When attempting to explain something as intangible and complex as human behavior it is difficult to devise experiments that lead to conclusive results. Sometimes complex problems are easier to solve when they are broken down into smaller pieces or into simpler problems that are more approachable. Using human evolution to explain human behavior is such an example. Evolutionary psychology reaches for the roots of human development when they were in their most basic stages to explain why people behave the way they do. Specifically, explaining human masculinity through science has been a major focus of evolutionary psychology. This paper seeks to explain why masculinity cannot be explained by sociology alone and will present evidence that certain male behavior such as aggression can be explained through evolutionary psychology and sexual selection.
When considering the source of human behavior people often argue about how much human behavior is encoded genetically and how much is learned through interaction with society and the environment. This “nature versus nurture” debate arises frequently when discussing many aspects of human behavior. In an essay entitled “The Gender Blur: Where Does Biology End and Society Take Over,” Pulitzer Prize-winning professor of journalism Deborah Blum draws the conclusion that both nature and nurture must be taken into account to explain human behavior. Her conclusions are drawn principally from childhood behavior and her discussions with noted scientists. As a parent she observed that her son loved dinosaurs from the early age of two-and-a-half years old. However, she noticed that “he loved dinosaurs, but only the blood-swilling carnivores. Plant-eaters were wimps and lose...
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...odern male behavior.
Works Cited
Blum, Deborah. “The Gender Blur: Where Does Biology End and Society Take Over?” Signs of Life In the USA: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers. Ed. Sonia Maasik. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000.
Crawford, Charles and Dennis L. Krebs. Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology: Ideas, Issues, and Applications. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1998.
Daly, Martin and Margo Wilson. “Darwinism and the Roots of Machismo.” Scientific American (2002).
Kenyon, Paul. “Overview of Evolutionary Psychology and Mating Strategies.” Human Behavior and Evolution Society. 2000. University of Plymouth. 4 Apr. 2000 .
Peterson, Dale, and Richard Wrangham. Demonic Males: Apes and the Origins of Human Violence. Mariner Books, 1997.
Both Deborah Blum’s The Gender Blur: Where Does Biology End and Society Take Over? and Aaron Devor’s “Gender Role Behaviors and Attitudes” challenges the concept of how gender behavior is socially constructed. Blum resides on the idea that gender behavior is developed mainly through adolescence and societal expectations of a gender. Based on reference from personal experiences to back her argument up, Blum explains that each individual develops their expected traits as they grow up, while she also claims that genes and testosterones also play a role into establishing the differentiation of gender behavior. Whereas, Devor focuses mainly on the idea that gender behavior is portrayed mainly among two different categories: masculinity and femininity, the expectation that society has put upon male and female disregarding any biological traits. Furthermore, both could agree with the idea that society has an effect on how an individual should act based on their gender. Yet, additionally Devor would most likely disagree with Blum regarding the assumption that a biological factor is involved in this following case, but I reside on Blum’s case. Although society is indeed one of the major contributions as to how one should act, as Devor states, biology is somewhat like a foundation that leads to how one should behave as they grow and acknowledge their gender difference as well, residing on Blum’s argument.
Blum, Deborah. “The Gender Blur: Where Does Biology End and Society Take Over?” Signs of Life in the USA: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers. 6th Edition. Sonia Maasik and Jack Solomon. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. 573-580. Print.
In “The Gender Blur: Where Does Biology End and Society Take Over?” Deborah Blum states that “gender roles of our culture reflect an underlying biology” (Blum 679). Maasik and Solomon argue that gender codes and behavior “are not the result of some sort of natural or biological destiny, but are instead politically motivated cultural constructions,” (620) raising the question whether gender behavior begins in culture or genetics. Although one may argue that gender roles begin in either nature or nurture, many believe that both culture and biology have an influence on the behavior.
A psychological mechanism is defined as an adaptation of human behavior that evolved due to evolutionary pressures. This paper focuses on the psychological mechanism of human mating strategies and the evolution of mate preferences. There are several theories to explain how differences in male and female mating strategies developed. This paper explores the parental investment theory, male mating effort as well as the role of different adaptive problems faced by males and females. The traits that humans find attractive in a partner are the ones that confer a reproductive advantage to the individual (Buss, 1994). Early in the literature there is evidence to support the theory that males and females differ in their mate preferences in such a way that males are unselective while females are choosy (Darwin 1871). However, there are also similarities in what each sex finds attractive. It is important to look at how these mating strategies evolved and why adaptive mate preferences continue to exist.
Not everything lies in nature; nurture also plays a big role in our behavior. Craig Venter, an American biologist quoted in Ridley’s article, says that “the wonderful diversity of ...
The Evolution of Masculinity from Males to Females Is masculinity a gender role or are you just born to be masculine? Masculinity can be found in many movies especially superhero movies. You can spot masculinity not only in men but also in female superheroes. The movie I want to analyze is Kick-Ass but the character I mainly want to analyze for their over the shadowed role is Hit-Girl. The movie Kick-Ass is about a boy name David wanting to be a superhero he cannot do like Hit-Girl aka Mindy.
In order to understand the present lifestyles relating to different approaches and tactics applied by humans in mate choice preferences, there is the need to refer to Darwin (1859, 1871) evolutionary perspectives. Darwin (1871) sexual selection is the driving force for males and females reproductive quest for their genes survival. These driving forces have been classified into two categories as intra-sexual and intersexual mate selection.Intersexual selection is male sexual selection process whereby males compete with other males and the females choose the strongest as their ideal partner. Intra-sexual selection occurs when the male species fight among themselves and the strongest gain access to females for
Smith, S. & Stevens, R. (2002) Evolutionary Psychology, in Miell, D., Pheonix, A. and Thomas, K. (eds) Mapping Psychology 1, Milton Keynes, The Open University.
Kenrick’s ideas are supported by Buss’ 1994 experiment. Buss surveyed men and women in thirty seven countries to investigate important qualities in the opposite sex. The findings showed that women preferred resourcefulness and dependability whereas men valued chastity and youth. This study appears to support Kenrick’s “Parental Investment Theory” as Buss argues that men evolved to provide for their partners and are attracted to fertile women.
Steen, R. Grant. DNA and Destiny: Nurture and Nature in Human Behavior. New York: Plenum Press, 1996.
Grysman, A. (2012). Evolutionary Psychology [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from Soul Beliefs: Causes and Consequences Online Course site: rutgersonline.net.
...criterion that true science is progressive. It has proven able to successfully account for apparent anomalies and generate novel predictions and explanations and therefore has the hallmarks of a currently progressive research program capable of providing us with new knowledge of how the mind works (Ketellar and Ellis 2000). A glance at the Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology (2005), edited by David Buss, shows just how vigorous and productive the field is. Important challenges remain in the discipline, however. The most important are determining the role of domain-specific versus domain-general processes and integrating evolutionary psychology with other behavioral sciences like genetics, neuroscience, and psychometrics (Buss 2004; Rice 2011). Even though critics will remain, Evolutionary Psychology will remain as a scientific discipline for the foreseeable future.
Web. 21 Mar. 2016. Brooks argues that the traits that one would typically associate with that of being male are instilled within those of the male sex through specific cultures’ ideas of what it the norm. This social learning affects the life experiences and choices males make from birth to fatherhood, and furthers the dual patriarchal society (whereby men exert power over women and other men) we exist within. This article is useful as it emphasizes the importance of the acquisition of traits through the observation of role models, which in turn strengthens the claim that masculinity is a social construct and not biologically
The “nature versus nurture” debate started around the 1800s, just when sociology was recognized as a part of science. It is still a highly controversial topic that questions whether human behavior is basic instincts, predetermined by genetics or is slowly molded by each individual’s environment and social interactions. It has been discussed and concluded many times by biologists, sociologists, and psychologists, each with their own opinion. A brief explanation of “nature vs nurture” is that scientists have known that traits such as eye color, hair color, and skin tone are determined by specific genes encoded in our DNA. The “Nature” theory takes things a step further to say that more abstract traits such as behavior, habits, personality, intelligence,
Bd 3. Kurzban, R., & Weeden, J. (2004, August 24). HurryDate: Mate preferences in action. Retrieved June 9, 2015, from http://www.sas.upenn.edu/psych/PLEEP/pdfs/2005 Kurzban & Weeden EHB.pdf 4.