The Darwin Is in the Details

• Main Authors: KENRICK, Douglas T., LI, Norman P.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2000
• Subjects: human mate selection; sex role attitudes; Social Structure; Sociocultural Factors; Theory of Evolution; Cross Cultural Differences; Human Sex Differences; Gender and Sexuality; Social Psychology
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/717; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soss_research/article/1716/viewcontent/DarwinDetails_2000_afv.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Comments on the article by A. H. Eagly and W. Wood which examined the origins of sex differences in human behavior. Eagly and Wood argued that social structural theory can explain the origin of psychological sex differences. The present authors suggest that evolutionary models of sex differences are based on a much broader foundation that Eagly and Wood imply. They note that Eagly and Wood misconstrued previous age preference findings as supporting the "common knowledge" that men prefer younger women. Eagly and Wood also showed that as societies approach gender equality in resource access, some sex differences in mate preferences decrease; however, as the current authors note, evolved mechanisms are not environmentally insensitive.