Mating Intelligence

Sex, Relationships, and the Mind's Reproductive System

Edited by Glenn Geher, Geoffrey Miller

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• ISBN: 978-0-8058-5749-8
• Binding: Paperback (also available in Hardback)
• Published by: Psychology Press
• Publication Date: 20th July 2007
• Pages: 480

About the Book

Human intelligence is sexually attractive, and strongly predicts the success of sexual relationships, but the behavioral sciences have usually ignored the interface between intelligence and mating. This is the first serious scholarly effort to explore that interface, by examining both universal and individual differences in human mating intelligence. Contributors include some of the most prominent evolutionary psychologists and promising new researchers in human intelligence, social psychology, intimate relationships, and sexuality.

David Buss’ foreword and the opening chapter explore what ‘mating intelligence’ means, and why it is central to human cognition and sexuality. The book’s six sections then examine (1) our mating mechanisms — universal emotional and cognitive adaptations for mating intelligently — that guide mate search, mate choice, and courtship; (2) how mating intelligence strategically guides our choice of mating tactics and partners given different relationship goals, personality traits, forms of deception, and the existence of children; (3) the genetic and psychiatric causes of individual differences in mating intelligence; (4) how we use mental fitness indicators — forms of human intelligence such as creativity, humor, and emotional intelligence — to attract and retain sexual partners; (5) the ecological and social contexts of mating intelligence; (6) integrative models of mating intelligence that can guide future research.

Mating Intelligence is intended for researchers, advanced students, and courses in human sexuality, intimate relationships, intelligence research, behavior genetics, and evolutionary, personality, social, and clinical psychology.

Reviews

"A wonderful collection of chapters on … the new construct of mating intelligence … [it] heralds a more comprehensive understanding of the psychology of human mating ... readers will enjoy the many mating insights offered by this volume." - David M. Buss, Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin, From the Foreword

"Like many central areas of human behavior that have been neglected by mainstream psychology, the thoughts and emotions behind mating have recently been illuminated by evolutionary analyses. This exciting collection marks the debut of a new and important field of research, which should fascinate psychologists and nonpsychologists alike." - Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University

"A significant contribution to the field, combining in one source, material on an interesting and important topic." - Dennis Krebs, Ph.D., Simon Fraser University

"A ‘must have’ for scholars who do research on human mating …a unique volume of cutting edge thinking on the psychology of mating." - Timothy Ketelaar, Ph.D.,
New Mexico State University

Table of Contents

Part 1. Introduction. D. Buss, Foreword. Preface. G. Geher, G. Miller, J. Murphy, Mating Intelligence: Towards an Evolutionarily Informed Construct. Part 2. Mate Search and Mating Intelligence. L. Penke, P.M. Todd, A.P. Lenton, B. Fasolo, How Self-assessments Can Guide Human Mating Decisions. C. De Backer, J. Braeckman, L. Farinpour, Mating Intelligence in Personal Ads. Part 3. Strategic Flexibility in Mating Intelligence. N. Li, Intelligent Priorities: Adaptive Long- and Short-Term Mate Preferences. D. Nettle, H. Clegg, Personality, Mating Strategies, and Mating Intelligence. M. O’Sullivan, Deception and Self-deception as Strategies in Short and Long-term Mating. V.A. Weekes-Shackelford, J.A. Easton, E.A. Stone, How Having Children Affects Mating Psychology. Part 4. Mental Fitness Indicators and Mating Intelligence. M.C. Keller, The Role of Mutations in Human Mating. A. Shaner, G. Miller, J. Mintz, Mental Disorders as Catastrophic Failures of Mating Intelligence. Part 5. Mating Intelligence and Other Individual Differences. S.B. Kaufman, A. Kozbelt, M.L. Bromley, G. Miller, The Role of Creativity and Humor in Mate Selection. J.J. Casey, J. Garrett, M.A. Brackett, S. Rivers, Emotional Intelligence, Relationship Quality, and Partner Selection. S. Kanazawa, Mating Intelligence and General Intelligence as Independent Constructs. Part 6. The Ecological Context of Mating Intelligence. J. Ash, G.G. Gallup, Jr., Brain Size, Intelligence, and Paleoclimatic Variation. A.J. Figueredo, B.H. Brumbach, D.N. Jones, J.A. Sefcek, G. Vásquez, W.J. Jacobs, Ecological Constraints on Mating Tactics. Part 7. Conclusions. G. Miller, Mating Intelligence: Frequently Asked Questions. G. Geher, M.A. Camargo, S. O’Rourke, Mating Intelligence: An Integrative Model and Future Research Directions.

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