Person-environment interactions are the rule, not only for development but also for moment-to-moment experience. Knowledge about environmental influences on the manifestation of psychological symptoms is an important area of research, particularly with regard to social anxiety where symptoms vary dramatically depending on the social context. Like other forms of anxiety, social anxiety is thought to have evolved to help us pay attention to, assess, and respond to potential (in this case, intra-species) threats. The current study was based on (1) the theoretical proposition that social anxiety represents an adaptation to hierarchical, or agonic, modes of social organization; (2) the observation that in the non-hierarchical hedonic systems seen in some of our closest primate relatives, submissiveness is not required for group functioning, and (3) more recent empirical data showing that social anxiety symptoms are dependent on contextual factors. The current study integrated these three ideas and examined whether participating in a hedonic system, as compared to an agonic system, diminishes social anxiety, and whether social context moderates the relationship between trait social anxiety and activation of state anxiety. Participants of all different levels of trait social anxiety were randomly assigned to play a group game, the context and rules of which were consistent with either agonic or hedonic social structures. Self-reported anxiety and behaviors associated with social anxiety were then measured. Results from the experiment were mixed, sometimes seemingly conflicting, and therefore difficult to interpret. The more hierarchical, agonic social system was associated with higher anxious affect. However, the type of social system did not appear to affect self-reported submissive behavior, social comparison, or social behavior. Additionally, experimental condition did not moderate the effect of trait social anxiety on these variables. Although our findings were mixed, they hint at the role of social structure in the activation of anxious affect. / Psychology

The seven deadly sins are a popular theme, but they are often brushed off as antiquated, the product of stringent moral rules, or just arbitrary. In this thesis, I explain morality from a different perspective: evolutionary psychology. Using the Seven Deadly Sins as an example, I provide a user-friendly understanding of why we have the moral rules that we have. Boyd and Richerson (1992) demonstrated that, through the use of punishment, any rule---no matter how capricious---can be upheld. What I seek to explain is that moral rules, in this case the Seven Sins, are not arbitrary---or, at least, they were not arbitrary in the environment in which our innate moral faculties developed, though these rules may seem ascetic today. I suggest that much of what falls under the conceptual umbrella of morality can be better understood when framed as problems of cooperation. The Seven Sins are a useful example of the usefulness of moral rules, and psychopathy provides a comparison for understanding the importance of conscience.

The aim of this project is to examine the relationships between two approaches to the measurement of life history strategies. The traditional method, termed here the biodemographic approach, measures developmental characteristics like birthweight, gestation length, inter-birth intervals, pubertal timing, and sexual debut. The alternative method under exploration, termed here the psychological approach, measures a suite of cognitive and behavioral traits such as altruism, sociosexual orientation, personality, mutualism, familial relationships, and religiosity. Although both approaches are supported by a large body of literature, they remain relatively segregated. This study draws inspiration from both views, integrating measures that assess developmental milestones, including birthweight, prematurity, pubertal timing, and onset of sexual behavior, as well as psychological life history measures such as the Mini-K and a personality inventory. Drawing on previous theoretical work on the fundamental dimensions of environmental risk, these measures are tested in conjunction with several scales assessing the stability of early environmental conditions, including both "event-based" measures that are defined with an external referent, and measures of internal schemata, or the predicted psychological sequelae of early events. The data are tested in a three-part sequence, beginning with the measurement models under investigation, proceeding to an exploratory analysis of the causal network, and finishing with a cross-validation of the structural model on a new sample. The findings point to exciting new directions for future researchers who seek to integrate the two perspectives.

Pubertal timing is a human life history variable representing a trade-off between early reproduction and continued growth. Dominance is an important feature to male mate value. These two variables should have far-reaching effects on adult male life. Chapter 1 reviews evolution, r/K selection and life history theory to derive hypotheses concerning variation in male mating strategy. Chapters 2-4 investigate the effects of pubertal timing and dominance on mating strategy using sociosexual orientation and preferences for faces and mate characteristics. Both early puberty and high dominance associate with unrestricted sociosexuality (increased interest in casual sex) as predicted. Dominance is shown to relate to preferences for cues of sociosexuality but not femininity, while pubertal timing relates to neither facial characteristic. Earlier and later developing men do not differ in their mate characteristic preferences, while dominant men exhibit enhanced female-typical mate preferences counter to predictions. A dominance-dependent, dual, male mating strategy is proposed to account for results. Chapter 5 introduces sensitivity to putative human pheromones as an indicator of mating strategy. Dominant men are found to be more sensitive to and more averse to a putative female pheromone. Pubertal timing has no effect on sensitivity. Results are interpreted in terms of dominant male avoidance of infertile matings. Chapter 6 finds that early puberty associates with facial masculinity, attractiveness and apparent age. Chapter 7 offers a hormonal underpinning of effects related to pubertal timing, showing that early development associates with higher levels of testosterone in men. Chapter 8 uses digit length ratios to show that early developing men may have been exposed to greater levels of uterine testosterone, suggesting prenatal influences on male pubertal timing. Chapter 9 shows dominance associates with bodily, vocal and general attractiveness but not facial attractiveness. Chapter 10 reports that dominance associates with high levels of the stress hormone cortisol, suggesting costs of high dominance. Chapter 11 shows early pubertal timing relates to the visual appearance of skin, perhaps because of lower sebum production among early developing men, leading to them having darker, less reflective skin. This may reflect accelerated ageing of early developing males, potentially representing a cost to longevity.

<p>Heightened awareness of the evolutionary, socio-cultural, and psychological origins of our moral judgments pushes many of us in the direction of moral skepticism, in the direction of doubting the objective truth of our moral judgments. But should awareness of the origins of our moral judgments shake our confidence in them? Are there good moral debunking challenges or debunking arguments from premises concerning the accessible origins of our moral judgments to skeptical conclusions regarding them? In vigorous pursuit of these questions, this dissertation sifts three promising moral debunking challenges to moral realism, namely Richard Joyce's (2001) evolutionary debunking argument from epistemic insensitivity, Sharon Street's (2006) "Darwinian Dilemma," and David Enoch's (2010) "Epistemological Challenge." It is argued that each challenge faces cogent objections that not only demonstrate the inadequacy of the best debunking challenges available but also instructively guide us to the development of new and more forceful debunking challenges to moral realism. This dissertation develops two new and forceful debunking challenges, both of which target the epistemic reliability and justification of our moral judgments on realist views of the moral facts. The first new debunking challenge starts from the premise that the best explanation of our moral judgments does not appeal to their truth and invokes a new species of epistemic insensitivity to secure the conclusion that our moral belief-forming processes are epistemically unreliable. The second new debunking challenge reasons that the best explanation of the fact that moral realists have no good explanation of the reliability of our moral belief-forming processes is that there is no such reliability.</p> / Dissertation

Costly ‘altruistic’ punishment, where an individual intervenes to punish someone for behaving unfairly towards another or for violating a social norm, seems to be vital for large-scale cooperation. However, due to the costs involved, the evolution of this behaviour has remained a puzzle. The thesis initially describes why punishment is costly and explains why current theories do not sufficiently explain its evolution in the context of these costs. The thesis then offers a solution to this puzzle in the form of a dominance-based theory of the evolution of punishment. The theoretical underpinnings of this theory are discussed in reference to the previous literature, specifically how a dominant position provides sufficient heterogeneity in the cost and benefits of punishment to allow the behaviour to evolve at the individual-level of selection. Across 10 studies, the thesis empirically investigates the role dominance is theorised to play in costly punishment behaviour. First, the judgements observers make about punishers are investigated. It is demonstrated that punishers are perceived as dominant but, unlike individuals who engage in other aggressive behaviours, punishers are also well liked. While successful punishers are judged to be of the highest rank in a social group, the wider social judgements of punishers are dependent on the attempt at punishment only; successful and unsuccessful punishers are seen as equally dominant and well liked, suggesting that the willingness to attempt punishment can honestly signal both dominance and ones pro-sociality. However, additional studies show that observers a) perceive subordinate punishers will face a great deal of retaliation, b) show surprise when subordinates attempt to punish, and c) expect that dominants will punish and be successful, whereas subordinates are expected to never punish. Thus, while there are reputational benefits from punishment, only dominant individuals can actually access them. Second, the effect of a dominant position on punishment behaviour is investigated. Two studies sought to simulate the greater access to resources that dominants enjoy, and demonstrate that individuals who receive more resources from group-level cooperation will punish free-riding more frequently and more severely than those who receive less resources. Moreover, individuals who are in a stable dominant position, i.e. who can continually benefit to a greater degree than others from group cooperation, punish even more frequently and severely than when individuals receive additional resources alone. The results show that individuals only punish when it is cheap for them to do so and when investment in the public good (by punishing) can produce higher future returns for them. A dominant position provides the opportunity for both of these. Further studies demonstrate that individuals at the centre of a social network, an example of a ‘real life’ informal dominant position, are more sensitive to unfairness when making punishment decisions compared to those at the periphery of a group. However, when punishment decisions are public, and there are no economic incentives to punish, individuals behave in a similar manner regardless of social position. Taken together, the results of the empirical studies support the proposed dominance-theory of costly punishment. The theoretical implications of the dominance-theory of punishment are discussed in reference to both the proximate occurrence of punishment and its evolutionary origins in dominance and dominant behaviours. The practical implications of this theory will also be discussed, specifically in regard to when and why individuals will act in defence of the public good. While further investigation is necessary, a dominance-theory of punishment explains both results of this thesis and the findings of the wider literature, and as such provides a coherent and compelling explanation for the evolution of costly punishment and its associated emotions.

A vida em grupo não apenas traz as vantagens da cooperação, mas carrega consigo as desvantagens da competição intra-grupal por recursos. Nas relações entre pessoas do mesmo sexo, consideram-se ainda aspectos relacionados à possível disputa por parceiros sexuais. No presente trabalho avaliamos como certas características e atributos pessoais influenciam na seleção de amigos para o começo de uma relação de amizade, e como as preferências na seleção podem variar intra e inter sexualmente. Selecionar amigos é uma situação que pode colocar o indivíduo no conflito entre a vantagem de ter um cooperador de alto status, porém, ao mesmo tempo, forte concorrente na competição por recursos e seleção sexual. As preferências na seleção de amizade foram analisadas em função das características pessoais do próprio participante, como sua propensão à tomada de atitudes imediatistas (Desconto de Futuro) e seu perfil cognitivo predominante (empático ou sistematizador). O Desconto de Futuro refere-se a um padrão comportamental de preferir correr riscos iminentes no presente a esperar por retornos maiores num futuro incerto, é o princípio do carpe diem: pensar no presente em detrimento de planos posteriores. O perfil cognitivo empático tem maior capacidade cognitiva na compreensão de habilidades sociais e lingüísticas, enquanto o sistematizador apresenta maior capacidade cognitiva em habilidades matemáticas, espaciais e lógicas. Em nosso estudo o desconto do futuro dos participantes inicialmente menos descontadores mostrou um aumento imediato após a visualização dos possíveis amigos, o que mostra que este processo cognitivo pode ser alterado pela avaliação de indivíduos do mesmo sexo. Mostramos também que indivíduos mais descontadores, por pensarem na competição iminente ao invés da cooperação futura, evitaram amizade com os modelos avaliados como mais atraentes. A empatia e sistematização dos participantes não se apresentaram relevantes na seleção de amigos. Estudamos também como as diferenças, em atributos pessoais (beleza, inteligência e poder aquisitivo) e em características inter pessoais (altruísmo, lealdade, compreensão), entre o selecionador e o selecionado, influenciam na preferência pela amizade. Os resultados mostraram que a preferência em se relacionar com pessoas parecidas com elas em atributos pessoais ocorrerá principalmente para os homens, devido a sua maior competitividade e busca por posição hierárquica intra-grupo, que faz com que eles evitem grandes discrepâncias de potencial competitivo, sendo a igualdade de importância secundária para mulheres. Ambos os sexos preferiram para amigos aqueles avaliados com as maiores características inter-pessoais positivas, resultado esperado em função das vantagens diretas em manter uma amizade com pessoas com indicativos de confiabilidade e bondade. O estudo mostrou também que quando a amizade passa da fase inicial da seleção e se torna uma relação mais íntima, homens apresentam um aumento na preferência por amigos atraentes, pois a estabilidade na amizade acarreta diminuição dos riscos de competição e traição / Group life not only brings the benefits of cooperation, but also carries the disadvantages of inter-group competition for resources. In relationships of people of the same sex, the possible dispute for sexual partners is also considered. This study evaluates how certain characteristics and attributes of others influences in the selection of a new friendship and how preferences in choice may vary intra and inter sexually. Choosing friends is a situation that may put an individual in conflict between the advantage of having a cooperator of high status, but also a strong rival in the competition for resources and sexual selection. Preferences in the selection of friendship were analyzed in function of the personal characteristics of each participant, such as the propensity in taking immediate attitudes (Discount of the Future) and the pre-dominate cognitive style (emphatic or systematic). The Discount of the Future refers to a standard behavior of preferring to take eminent risks in the present than wait for higher returns in an uncertain future. The cognitive emphatic style has a higher cognitive capability in the comprehension of social and linguistic abilities, while the systematic presents a greater cognitive capacity in mathematical, spatial and linguistic abilities. In this study, the discount of the future of the participants which was initially less discounted showed an immediate increase after the visualization of potential friends, which demonstrates that this cognitive process may be altered for the evaluation of individuals of the same sex. We also show that more discounter individuals, who think more on the imminent competition than the future cooperation, avoid friendship with the models evaluated as more attractive. The empathy and systematization of the participants did not present itself relevant in the selection of friends. We also studied how the differences in personal attributes (beauty intelligence and acquisitive power) and in inter-personal characteristics (altruism, loyalty, comprehension), between the chooser and the chosen in fluencies in the preference for friendship. The results demonstrate that the preference in relating with alike people of personal attributes will occur most frequently with men, due to a greater competition in the search for inter-group hierarchy position, which makes them avoid large discrepancies of competitive potential, while the same concept is secondary for women. Both sexes preferred creating friendship with those evaluated with the greatest inter-personal positive characteristics, an expected result with the direct advantages in maintaining a friendship with people with higher trustworthy and goodness indicators. The study also shows that when a friendship surpasses the initial stage of selection and turns into a more intimate one, men present an increase in preference for attractive friends, probably because a reduction in the risks of competition and betrayal as the friendship stabilizes

A vida em grupo não apenas traz as vantagens da cooperação, mas carrega consigo as desvantagens da competição intra-grupal por recursos. Nas relações entre pessoas do mesmo sexo, consideram-se ainda aspectos relacionados à possível disputa por parceiros sexuais. No presente trabalho avaliamos como certas características e atributos pessoais influenciam na seleção de amigos para o começo de uma relação de amizade, e como as preferências na seleção podem variar intra e inter sexualmente. Selecionar amigos é uma situação que pode colocar o indivíduo no conflito entre a vantagem de ter um cooperador de alto status, porém, ao mesmo tempo, forte concorrente na competição por recursos e seleção sexual. As preferências na seleção de amizade foram analisadas em função das características pessoais do próprio participante, como sua propensão à tomada de atitudes imediatistas (Desconto de Futuro) e seu perfil cognitivo predominante (empático ou sistematizador). O Desconto de Futuro refere-se a um padrão comportamental de preferir correr riscos iminentes no presente a esperar por retornos maiores num futuro incerto, é o princípio do carpe diem: pensar no presente em detrimento de planos posteriores. O perfil cognitivo empático tem maior capacidade cognitiva na compreensão de habilidades sociais e lingüísticas, enquanto o sistematizador apresenta maior capacidade cognitiva em habilidades matemáticas, espaciais e lógicas. Em nosso estudo o desconto do futuro dos participantes inicialmente menos descontadores mostrou um aumento imediato após a visualização dos possíveis amigos, o que mostra que este processo cognitivo pode ser alterado pela avaliação de indivíduos do mesmo sexo. Mostramos também que indivíduos mais descontadores, por pensarem na competição iminente ao invés da cooperação futura, evitaram amizade com os modelos avaliados como mais atraentes. A empatia e sistematização dos participantes não se apresentaram relevantes na seleção de amigos. Estudamos também como as diferenças, em atributos pessoais (beleza, inteligência e poder aquisitivo) e em características inter pessoais (altruísmo, lealdade, compreensão), entre o selecionador e o selecionado, influenciam na preferência pela amizade. Os resultados mostraram que a preferência em se relacionar com pessoas parecidas com elas em atributos pessoais ocorrerá principalmente para os homens, devido a sua maior competitividade e busca por posição hierárquica intra-grupo, que faz com que eles evitem grandes discrepâncias de potencial competitivo, sendo a igualdade de importância secundária para mulheres. Ambos os sexos preferiram para amigos aqueles avaliados com as maiores características inter-pessoais positivas, resultado esperado em função das vantagens diretas em manter uma amizade com pessoas com indicativos de confiabilidade e bondade. O estudo mostrou também que quando a amizade passa da fase inicial da seleção e se torna uma relação mais íntima, homens apresentam um aumento na preferência por amigos atraentes, pois a estabilidade na amizade acarreta diminuição dos riscos de competição e traição / Group life not only brings the benefits of cooperation, but also carries the disadvantages of inter-group competition for resources. In relationships of people of the same sex, the possible dispute for sexual partners is also considered. This study evaluates how certain characteristics and attributes of others influences in the selection of a new friendship and how preferences in choice may vary intra and inter sexually. Choosing friends is a situation that may put an individual in conflict between the advantage of having a cooperator of high status, but also a strong rival in the competition for resources and sexual selection. Preferences in the selection of friendship were analyzed in function of the personal characteristics of each participant, such as the propensity in taking immediate attitudes (Discount of the Future) and the pre-dominate cognitive style (emphatic or systematic). The Discount of the Future refers to a standard behavior of preferring to take eminent risks in the present than wait for higher returns in an uncertain future. The cognitive emphatic style has a higher cognitive capability in the comprehension of social and linguistic abilities, while the systematic presents a greater cognitive capacity in mathematical, spatial and linguistic abilities. In this study, the discount of the future of the participants which was initially less discounted showed an immediate increase after the visualization of potential friends, which demonstrates that this cognitive process may be altered for the evaluation of individuals of the same sex. We also show that more discounter individuals, who think more on the imminent competition than the future cooperation, avoid friendship with the models evaluated as more attractive. The empathy and systematization of the participants did not present itself relevant in the selection of friends. We also studied how the differences in personal attributes (beauty intelligence and acquisitive power) and in inter-personal characteristics (altruism, loyalty, comprehension), between the chooser and the chosen in fluencies in the preference for friendship. The results demonstrate that the preference in relating with alike people of personal attributes will occur most frequently with men, due to a greater competition in the search for inter-group hierarchy position, which makes them avoid large discrepancies of competitive potential, while the same concept is secondary for women. Both sexes preferred creating friendship with those evaluated with the greatest inter-personal positive characteristics, an expected result with the direct advantages in maintaining a friendship with people with higher trustworthy and goodness indicators. The study also shows that when a friendship surpasses the initial stage of selection and turns into a more intimate one, men present an increase in preference for attractive friends, probably because a reduction in the risks of competition and betrayal as the friendship stabilizes

People engage in a multitude of different relationships. Relatives, spouses, and friends are modestly to moderately similar in various characteristics, e.g., personality characteristics, interests, appearance. The role of psychological (e.g., skills, global appraisal) and social (e.g., gender, familial status) similarities in personal relationships and the association with relationship quality (emotional closeness and reciprocity of support) were examined in four independent studies. Young adults (N = 456; M = 27 years) and middle-aged couples from four different family types (N = 171 couples, M = 38 years) gave answer to a computer-aided questionnaire regarding their ego-centered networks. A subsample of 175 middle-aged adults (77 couples and 21 individuals) participated in a one-year follow-up questioning. Two experimental studies (N = 470; N = 802), both including two assessments with an interval of five weeks, were conducted to examine causal relationships among similarity, closeness, and reciprocity expectations. Results underline the role of psychological and social similarities as covariates of emotional closeness and reciprocity of support on the between-relationship level, but indicate a relatively weak effect within established relationships. In specific relationships, such as parent-child relationships and friendships, psychological similarity partly alleviates the effects of missing genetic relatedness. Individual differences moderate these between-relationship effects. In all, results combine evolutionary and social psychological perspectives on similarity in personal relationships and extend previous findings by means of a network approach and an experimental manipulation of existing relationships. The findings further show that psychological and social similarity have different implications for the study of personal relationships depending on the phase in the developmental process of relationships. / Verwandte, Partner und Freunde ähneln sich in einer Vielzahl von Merkmalen wie z.B. Persönlichkeitseigenschaften, Einstellungen oder Aussehen. Die Bedeutung von Ähnlichkeit in psychologischen und demografischen Eigenschaften von Beziehungspartnern und die Zusammenhänge mit der Qualität der Beziehung wurden in vier unabhängigen Studien untersucht. Junge Erwachsene (N = 456; M = 27 Jahre) und Paare aus vier verschiedenen Familienformen (N = 171 Paare, M = 38 Jahre) beurteilten in einem PC-gestützten Fragebogen die sozialen Beziehungen in ihrem ego-zentrierten Netzwerk hinsichtlich wahrgenommener Ähnlichkeit, emotionaler Nähe und Reziprozität der Unterstützung. Ein Teil der Paare (77 Paare und 21 Einzelpersonen) nahm an der Ein-Jahres-Längsschnittstudie teil. In zwei Experimenten (N = 470; N = 802) wurde die Wahrnehmung von Ähnlichkeit manipuliert, um die Kausalwirkung auf die emotionale Nähe und die Erwartung von reziprokem Verhalten in Beziehungen zu prüfen. Die Studien zeigten, dass innerhalb eines sozialen Netzwerkes ähnliche Beziehungspartner auch emotional näher beurteilt wurden, es jedoch kaum wechselseitige Beeinflussungen innerhalb bestehender Beziehungen gab. In spezifischen Beziehungen, wie Eltern-Kind- oder Freundschaftsbeziehungen, konnte psychologische Ähnlichkeit den Effekt der fehlenden genetischen Verwandtschaft teilweise aufheben. Merkmale der Person moderierten diese Zusammenhänge auf der Beziehungsebene. Die Ergebnisse verknüpfen die evolutionspsychologische und die sozialpsychologische Perspektive der Ähnlichkeitsforschung und ergänzen bisherige Befunde durch den Einsatz des Sozialen Netzwerkansatzes und der experimentellen Manipulation von bestehenden Beziehungen. Zudem zeigen die Befunde, dass psychologische und demografische Ähnlichkeit unterschiedliche Implikationen für die Beziehungsforschung haben, in Abhängigkeit von der Entwicklungsphase der Beziehung.

Pleasure experienced in an unpleasant film genre, like horror, has prompted numerous discussions in film studies. Noted scholars like Carol J. Clover and Noël Carroll have rationalized spectatorial enjoyment of a genre that capitalizes on human anxieties and complicates cultural categories. Clover admits that horror initially satisfies sadistic tendencies in young male viewers but then pushes them to cross gender lines and identify with the strong female heroine who defeats the film's threat. Carroll provides a basic explanation, citing spectators' cognitive curiosity as the source of pleasure. Both scholars are right to consider emotional, psychological, and cognitive experiences felt by viewers, but the main objective of this thesis moves beyond one particular demographic and considers how spectatorial experiences can differ radically but still offer pleasure. This work involves a methodology, Theory of Mind (ToM), that addresses the basic yet complex issues that inform spectatorial interactions with the horror film. Clover, Carroll, and others agree that viewers realize violations to cultural conventions occur in horror. Therefore, these anticipations, anxieties, curiosities, and tendencies of the spectator exist before and after a film rather than taking place within the two hours of watching its narrative. ToM is a cognitive ability that allows individuals to predict and make sense of others' behavior and underlying mental states and is a hardwired faculty that undergoes constant conditioning to ensure individuals can better interact with their environments, whether real or fictional. With horror, expectations are challenged, since spectators are forced to renegotiate cultural knowledge, as horror does not adhere to convention. Horror exercises ToM intensely, but as this project proves, it is a pleasurable workout. Ridley Scott's 1979 sci-fi horror film, Alien, is this work's case study, because it falls into the horror genre and challenges a few culturally-imposed binaries that are entangled in the film, including human/android and masculine/feminine. As this thesis shows, these entanglements demonstrate how ToM is both biological/cultural and is not categorized as a programmed mechanism in humans. With these enmeshed binaries, this study argues that Alien involves posthumanism, because it rejects traditional categories of identification and information and embodies fluidity. This works for ToM, since it is an ever-developing and conditioned process of observing and anticipating behavior. ToM is also posthuman, because information does not remain stagnant but is challenged or modified constantly in pleasurable ways. By witnessing the contradictions and complications of cultural categories through Alien's characters, spectators can learn to observe the flux of identity outside the film's narrative, too. Because this learning process is in constant motion, this thesis points out how horror's stimulation and development of it are enjoyable.