Darwin's Subterranean World

Evolution, Mind, and Mating Intelligence

Glenn Geher Ph.D.

The Psychology of Running for Office

Running for office is an incredibly unique experience. I know first-hand, as I’ve been there. Here’s what is like on the inside. And here is why you should vote. Always.

Step 2 in Understanding the Pipe Bombs

The pipe-bomb suspect is a huge Trump supporter. That is a fact. Deal with it.

Step One in Understanding the Pipe Bombs

The current national pipe-bomb scare is anxiety-inducing, depressing, and socially polarizing. At this point, we don’t know the cause. Let’s hold off on our narratives.

The Many Shades of NO in Parenting

Unconditional support in the domain of parenting is pretty much impossible. Here is some guidance on how to tell your kids NO! in a supportive manner.

What Is Your Social Reputation?

A character assault that attacks someone’s reputation can have seriously adverse consequences. Here is an evolutionary perspective on why reputation matters so much in humans.

Welcome to Class!

When giving a college lecture, professors have choices. These days, they can choose to give canned PowerPoint presentations. But is that best for student learning and development?

The Power of Yes in Parenting

When it comes to parenting, there is something to be said for both drawing boundaries and saying yes.

5 Tips for Creating a Psychological Survey

People make surveys all the time. What most people don’t realize is that making a good survey actually takes much know-how. Here are some tips to help.

Take This Quick Personality Test

The Ten-Item Personality Inventory was designed as a super-quick measure of the Big Five personality traits, which define the foundation of one’s personality.

Are You Fun?

People often will categorize others as “fun” or “no fun.” Find out what it actually means to be a “fun” person.

The Power of Yes

Powerful leaders have a huge influence on the lives of others. Leaders can choose to wield their power and create an intimidating environment—or they can choose to say yes.

You Cheater!

Our minds seem particularly honed to detect cheaters. Evolution helps us understand why.

Teach Like the Sun

Sometimes, teachers forget why they got into education in the first place. A new book is a profound reminder of why we do what we do.

Introducing PsychTable

Evolved psychological adaptations (EPAs) are features of the mind that helped our ancestors survive and/or reproduce. PsychTable will be a database of all known EPAs.

The Problem with Psychology

Across the past several decades, diversity of intellectual and political perspectives has dramatically decreased among psychological researchers. This is a problem. Here's why.

The Psychology of "What If"

Life goes in but a single direction, but our minds are capable of going back in time. Such “counterfactual” thinking can have mixed outcomes.

Video Games and Emotional States

A recent study using video game technology provides evidence that video games can have strong emotional effects. This might be why millions are addicted to Fortnite ...

Career Advice from Academia's Bravest

Most academic career advice can be stifling. Here is some different advice—advice that comes from three highly successful academics who aren't afraid to swim against the stream.

Evolutionary Psychology Is a Superpower

The evolutionary perspective on life allows you to see everything in a whole new way. In psychology, the evolutionary perspective is essentially a superpower. Here’s how.

The Polarization of America

The U.S has become increasingly polarized politically over time. Here are some data that show just how big the problem is—and what we can do about it.

Studying Unpopular Ideas in Psychology

Recently, researchers from all around met to discuss how to deal with findings and perspectives that are not very popular. Here's a report of the Heterodox Psychology Workshop.

22 Tips for First-Year College Students

Starting college represents a dramatic change for thousands of young people each year. Here are 22 tips to make sure that you start out strong – and stay that way!

Darwin's Personality

To advance the theory of natural selection, Darwin needed more than intelligence. Here is an analysis of his personality.

How Polygamy Shaped Who We Are

A high proportion of human ancestors were polygamous during the bulk of human evolutionary history. This history plays out in our modern world in all kinds of ways.

Beholden

Elected officials are beholden to campaign donors, and this fact undermines democracy. The only way to drain the swamp is to change the system.

The Promiscuous Narcissist

A recent study of the sexual correlates of narcissism found that short-term mating behaviors are a hallmark across 53 different nations.

3 Things We Know About the Ancestral Environment

Knowing what ancestral human environments were like is not all guess work. There are several things we know about the ancestral human world, and they matter. Here are three.

Separating Kids from Families as Psychological Disaster

Since May of 2018, the U.S. has implemented a policy of separating kids from family members at the border when detaining adults. This policy is disastrous. Here’s why.

5 Reasons Kids Tend to Put Moms Ahead of Dads

From an evolutionary perspective, there are many reasons why dads are a distant second compared with moms.

Darwin's Advice for Parents

The Darwinian perspective on behavior has the capacity to shed light on all facets of the human experience. Here are 10 parenting tips that follow from evolutionary psychology.

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