangerous Passion: Why Jealousy is as Necessary as Love and Sex. He lives in Austin, Texas.

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Editorials

Philadelphia Inquirer

Clear, coherent, and convincing.... [What] makes it intriguing are the insights it offers into our behavior and the behavior of our partners, lovers, and friends.

Elle

An ambitious addition to the ever-growing shelves of books on sex wars.... Buss is refreshingly evenhanded.

Publishers Weekly

In the pursuit of a mate, women prefer men who possess money, resources, power and high social status, while men tend to seek attractive, youthful women who will remain sexually faithful. This finding emerged from a global survey by Buss and colleagues of 10,047 persons in 37 cultures, from Australia to Zambia. Women and men are often at cross-purposes in mate selection, sexual relations and affairs. In a provocative study, Buss, a University of Michigan psychology professor, attributes these differences to ingrained psychological mechanisms which he argues are universal across cultures and rooted in each gender's adaptive responses over millennia of human evolution. One area, however, where Buss finds common ground between men and women is in their ruthless use of deception, sexual display and denigration of rivals in the pursuit of a partner. (Feb.)

Booknews

Presents a unified theory of human mating behavior based on a study encompassing over 10,000 people representing 37 cultures. By looking at our evolutionary past and the results of the mating study, the author draws an often disturbing picture of mating strategies and motives. As Buss admits, "Much of what I discovered about human mating is not nice." Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)