Synonyms
Definition
Ecology: The relationships between living organisms (including humans) and their environment.
Introduction
Most research on sociosexuality has focused on the individual level of analysis, investigating either between-person differences or differences between men and women (e.g., Simpson and Gangestad 1991). Other work suggests that sociosexuality also varies extensively across cultures around the globe (e.g., Schmitt 2005) and that this variation – far from being stochastic – is at least partly due to predictable variation in different ecological demands.
Cultural Variation in Sociosexuality
In the largest systematic investigation into sociosexuality around the world to date, Schmitt (2005, as part of the International Sexuality Description Project) administered the Sociosexual Orientation Inventory (Simpson and Gangestad 1991) in 26 languages and 48 countries to over 14,000 people around the globe. This investigation...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
References
Gangestad, S. W., & Simpson, J. A. (2000). The evolution of human mating: Trade-offs and strategic pluralism. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 23, 573–587.
Inhorn, M. C., & Brown, P. J. (1990). The anthropology of infectious disease. Annual Review of Anthropology, 19, 89–117.
Murray, D. R., & Schaller, M. (2016). Pathogens, personality, and culture. In A. T. Church (Ed.), Personality across Cultures. USA: Praeger Publishers.
Murray, D. R., Jones, D. N., & Schaller, M. (2013). Perceived threat of infectious disease and its implications for sexual attitudes. Personality and Individual Differences, 54, 103–108.
Schaller, M., & Murray, D. R. (2008). Pathogens, personality, and culture: Disease prevalence predicts worldwide variability in sociosexuality, extraversion, and openness to experience. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95, 212–221.
Schmitt, D. P. (2005). Sociosexuality from Argentina to Zimbabwe: A 48-nation study of sex, culture, and strategies of human mating. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 28, 247–275.
Simpson, J. A., & Gangestad, S. W. (1991). Individual differences in sociosexuality: Evidence for convergent and discriminant validity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60, 870–883.
Thornhill, R., Fincher, C. L., Murray, D. R., & Schaller, M. (2010). Zoonotic and non-zoonotic diseases in relation to human personality and societal values: Support for the parasite-stress model. Evolutionary Psychology, 8, 151–169.
Trivers, R. (1972). Parental investment and sexual selection. In B. Campbell (Ed.), Sexual selection and the descent of man (pp. 136–179). Chicago: Aldine.
Wolfe, N. D., Dunavan, C. P., & Diamond, J. (2007). Origins of major human infectious diseases. Nature, 447, 279–283.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this entry
Cite this entry
Murray, D.R., Kerry, N. (2016). Ecology. In: Weekes-Shackelford, V., Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_37-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_37-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences