The Human Beast

Why we do what we do.

Evolutionary psychologist Nigel Barber is the author of Why Parents Matter, The Science of Romance, among other books. See full bio

October 20, 2009

How much physical activity do we really need?

There is a happy land in which obesity and heart disease are virtually unknown. That is the realm of subsistence humans who eat more than we do. Thanks to their active lifestyle hunter-gatherers are ideally lean, fit, and healthy (apart from ever-present animal attacks, parasites, and infections). How much exercise would we have to take to be as active as our foraging ancestors? Read More

September 23, 2009

Moving Too Little or Eating Too Much?

Who can forget the fight between gangly Ace Ventura and his diminutive opponent from the !Kung San tribe who substituted fierceness for stature? Jim Carrey is freakishly thin and fit in our society but his opponent benefited from the superb physical conditioning of all his tribe (pictured). No obesity there.
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September 18, 2009

Can Brides Justify Losing Their Names?

American men and women are equal under the law. Yet, when they enter a marriage contract, it is the women who give up their names. Men almost never do. Read More

September 9, 2009

Who really tells just-so stories, evolutionists or their opponents?

Just-so stories were invented by British writer Rudyard Kipling. Writing for children, he devised amusing and quirky tales about how different animals acquired their distinctive features. Read More

September 1, 2009

Is nature red in tooth and claw?

Like sex, violence is popular in entertainment. It boosts TV ratings, helps to sell household products, moves video games, and books, and garners the attention of young people when all else fails. Nature movies get in on the act as well, reveling in the gory details of predators dismembering their prey. But is nature as violent as most people, including biologists, imagine? Read More

August 24, 2009

Why modern women behave more like men

Women today behave very much more like men than their grandmothers. After all, they attend college to compete in careers (rather than to find a husband). They are interested in sex. They drink alcohol and do drugs. Read More

July 28, 2009

Sex hormones and womanly passions

In my last post, I pointed out that testosterone fuels the reckless sexual and aggressive behavior of young men and other male vertebrates. Recent research is closing in on sex hormones (androgens as well as estrogens) playing a very similar role for women.

The female hormone estradiol (a key estrogen) plays a role in dominance communication and physical aggression among primates. Read More

July 15, 2009

Sex, violence, and hormones

When male robins enter the breeding season, their testosterone level rises. They become aggressive and amorous. Testosterone has remarkably similar effects on men.

This conclusion does not sit well with most psychologists. Read More

July 7, 2009

Are Fertile Women More Attractive?

Recent research argues that female sexuality changes in the days surrounding ovulation. Read More

July 1, 2009

Ladies in Heat?

The Romans considered that female mammals were driven mad by sexual desire. The term "estrus" describing female sexual heat is derived from the word "oestren" or gadfly. Cows race madly around their pastures to escape being bitten by the gadfly. A recent scholarly book argues that women also experience estrus. Read More

Books by Nigel Barber, Ph.D.

The Myth of Culture: Why We Need a Genuine Natural Science of Societies

Kindness In A Cruel World: The Evolution Of Altruism

The Science of Romance: Secrets of the Sexual Brain

Encyclopedia of Ethics in Science and Technology (Facts on File Science Library)

Why Parents Matter: Parental Investment and Child Outcomes

Evolutionary Psychology Basics

Our bodies evolved over eons, slowly calibrating to the African savanna on which 98 percent of our ancestors lived and died. So, too, did our brains. Evolutionary psychology postulates that the mind is shaped by pressure to survive and reproduce. We jealously guard romantic partners and cherish our closest relatives above all others, lest we fail to pass on our genes.

Go to the Evolutionary Psychology Basics page for more on Evolutionary Psychology including:

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Books by Nigel Barber, Ph.D.

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