Evolutionary psychology has emerged over the past 15 years as a major theoretical perspective, generating an increasing volume of empirical studies and assuming a larger presence within psychological science. At the same time, it has generated critiques and remains controversial among some psychologists. Some of the controversy stems from hypotheses that go against traditional psychological theories; some from empirical findings that may have disturbing implications; some from misunderstandings about the logic of evolutionary psychology; and some from reasonable scientific concerns about its underlying framework. This article identifies some of the most common concerns and attempts to elucidate evolutionary psychology's stance pertaining to them. These include issues of testability and falsifiability; the domain specificity versus domain generality of psychological mechanisms; the role of novel environments as they interact with evolved psychological circuits; the role of genes in the conceptual structure of evolutionary psychology; the roles of learning, socialization, and culture in evolutionary psychology; and the practical value of applied evolutionary psychology. The article concludes with a discussion of the limitations of current evolutionary psychology.

No abstract

No abstract

Scant research has examined how individuals attempt to influence others' mating decisions. Parents are a special case because of their genetic relatedness to, and power over, their children. This paper tests the Daughter-Guarding Hypothesis: humans possess adaptations that motivate (1) protecting their daughter's sexual reputation, (2) preserving their daughter's mate value, and (3) preventing their daughters from being sexually exploited. Using two data sources, young adults and their parents, we found that parents were more likely to control their daughters' mating decisions. Parents were more likely to control their daughters' sexual behavior; parents reported more emotional upset over daughters' sexual activity; parents controlled their daughters' mate choice more than their sons'. The results support several hypothesized design features of the Daughter-Guarding hypothesis.

Although a considerable body of research explores alterations in women's mating-relevant preferences across the menstrual cycle, investigators have yet to examine the potential for the menstrual cycle to influence intergroup attitudes. We examined the effects of changes in conception risk across the menstrual cycle on intergroup bias and found that increased conception risk was positively associated with several measures of race bias. This association was particularly strong when perceived vulnerability to sexual coercion was high. Our findings highlight the potential for hypotheses informed by an evolutionary perspective to generate new knowledge about current social problems-an avenue that may lead to new predictions in the study of intergroup relations.