Evolutionary Psychology and Endocrinology

Abstract

This chapter addresses the role of endocrinology in human evolutionary psychology. It is argued that a modular organization of specialized biological adaptations requires means of coordinating the activation and inhibition of diverse mechanisms in ways that promote functional outcomes. Hormones are ideally suited to act as signals for such coordination, given that they are often released into the general circulation and can thereby simultaneously adjust parameter settings in systems distributed throughout the brain and the rest of the body. Endocrine signals are released upon detection of cues of specific adaptive problems, and then produce downstream calibration of mechanism settings that promote solutions to those problems. This chapter focuses on hormonal responses to potential mates as an example of this process, and reviews evidence in both human and nonhuman species for these reactive hormone increases acting as broadcasts of the current importance of mate pursuit as an adaptive problem. The chapter concludes with discussion of challenges for future research on the functional roles of endocrine signals in the regulation of human psychology and behavior.

Theoretical frameworks for human behavioral endocrinology

“…from the onset of the interactions) increases in men"s testosterone in controlled laboratory experiments (e.g., Roney et al, 2003Roney et al, , 2007Roney et al, , 2010van der Meij et al, 2008), with such effects also corroborated under more naturalistic field conditions (Flinn et al, 2012). These reactive hormone increases may act as signals of the current importance of mate pursuit, and promote output responses that promote mate competition over short-term time-scales (for reviews of this argument, see Roney, 2009Roney, , 2016. Muller et al (2009) similarly postulated an interesting hypothesis that links such short-term testosterone increases to relative investment in mate seeking vs. paternal care.…”

Bringing life history theory into relationship science

“…This process is complicated by the fact that different life history traits/attributes can, at times, have opposite effects on mortality or fertility. For example, traits/attributes that increase fertility through stronger or more sustained mating effort (e.g., working hard to attract or maintain relationships with desirable mates) can compromise survival because some of the features that make people more attractive as romantic partners, especially in the case of men, involve engaging is risky acts (Roney, ) or weaken the immune system (Grafen, ). One example of the latter is testosterone, which tends to make men more attractive as potential mates, but can also impair their immune system.…”

Inter-and Intraindividual Variation in Emotion Recognition: Investigating the Role of the Ovulatory Cycle, Sex, and Personality

“…Hormones play an important role in the coordination of physiological and behavioral mechanisms to enhance the fitness of individuals in the face of various challenges (Ketterson et al, 2013). They act as effective messengers by being released into the bloodstream, where they transmit information to the brain and body parts tasked with responding to potential problems (Roney, 2016). One hormone can have multiple physiological and psychological effects on the brain and body (O. C. Schultheiss & Stanton, 2009).…”