Adults' visual preferences for toys: New evidence for a 'bent twig' theory of sex-linked spatial ability
*Poster session II

Eye-movements were monitored in sixty-four young adults during simultaneous presentation of "masculine" and "feminine" toys. It was hypothesized that visual fixations on sex-linked toys would indicate visual preferences in adults similar to those documented previously in infants, and that these measures of preference or bias would be related to spatial competency and levels of prenatal androgens. Consistent with this hypothesis, women and men showing more visual fixations on male-typical toys compared to female-typical toys had better spatial ability (as measured by mental rotation and targeting ability) and smaller (i.e., more masculine) digit ratios, a putative marker of prenatal androgen levels. These findings support the hypothesis that male-typical toys provide experiences that contribute to the male advantage in spatial ability and suggest further that prenatal androgens may facilitate the acquisition of spatial abilities by promoting enduring preferences for such objects.

Contact information:
gma@psyc.tamu.edu
979-845-2567

TAMU 4235
College Station, TX 77843

Parent-Child Phenotypic Similarity: Evolution's Paternity Test or Experimental Artifact
*Poster session II

Because the human infant is born altrical it seems logical to conclude that human fathers would be sensitive to phenotypic similarity. Christenfeld and Hill (1995) reported experimental results using a guessing procedure supporting this prediction. French, et al. (2000) failed to replicate these results using a ratings procedure. In both of these studies it was argued that mothers provided an adequate comparison group. Bressan and Gassi (2004) compared both guessing and ratings procedures finding no difference between mothers and fathers and accuracy better than chance. The present experiments used a procedure modeled after a verbal leaning experiment. The basic idea is that it should be easier to learn to match up a list of related parents and their children than a list of randomly constructed pairings. The first experiment used single frontal view photographs while the second experiment used three views of each person; frontal, profile, and oblique. The data revealed significant main effects for familial similarity and for sex, emphasizing the importance of using adequate control groups and suggesting that greater paternal resemblance is not the result of uncertain paternity.

Contact information:
mknight@ucok.edu
405-975-5455

Psychology Deptment
100 N. University Drive
Edmond OK 73034

Delay Discounting, Mood and Risk Taking
*Poster session I

DDR (delay-discounting rate) is the rate at which a person devalues a reward as the time to the reward is increased. A high DDR means a greater preference for smaller immediate rewards over larger delayed rewards. Daly and Wilson (2003) have successfully shifted DDR in humans using evolutionary salient stimuli. This experiment attempted to i.shift subjects' DDR by inducing either a positive or negative mood, ii.determine how risk taking and DDR were related. Risk taking was assessed in 2 ways; i.D-RT: a 6 domain risk taking quiz (Weber et al 2002), ii.G-RT: A probabilistic gambling game. Induced mood had no effect upon DDR. Recreational risk taking was negatively correlated with DDR for males. Health and ethical risk taking were positively correlated with DDR for females. G-RT was positively correlated with D-RT in males, but negatively correlated with DDR in females. These results suggest that the relationship between DDR and risk taking depends both upon gender and type of risk. As different neural pathways have been found to be activated when comparing immediate vs. delayed rewards (McClure et al, 2004), there is the possibility that there are separate and distinct neural pathways associated with different kinds of risk taking.

Contact information:
jatkinson@awadwatt.com
905-522-0000

230 Broadway Avenue
Hamilton, Ontario
L8S 2W6
Canada

Sociosexuality, Sexual Arousal, and Risky Decision Making: A Domain Specific Perspective
*Poster session I

An evolutionary approach implies that evolved motives should guide basic decision making processes. This research investigated the link between mate-search motivation and various forms of risk decision making. In Study 1, we examined the link between sociosexual orientation -- an individual difference intrinsically tied to mate-search motivation -- and willingness to engage in various forms of risky behavior. Results showed that sociosexual orientation was linked to mating related risk-taking, with unrestricted individuals reporting greater risk-taking. Sociosexuality was unrelated to other types of risk-taking, suggesting that the link between mate search motivation and risk decision making is domain specific. Study 2 examined interactive effects of sociosexual orientation and sexual arousal on risk decisions. We expected that sexual arousal would increase willingness to take mating related risks, with stronger effects among sexually unrestricted individuals. Results showed that sexual arousal increased willingness to take mating related risks among unrestricted participants but not among restricted participants. Again, this effect was specific to mating risks; no effects were observed for other types of risks.

Contact information:
baker@psy.fsu.edu
850-656-9447

116 Whetherbine Way W.
Tallahassee, FL 32301

Second-to-fourth digit ratio (2D:4D) and musical ability
*Poster session II

The second-to-fourth digit ratio (2D:4D) is a sexually dimorphic trait thought to be determined in utero, with indirect evidence that 2D:4D is negatively related to prenatal testosterone exposure (Manning, Scutt, Wilson, & Lewis-Jones, 1998). Exposure to high levels of prenatal testosterone is reported to facilitate right hemisphere development, which is suggested to enhance musical ability (Geschwind & Gelaburda, 1985). While research has compared the digit ratios of musicians and non-musicians (Sluming & Manning, 2000), the relationship between 2D:4D and musical ability within a group of musicians has yet to be investigated. Within a sample of musicians (N=50) the association between a range of 2D:4D measures (left hand ratio, right hand ratio, average ratio, and difference between hands; Dr-l) and musical ability was assessed. Musical ability was evaluated using a cognitive test designed exclusively for this study. Test scores correlated significantly with males' (N = 22) right hand and average 2D:4D, and female's (N = 28) left hand and Dr-l 2D:4D. The implications of these findings for our understanding of the influence of prenatal androgens on neural development are discussed, as are the sex differences that emerged.

Contact information:
mark.sergeant@ntu.ac.uk
0044 (0)7760 127085

Division of Psychology
Nottingham Trent University
Burton Street, Nottingham
United Kingdom, NG1 4BU

Beyond modularity: A self-correcting model of cognitive architecture
*Poster session I

Much of evolutionary psychology is grounded in the notion of cognitive modularity (Cosmides & Tooby, 1991). Practitioners often implicitly assume that modules have been well-studied and clearly defined. Many would be surprised to learn that there are multiple substantially different definitions of cognitive modules (Sperber, 1994; Fodor, 2000), without a clear 'winner.' To reconcile definitions, theorists have proposed typologies of modules, which has led to multiple substantially different typologies (e.g., Sperber, 1996; Segal, 1994). I set forth a model of cognitive architecture based on three continuua: environmental responsiveness, encapsulation, and physical localization. Various definitions of modules, and module typologies, can be simultaneously mapped onto the model and compared, as can faculties not considered modular. I also describe abstract outlines for testing where faculties fall on each continuum. This provides more descriptive criteria for discussing characteristics of faculties, and helps the model evolve into an empirically supported map of cognitive architecture.

Contact information:
bartmess@umich.edu
734-644-1084

1512 Gilbert Ct. V-28
Ann Arbor, MI 48105

Teaching Evolutionary Psychology through a Novel of an Upper Paleolithic Society
*Poster session I

A novel set in Siberia 20,000 years ago vividly illustrates problems and principles of evolutionary psychology. Reindeer Moon (Houghton Mifflin, 1987) is a coming-of-age tale whose central character is a girl living in a small band of foragers. The author, Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, is well qualified to imagine this tribal society, for she lived with the San of the Kalahari Desert as a young woman, the daughter of the anthropologist Lorna Marshall. The plants and animals, tools, clothing, and climate of the novel are also authentic, closely based on the author's reading of the archeological record. Fish will be the last to discover water, and it is difficult to show students what evolutionary thinking has discovered about the human condition. The novel takes students out of the water of their mundane lives and into a different medium, a society populated by characters whom we can understand but who lived closer to nature and closer to death in the environment of our evolutionary adaptedness.

Contact information:
gbear@ramapo.edu
201-684-7754

School of Science
Ramapo College
505 Ramapo Valley Road
Mahwah NJ 07430-1680

Sex Differences in Jealousy: A Test of The Forced Choice Method
*Poster session I

A type of self-report measure called the forced-choice question (Buss, Larsen, Westen, & Semmelroth, 1992) is frequently cited in support of the view that there are sex differences in jealousy. The measure forces participants, under a hypothetical infidelity scenario, to choose which type of infidelity, emotional and sexual, they consider more distressing. Results typically show that woman tend to be distressed by emotional infidelity, while men tend to be more distressed by sexual infidelity. The purpose of the study was to provide a stringest test of the finding through the asymmterical "loading" of the language used across infidelity option. A total of 116 participants were tested, 85 men and 85 women. Two forced choice questions were administered within-subject. Across infidelity option, each infidelity option alternated as loaded or unloaded across question. Loading the language only had an effect on women McNemar test, X2 = 6.26, df = 1, p < .05. Despite this asymmetrical effect, the sex difference finding still replicated in both scenarios: Scenario #1: X2 = 17.16, df = 1, p < .001; Scenario #2: X2 = 9.97, df = 1, p < .002. The forced choice method therefore appears to be a robust effect. In this context, alternative explanations were also discussed.

Contact information:
cab0140@exchange.uta.edu
817-272-1582

Department of Psychology
Box 19528
Arlington, Texas, 76019-0528

Individual Differences in Romantic Relationships: Attachment Styles or Mating Strategies?
*Poster session II

Attachment theory has emerged as a dominant approach to the study of romantic relationships within social psychology over the last 15 years. However, Kirkpatrick (1998) has argued that an evolutionary perspective raises important theoretical questions about this application of the theory, and suggested that individual differences in attachment styles -- particularly the avoidant-vs-secure dimension -- may reflect individual differences in short-term/long-term mating orientations rather than attachment per se. In the present study (N = 130), participants completed two standard attachment scales, two new measures of long- and short-term mating orientations (James & Kirkpatrick, this conference), and several other scales (dyadic trust, relationship satisfaction, attitudes about love) previously shown to correlate with (and validate) attachment scales. Multiple regression analyses reveal that in most cases, the predictive power of the attachment scales disappears when mating strategy is statistically controlled.

Contact information:
ekbell@wm.edu
309-360-3945

GSH 231
PO Box 8705
Williamsburg, VA 23187

Thinking About Being Unfaithful? Guilt Patterns in Romantic Relationships
*Poster session II

Sex differences in romantic guilt are real, but depend on "relationship commitment experience." Using a forced-choice format, participants (N=179) were asked to think about committing an infidelity and answer what they would feel most guilty about: The sexual or the emotional aspects of the infidelity. Women and men differ in guilt as a function of romantic commitment experience. Low commitment experience is a category of "current relationship status" that includes romantically single individuals, currently dating one person, or currently dating multiple persons. High commitment experience includes married, engaged, living with someone, and divorced. In the low relationship commitment experience group women, more than men, express guilt over the sexual aspects of infidelity. The pattern reverses in the high relationship commitment experience group. Men, more than women, express guilt over the sexual aspects of infidelity.

Contact information:
klb48@psu.edu
724-773-3904

Penn State University at Beaver
100 University Drive
03K Administration Building
Monaca, PA 15061-2799

The Assessment of Individual Motives Questionnaire [AIM-Q]: Reliability and Preliminary Validity
*Poster session I

We introduce AIM-Q, a new multidimensional instrument that measures 15 putative human motives derived from evolutionary theory. Results from a series of studies to establish the reliability and preliminary validity of AIM-Q are reported. Data supporting the unidimensionality (principle components factor analysis), homogeneity (internal consistency reliability), dependability (one week test-retest of measurement error), and stability (two month test-retest correlations) of the motive scales are reported. Additional data on the convergent and divergent relationships among the motive scales are also reported and support the constructs on which the instrument is based as well as an evolutionary theory of human motivation.

Contact information:
lbernard@lmu.edu
310-338-4592

Psychology Department
One LMU Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90045

TERRORISM, HEROISM, AND ALTRUISM: Status perceptions, religious-belief mediated cost scaling, and kin selection in Palestinian suicide attack
*Poster session I

Popular lore holds that suicide attack is motivated by poverty, fanaticism, and lack of education. Recent studies have challenged these ideas, suggesting that suicide attackers are neither desperate, pathological, nor uneducated. Selectionist thinking questions why individuals should pay high costs when the benefits are public goods. I argue that the costs and benefits of attack are largely balanced by kin selection. Suicide attackers often have large families which receive both honor and money following the attacker's death, translating into economic gains and improved mating opportunities. However, the perceived costs and benefits of suicide attack are not rated evenly by members of all social strata. Lower status families are expected to compare themselves to higher status Palestinians, while mid-high status families compare themselves to both Palestinians and equivalent status Israelis. Thus, overeducated but underemployed Palestinians are more aware of restricted opportunities and place greater value on punishing Israelis. Religious belief further attenuates perceived cost/benefit decision making by lowering the perceived costs of self-sacrifice.

Contact information:
ablackwe@darkwing.uoregon.edu
541-513-4380

1218 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403

The Scarlet Letter of Body Modifications: The Implications of Tattoos and Body Piercings as Signs of Female Promiscuity.
*Poster session II

We are interested in a potential signaling function of body-modifications (tattoos and piercings) to short-term mating strategies in the context of sexual selection and hypothesize that body-modifications could act as a signal of female sexual receptivity to short-term mating. By exploring the associations of body-modifications, marital status, and sociosexual orientation (SOI) we found a significant relationship between the SOI and the total amount of body piercings but not for the total amount of tattoos. There was also a significant relationship between the SOI and the placement of body-modifications particularly in women who had ankle, lower-back, or hip tattoos, and nipple piercings. Additionally, body-modifications were also associated with being single even when controlling for age. These results suggest that by selectively highlighting those physical attributes which are normally attended to by potential mates, females can increase their chances of being identified (as having greater sex appeal) by short term mating partners but the association of other attributes makes the wearer an unlikely candidate for long term mating.

Contact information:
mlbromley@hotmail.com
909-887-8642

2725 W. Sunset Lane
San Bernardino, CA. 92407

Homicidal Fantasies in Russia and the United States
*Poster session I

Prior research has suggested that homicidal fantasies can provide insight into aggressive reactions among "normal" people (i.e., who do not follow through and commit a homicide). Samples of college students in Russia and the United States were surveyed regarding their frequency and characteristics of homicidal thoughts. Smaller proportions of these samples reported homicidal thoughts relative to prior research. Nonetheless, there were numerous gender differences (e.g., in frequency of thoughts, categories of targets, and triggering causes) that were consistent with prior research in the U.S., and relatively few differences between the Russian and U.S. samples. Also consistent with theory and previous research, very few participants thought about killing family members versus stepfamily members. Gender and cultural differences in aggressive histories were observed, and small (but significant) correlations between homicidal thoughts and actual aggressive behavior were observed for men. These patterns are discussed with regard to cultural and evolutionary factors that may impact rates of aggression and reporting of aggressive thoughts.

Contact information:
v-sheets@indstate.edu
812-237-2451

Department of Psychology
Indiana State University
Terre Haute, IN 47809

What is Intolerable in a Mate?
*Poster session II

Research has shown that men and women have computational mechanisms designed to assess preferred characteristics of potential mates, and assign mate values accordingly (Buss, 1989; Li et al., 2002). But positive preferences are only part of the puzzle. However many positive characteristics a individual may have, that person may have some negative ones that are "deal breakers". Thus, humans should have evolved computational mechanisms designed to cue into negative characteristics and avoid mates with negative characteristics that could pose large fitness costs. This research used a modified version of Li et al.'s (2002) budget paradigm to examine what characteristics individuals find intolerable in a potential mate. Data are currently being collected.

Contact information:
burkett@psych.ucsb.edu
805-448-3653

Department of Psychology
University of California
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9660

Status, Dominance, or Prestige? Domains of Self-Esteem as Moderators of Reactions to an Embarrassing Situation
*Poster session I

Kirkpatrick and Ellis (2001) posited that within various evolutionarily relevant domains, distinct self-esteem (SE) mechanisms function as gauges that monitor the success of social interactions within that domain and guide adaptive responding. One class of such domains relates to competition within groups for status. Henrich and Gil-White (2001) recently proposed that dominance (the use or threat of force) and prestige (freely conferred deference) represent two distinct strategies for attaining status. We developed separate measures of self-perceived dominance and prestige, and used these and other domain-specific SE measures to predict individual differences in embarrassment in a laboratory paradigm adapted from previous research (Leary, Landel, & Patton, 1996). Participants performed an embarrassing singing task, then some were given the opportunity to convey their feelings to the researcher and others were not. The amount of embarrassment reported subsequently by those participants who had the chance to express their emotions publicly was related to self-reported levels of dominance, but not prestige. These results suggest that prestige and dominance are theoretically and empirically distinct domains of SE.

Contact information:
buttermo@umich.edu
734-417-0677

436 Kellogg St Apt 122
Ann Arbor, MI 48105

Cuckoldry risk predicts correlates of sexual coercion in romantic relationships
*Poster session II

Under the cuckoldry risk hypothesis, men are more likely to sexually coerce their romantic partners when the risk of cuckoldry is high. Sexually active men and women in heterosexual relationships were sampled to evaluate this hypothesis. Cuckoldry risk was assessed using the time since last having intercourse with one's partner (TIME) and the proportion of time away from one's partner since last intercourse (PROP). Correlates of sexual coercion were measures of verbal and physical persuasion, as well as rape-supportive thoughts, attitudes, and arousal. A TIME x PROP interaction accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in verbal and physical persuasion among men, and significantly predicted other correlates of sexual coercion. As expected, men with longer periods since last having intercourse with their partner were most likely to score highly on correlates of sexual coercion only when the proportion of time away from their partner was also high. The relationship between cuckoldry risk and rape-supportive thoughts, attitudes, and arousal provides evidence for a male-specific facultative strategy of coercive sex with one's romantic partner.

Contact information:
4jac1@qlink.queensu.ca
613-549-3195

Department of Psychology
62 Arch St.
Kingston, ON
K7L 3N6

Ovulation may not be Totally Concealed: Especially from Pair-Bonded Males
*Poster session II

With three studies, possible adaptive value of concealed ovulation were examined. In the 1st study, cyclic menstrual changes in the facial symmetry in regularly ovulating women were investigated. The findings showed predictable fluctuations on facial symmetry across menstrual phases. To determine if the changes were detectable by males, in the second study, males evaluated the facial-menstrual pictures for attractiveness. They rated the pictures ovulatory pictures as the most attractive the menstrual pictures least attractive. In the third study, half of the male participants (familiar males) rated four pictures obtained from the same females, the other half of them (unfamiliar males) rated four pictures, but this time each of which obtained from different females. The males in the latter group were not able to distinguish attractiveness of the pictures of different females. The results indicate that although there is some extent of concealment of ovulation in women as an adaptation, it is not completely concealed, especially from the familiar (or pair-bonded) males. Thus, men might have equipped with a counter-adapt through their evolutionary history to cope with the problem of concealment of ovulation.

Contact information:
chakan@mu.edu.tr
90 252 211 1644

Kotekli, 48000
Mugla, Turkey

Manipulation of the Waist-to-Hip Ratio: Effect on attractiveness
*Poster session II

It has been speculated that Waist-to-Hip Ratio (WHR) is an indicator of reproductive fitness. Further, it has been found that a WHR of .7 is rated as being highly attractive when compared to other ratios. We previously found that self-manipulated ratios tended towards .7. That is, when participants were allowed to manipulate their own bodies, they tended towards a .7. In the current study, we allowed participants to manipulate their own images. We then presented the original and the altered body images to a separate group of participants. It was found that there were significant differences in the attractiveness ratings of the original and the altered images. Interestingly, we found support for the .7 'ideal', such that one of the determining factors in attractiveness was a WHR of .7. These data are discussed in terms of recent WHR research and the suggestion that WHR may be an indicator of reproductive health. higher-order tasks is examined in terms of the reproductive advantages that it may add. It is speculated that perspective taking in terms of both deception and deception detection may be key to the increased mass of the cortex, as speculated by Byrne & Corp (2004). Our recent data in humans support such a hypothesis.

Contact information:
selfawareness@prodigy.net
973-655-7634

219 Dickson Hall
Upper Montclair, New Jersey 07043

Sex dependent patterns of 2D:4D digit ratio and personality traits
*Poster session II

Prenatal sex hormones have been widely implicated in their effect of brain differentiation, subsequently, affecting the development of sexually dependent traits, such as, hand preferences, aggression, mate preference, ant etc. Direct measures of uterine sex steroid in human are difficult. It has been suggested that testosterone stimulate prenatal growth of the 4th finger while estrogens promote the growth of the 2nd finger. Variations in 2D:4D ratio could thus serve as an index for individuals' uterine sex steroid profile. We investigated 2D:4D digit ratio and a set sex dependent personality measures on aggression; sociosexuality; mate preference; and self-monitoring in 83 (41 male and 42 female) college students. We found that 2D:4D and personality traits are differentially associated with sexes. In males, 2D:4D was correlated negatively with physical aggression, sociosexuality, and positively with self-monitoring. In females, 2D:4D correlate positively with verbal aggression and sociosexuality, and low self-monitoring. Recent finding on sexual dimorphic androgen receptor gene coding for receptor activity and levels of sex hormones will be used to explain our finding on sexual dependent patterns of 2D:4D and personality.

Contact information:
pchang2@ycp.edu
717-815-1259

York College of PA
York, PA 17405

Does natural selection favor sex differences in alcohol consumption?
*Poster session II

Research indicates cross-cultural patterns of alcohol consumption in which females consume markedly lower than males. In some cultures this behavior is reinforced by restrictions or norms; however, lower use of alcohol exhibited by females in cultures with more permissive attitudes toward female alcohol use suggests a possible physiological basis for this behavior. This study will investigate the hypothesis that natural selection has favored a physiological mechanism in females that reduces the psychological urge to consume alcohol near ovulation for enhanced reproductive success. This hypothesis will be tested by tracking female alcohol consumption in female undergraduates throughout the course of each subjects monthly cycle.

Contact information:
greg.chapman@go.losrios.edu
916-834-6537

4832 10th Ave
Sacramento, CA 95820

The roles of object identity and verbal memory on object location memory
*Poster session I

Object location memory is a unique spatial ability; it is the only spatial ability that yields a female advantage. Recent work, however, suggests that other factors may influence this sex difference. We tested two of these factors, namely, object identity and verbal memory, on one aspect of object location memory. Findings suggest that females, but not males, use both factors to facilitate memory for locations of specific objects. Evolutionary implications will be discussed.

Contact information:
jean.choi@uleth.ca
403-380-1862

Department of Psychology & Neuroscience
4401 University Drive
Lethbridge, AB, Canada
T1K 3M4

The Birkbeck Mating Questionnaire
*Poster session II

Research examining mate preferences (MP) is typically focused on sex differences and temporal context (i.e., short- vs. long-term). Because the availability-predictability of physical and social resources in the environment within which individuals reside may also affect variation in MP, as a necessary first step toward examining this issue empirically, we created a new MP questionnaire and determined whether (a) its factor structure was stable across (hypothetical) contextual situations; (b) it was sensitive to sex differences; (c) responses were stable over a 3-month period; and (d) order effects proved problematical. 433 US and UK respondents completed the 35-item questionnaire under three hypothetical contextual conditions. Analyses revealed that the same 7 subscales proved internally consistent across conditions; the subscales were sensitive to sex differences; test-retest reliability was good; and order effects were absent. These findings indicate that the instrument can be used to assess ecological variation in MP.

Contact information:
dr.cohen@myfastmail.com
919-967-2671

The Effects of Estrogen on Cognition in Women
*Poster session I

Research shows that women's performance on some cognitive tasks varies with fluctuations in estrogen. Higher estrogen is linked to higher dopamine, a crucial neurotransmitter in frontal lobe activity. If relatively higher levels of estrogen aid performance on tasks that primarily engage the prefrontal cortex, but not the hippocampus, it would suggest that frontal cortex is the primary mediator of estrogen's effects on cognition in women. Female participants (N=47) between ages 18-34 were tested on several tests of working memory and fluency (frontal tasks), and memory for paired associates (hippocampal tasks) during menstruation (days 1-3 of the cycle) and mid-cycle (days 13-15 of the cycle). Participants not on the pill performed marginally better during mid-cycle on the most difficult working memory task (the PASAT), compared to menstruation, while no effect was found on the paired associates tasks. There is also some evidence for practice effects between sessions.

Contact information:
mcombs@du.edu
303-871-3096

University of Denver
Dept. of Psychology, Frontier Hall
2155 S. Race St.
Denver, CO 80208

Social support and addictive behaviors in Portugese college students
*Poster session II

A total of 370 students, with an average of 17,71 years old, enrolled in the 12th year, during the 2004/2005 school year, in two secondary schools was questioned by a direct application questionnaire including: ESPAD (European school Survey on alcohol and other drugs) adapted from the original scale and the ESSS (satisfaction scale with the social support). (Ribeiro, 1999), and 262 students answered, being (45%; n=118) masculine and (55%; n=144) feminine. Some characterization questions where introduced: Sex, Age, Residence place, Number of years enrolled in the 12th year of education, Current lecture and respective scientific area of study in which the student is enrolled. Descriptive statistic and the Spearman´s correlation coefficient were used to verify the statistic significance of the relation between variables, was used for data treatment. The results showed a bigger addiction of spirit/white drinks and beers. Bars and pubs are the most chosen places for this kind of behaviors. Social Support results suggests that teenagers are satisfact with their social support, feeling more satisfied with friendship and family.

Contact information:
raulcordeiro@sapo.pt
351 245 300 430

Av. Santo António
7301-901 Portalegre
Portugal

The Evolutionary Origins of Belief in Supernatural Agents: How Theory of Mind Produces Gods, Demons and Spirits
*Poster session I

Boyer (2001) claims that supernatural agent concepts (e.g., ancestor spirits, gods, demons) arise in the course of deliberate human speculations "on the possible." In contrast, Bering & Bjorklund (2001) demonstrate that a large percentage of both children and adults attribute continuity of various mental states to recently deceased agents (especially emotion, desire, and epistemic contents) and suggest that this proclivity directly and implicitly promotes attributions of supernatural agency. The current study replicates their procedure and the results demonstrate highly similar developmental patterns of mental state attributions for a sleeping agent. The results of analysis of the combined data sets strongly suggest that unique features associated with implicit theoretical representations (i.e., theory of mind) of emotion, desire and epistemic states underlie these findings. Such attributions may represent an adaptation designed to maintain vigilance in the presence of organisms whose agency status is ambiguous (e.g., motionless, eyes closed). If so, the implication for scholars of religion is that supernatural agent concepts likely arise as a naturally generated byproduct of this system.

Contact information:
ccormier66@hotmail.com
561-297-3374

Department of Psychology
777 Glades Rd.
Boca Raton, FL 33432

Pretty mothers: happy marriages and happy daughters?
*Poster session II

It has previously been reported (Boothroyd, HBES 2004) that parental separation or difficult parent-parent relationships are associated with facial masculinity in sons and daughters, and larger waists and reduced facial attractiveness in daughters. This research went on to look at parents' faces. A sample of female undergraduate students provided snapshots of their parents' faces which were then rated for masculinity/femininity, health and attractiveness by a panel of judges. The quality of the parents' relationship and the warmth with which the students remembered each parent, were positively associated to the attractiveness and femininity of mothers' faces. There were no relationships with fathers' appearance, and no relationships with facial health of either parent. These results suggest that the association between parental relationships and daughters' appearance may be the result of inherited maternal characteristics, rather than any causal effect of early social environment.

Contact information:
scatterbrain2000@bigfoot.com
+44 (0)1334 463044

School of Psychology
St Mary's Quad
St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9JU
Scotland, UK

Child Mortality among Gypsies in Serbia
*Poster session II

In the present study we analyze a wide range of biological, socio-economic and behavioral determinants of child mortality among three different Gypsy groups in Serbia, with special emphasis on behavioral issues. We argue that death clustering of infants can be explained to a very large extent by the basic abilities and personal characteristics of the mother, independently of occupation, education and wealth. Gypsies have their own rather isolated traditions. These traditions do not require much parental investment nor exceptional IQ. This does not select for high IQs, but does select for high birth rates and, in the absence of medicine, high death rate.

Contact information:
cvorovic@eunet.yu
381 11 409752

Lovranska 5
11000 Belgrade Serbia and Montenegro

Within-Sex Differences in Jealousy: The Role of Prenatal Testosterone and Developmental Instability
*Poster session II

Sex differences in mental rotation have been hypothesized to be related, in part, to the organizational effects of hormones during critical periods in development. Little conclusive evidence has been provided regarding prenatal exposure to testosterone and other sex-differentiated tasks. With respect to jealousy, men are found to be more distressed when imagining sexual versus emotional infidelity and the reverse has been found for women. In the present study, relations among prenatal exposure to sex-differentiated hormones, developmental instability (measured by fluctuating asymmetry) and within-sex variation in jealousy and other sex-differentiated domains were explored in male and female undergraduates. In contrast to past research, both second to fourth digit (2D: 4D) ratio and dermatoglyphic ridge counts were used as measures of prenatal hormone exposure. Predictions are that individuals with higher finger-ridge counts and lower 2D:4D finger ratios will score more male-typical on measures of sexual and emotional jealousy (i.e., should show greater upset over sexual infidelities). Results show support for this prediction and discussion focuses on the relationship between 2D:4D, dermatoglyphic ridge counts and how they interact with FA.

Contact information:
ldane@unm.edu
604-812-3944

#207-1877 W5th
Vancouver, B.C., Canada
V6J 1P5

Maternal personality and reproductive ambition in women is associated with salivary testosterone levels
*Poster session II

Previous research has linked testosterone levels with sex-specific personality traits within women. The present study investigates the relation between salivary testosterone levels and specifically maternal personality traits in healthy adult women. Twenty-seven young women completed the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI). Additional questions were asked about maternal personality (importance of having children, self-rated maternal/broodiness), reproductive ambition (ideal number of children, ideal own age at first child) and career orientation (importance of having career). Higher circulating testosterone levels were associated with lower scores on measures of maternal personality and reproductive ambition. There was no relation of career orientation with testosterone. A median split on BSRI masculinity revealed high scorers had higher testosterone levels than low scorers. There was no relation of BSRI femininity with testosterone. Results suggest maternal tendencies may be partly androgen driven.

Contact information:
d.k.deady@stir.ac.uk
+44 (0)1786 466 845

Department of Psychology
University of Stirling
Stirling
FK9 4LA

Spying on your mate as a mate retention tactic
*Poster session II

Mate retention tactics like calling a partner unexpectedly and spying on him help verify the person's location and reduce anxiety in suspicious partners. Two studies examined the incidence of spying as a mate retention tactic. Study 1: College students rated the likelihood of using 7 tactics for spying on their mate. Results showed that females were more likely to spy on their mate if fidelity was threatened. Subjects also rated how likely they would spy on their mate for each of 11 cues of infidelity. In almost every case, females were more likely to spy on their mate. Study 2: was a replication with additional spying tactics and cues of infidelity. Female participants were further identified as ovulating or not ovulating at the time of the survey. Results confirmed the finding that females were more likely to spy on their mate, and hormonal factors made a difference. Non-ovulating females were more likely to spy on their mate than were males or ovulating females. It is suggested that ovulating females, who have a greater tendency to cheat on a mate, are less vigilant of their own mate at this time as they turn their attention to securing extrapair copulations.

Contact information:
demarest@monmouth.edu
732-571-3684

Department of Psychology
West Long Branch, NJ 07764

Mate poaching: The cuckolded victim's reactions
*Poster session II

This study explored the consequences on the cuckolded victim of luring someone away from an established, romantic relationship (mate poaching). Participants (M=40; F=39) were presented with a scenario involving either a long-term or short-term relationship in which a stranger engaged in mate poaching. They were asked to imagine how the victim might feel. Five hypotheses were tested to determine if the length of the relationship, sex of the participant, or his/her sociosexual orientation influenced their belief that the victim would break-up, stay committed, forgive, trust, worry about being cheated on, become more sensitive to cues of infidelity, spy, or worry about satisfying their mate in the future. Results showed that females were more likely than males to spy on their mate in the future. Males and females exposed to the long-term relationship scenario were more likely than those exposed to the short-term scenario to worry about being cheated on by their mate in the future. In contrast to previous research, sexually unrestrictive males and females were more likely to worry about satisfying their mate in the future.

Contact information:
demarest@monmouth.edu
732-571-3684

Department of Psychology
West long Branch, NJ 07764

Mate poaching: The poacher's attitude
*Poster session II

This study examined the attitudes that might typify someone who tries to lure a person away from an established, romantic relationship (mate poaching). Participants (M=19; F=31) were given a set of 4 mate poaching scenarios in which the cuckolded victim was either a friend, a known person, a stranger, or an enemy and asked five questions about mate poaching for each scenario. Questions ranged from how you would feel about breaking up this relationship to having various relationships with the victim's mate. For both men and women, not liking the victim resulted in the greatest likelihood of mate poaching, and the more familiarity with the victim, the less likely the participants were to engage in mate poaching tactics. Sexually unrestricted participants were also more likely to mate poach than those who were sexually exclusive.

Contact information:
demarest@monmouth.edu
732-571-3684

Department of Psychology
West Long Branch, NJ 07764

Sex differences in jealous reactions to infidelity are not leveled by priming of HIV/AIDS perils: A rebuttal of Bohner and Wänke (2004)
*Poster session I

The discovery of sex differences in jealousy (SDJ) is one of evolutionary psychology's most prominent contributions to the psychology of emotions. The initial account (Buss et al., 1992) is a highly cited paper (>150 citations) and has inspired a flourishing research program (>50 papers). At the same time, this field has recurrently faced attempts of refutation. Here, we tackle the most recent assertion: Bohner and Wänke (2004) reported SDJ to disappear through experimental priming of HIV/AIDS perils. Our conceptual replication of their approach used a sex-balanced community sample of 400 heterosexual Austrian adults. By random allocation, participants either completed the HIV Knowledge Questionnaire (Carey et al., 1997) first and then the Sexual Jealousy Scale (SJS; Ward & Voracek, 2004) [priming condition] or vice versa [control condition]. SDJ in the priming and control conditions were of comparable size (d=0.61 and 0.73, respectively), and priming condition SJS scores were unrelated to participant ratings of priming influence. We conclude that the Bohner/Wänke finding most likely is due to factors unique to their (small-sample) experiment.

Contact information:
stefan.dressler@univie.ac.at
+43 1 4277-47846

School of Psychology
Liebiggasse 5, 3rd floor, room 42.2
A-1010 Vienna
AUSTRIA

Alternative measures of female facial masculinity and their associations with sociosexuality
*Poster session II

Androgen exposure may have mediating effects on both the facial appearance and sexual behavior of individuals. Higher levels of testosterone in women have been associated with increased sexual desire and a more unrestricted sociosexual orientation. This study calculates measurements of female facial masculinity based on proportions of specific facial features known to vary with testosterone level. By objectively measuring facial masculinity, the associations between behaviors and testosterone can be investigated more fully. This study provides evidence that both women's SOI scores and observers' perceptions of masculinity are related to specific facial features indicative of masculinity.

Contact information:
brialane@rci.rutgers.edu
718-486-9375

Anthropology Department
131 George St.
New Brunswick, NJ 08901

Ovulatory effects on female sexuality, romantic relationships and clothing preferences across the menstrual cycle
*Poster session II

Because the costs of pregnancy and nursing are high for women, and offspring require significant resources, a long-term mating strategy is generally more reproductively beneficial for women than a short-term strategy (i.e., sex with no commitment) is (e.g., Buss & Schmitt, 1993). However, there may be specific conditions or situations in which the reproductive benefits of short-term mating outweigh the costs. Obtaining better genes is a viable strategy when conception is likely. Because conception is most likely to occur around the time of ovulation, the point at which a woman is in her menstrual cycle may be a relevant factor in determining the potential reproductive benefits of a short-term mating strategy. One way to signal short-term availability may be to wear more revealing clothing (Grammer, 1996). The current study sheds light on whether women's sexual desire, relationship status and clothing preferences are influenced by menstrual cycle phase as well as other variables that may interact with the menstrual cycle.

Contact information:
kdurante@mail.utexas.edu
512-471-1406

Department of Psychology
1 University Station A8000
Austin, TX 78712

Explaining individual differences in experimental economics games
*Poster session I

Experimental economics games typically reveal individual differences in the propensity to cooperate and exert social control, but these results have seldom been related to individual differences in everyday life. In this study, participants in an experimental economics game also completed a large number of personality questionnaires and reported their everyday experience over a period of four weeks using the experience sampling method. The study enables us to integrate psychological, experimental economic, and naturalistic approaches to the study of individual differences.

Contact information:
omar.eldakar@binghamton.edu
607-624-6952

Binghamton University
Binghamton NY 13902

Sexual Trauma Affects Precautionary Reasoning
*Poster session I

This study examined the impact of sexual trauma on reasoning ability. Specifically, it investigated whether previous sexual trauma in women would lead to inaccurate reasoning about what measures other women need to take to protect themselves from risk of sexual assault. Seventy female undergraduates were recruited from the University of Denver (mean age = 20, SD =.3). Reasoning was measured using the Wason Selection Task. Participants solved two tasks with a precaution rule pertaining to potential risk of sexual assault (e.g., "If you are walking around the city at night, you must take at least two tourmates with you"), and two tasks with non-sexual risks (e.g., "If you are going kayacking, you must wear a helmet."). Participants were given the Brief Trauma Survey asking whether they had been forced into some form of sexual contact by someone close to them, or by a stranger. Twenty participants answered affirmatively to at least one of these items. It was found that participants who had experienced sexual coercion did significantly worse on sexual risk tasks than participants who had not experienced sexual coercion. No group differences were found on non-sexual risk tasks.

Contact information:
n.erlich@psy.uq.edu.au
617 33467276

School of Psychology
University of Queensland
St Lucia 4072
Queensland, Australia

Does the female orgasm inform reproductively strategic choices?
*Poster session II

Previous research has shown that females are more cautious about consenting to sex than males (e.g. Clarke and Hatefield, 1989; Oliver and Hyde, 1993). However, insufficient attention has been paid to the proximal factors which allow females to enjoy sex while remaining more discriminative in their sexual choices compared to males. Specifically, the role of the dynamics of the female orgasm in motivating sexual behaviour in a discriminative manner has not been previously considered. A study of more than 200 Western women investigating their sexual behaviour, attitudes toward and contextual experience of orgasm is presented. Individual differences in orgasmic capabilities and possible consequences for sexual strategies are addressed. Findings suggest that females perceive orgasm as a benefit to be gained from sexual interactions, but, orgasm was not likely to be the outcome of one night stands; only of longer relationships. The discussion focuses on how the female orgasm might aid in the choice of a long-term mating strategy.

Contact information:
laraeschler@hotmail.com
01144 7867848710

217 Warren House, Beckford Close
Warwick Road
London W14 8TR
UK

Olfactory Comfort: Cross Cultural Replication with Partners and Extension to Family Members
*Poster session II

We recently demonstrated that most women, and some men, smell their partner's clothing during periods of separation. We replicate that study in a German sample. More women than men slept in their partner's clothing, and intentionally smelled the clothing. In contrast to the original Pittsburgh study, more women than men noticed their partner's smell, and associated the smell with an applied fragrance. In a new Pgh sample we find that olfactory comfort smelling is common between people who are not sexual partners, for example: mom gives her shirt to baby to sleep with, mom sleeps in daughter's pajamas, woman is reluctant to part with deceased mom's clothing, daughter smells dad's clothing when he is away. Olfactory comfort smelling is more common in girls and women than boys and men. We discuss these differences in terms of sex differences in mating vs. parenting effort, and differences in vulnerability to predation and hostile others.

Contact information:
sasst89@pitt.edu
412-624-4332

3137 Sennott Square
210 South Bouquet
Pittsburgh, PA 15260

Social comparison and decision making with respect to income
*Poster session I

Research has shown that people make decisions about income in relation to the income of others around them. Indeed, people may sacrifice absolute gains in order to do well relative to others (Frank, 1985; Kurzban et al., 2001). From an evolutionary perspective, this strategy makes sense in many contexts because selection operates on relative outcomes. Prior research has not established whether people sacrifice to be better off than others or simply to prevent others from being better off than them. This study examined this issue. Participants could take a sure outcome (a set amount of 4, 5, or 6 dollars) or risk an uncertain outcome by rolling a die (with outcomes averaging $5.50). Half learned that another participant was receiving an amount equal to the sure outcome; no social context was provided to the other half. If people seek outcomes better than others', they should take the risk in the social comparison condition. If people try to prevent others from getting outcomes better than their own, they should avoid risks in the social condition, particularly when their chances of doing better are low. Results will be discussed in relation to ideas about relative income.

Contact information:
rfalcon@unm.edu
505-277-1485

1 University of New Mexico
MSC03 2220
Albuquerque, NM 87131-1161

Law and Evolution: Human nature and the adaptive function of normative behavior
*Poster session I

The objective is to offer a critical (re)interpretation of genesis and evolution, object and purpose, as well as useful qualified methods for interpreting, justifying and applying modern practical law, all with the intention of putting philosophic thought and contemporary formal theory of reason at the service of hermeutics and juridical argumentation. Law is no more and no less than an adaptive strategy, evermore complex, but always noticeably deficient, used to articulate argumentatively -- in fact, not always with justice -- by virtue of prudence, elementary relational social ties through which men construct approved styles of interaction and social structure, i.e., to organize and ethically improve political and social life in such a way as to permit that no free citizen -- rich or poor -- should fear the arbitrary interference of other social actors in his life plan.

Contact information:
atahualpaf@yahoo.es
34-971732000

calle francisco marti mora
n.1,esc.B, 15-2a.
palma de mallorca-07011
spain

From crisis to growth ... race, culture, ethnicity, conflict and change
*Poster session I

Academic institutions, long idealized as sanctuaries from the more pernicious forms of racial, ethnic and intercultural conflict, provide no sanctuary at all. The author explores how conflict can provide institutions with precious opportunities to both recognize and institute procedures that will lead toward adaptive evolutional change. A model designed to effectively process conflict and facilitate social change is presented.

Contact information:
mfischler@plymouth.edu
603-535-2461, 603-536-2347

Counseling and Human Relations Center
Education Department
Plymouth State University
Plymouth, NH 03264

Male muscularity as a good-genes indicator: Evidence from men's self-reported sexual behaviors and women's preferences for muscularity
*Poster session II

Hypothesized indicators of good genes (e.g., facial masculinity, symmetry) are associated with higher numbers of past sex partners in men, and they are preferred more by women for sexual affairs and when ovulating. We propose that muscularity may also be a good genes indicator. Study 1 examined the relationship between muscularity, attractiveness, and number of sex partners in 196 men. Muscularity was correlated with past number of short-term partners, lifetime partner number, and self-assessed attractiveness as a short-term mate more than as a long-term mate. These effects remained after controlling for height, age, and body fat. Study 2 investigated women's preference for muscularity using a new set of realistic computer-generated images varying in muscularity and body fat. Women preferred men who were more muscular than the average man in their peer group. In sum, both data sources converge to suggest that muscularity is sexually attractive and may be a good genes indicator.

Contact information:
enderflies1@aol.com
310-665-0784

6225 Canterbury Dr. UNIT 306
Culver City, CA 90230

The effects of odor on female - endocrinological and psychological study
*Poster session II

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of odor on human female. Thirty female subjects were assigned randomly to four groups and they were given one of three odor (musk, rose and 4-methoxy styrene) or control. Each subjects applied it on their body three times in every day for two months. During the experiment period, five saliva samples were submitted and testosterone (T), 17-E beta estoradiol(E) and DHEA levels were assayed by EIA and at the same time, their skin samples were taken and keratin were analyzed. The photograph of subject that were taken before and after the experiment was evaluated by the third party. Also psychological tests were performed. As a result, musk and rose significantly decreased T and E in the subjects with high hormone value, while they increased significantly in the subjects with low hormone value. 4-methoxy styrene and control caused no change. The change of DHEA was the same as T and E though it was not significant. It was clarified also that odors influences the subjects psychologically and physiologically. Musk and rose significantly improved psychological condition of subjects, for instance their stress was reduced. In addition in musk and rose, the skin condition has improved and the evaluation score in the photograph went up.

Contact information:
fukuih@nara-edu.ac.jp
81-742-27-9257

Takabatake
Nara City
Nara
Japan

Relatedness and Investment in Adoptive Households
*Poster session II

Surveys from 126 parents who raised both biological and non-genetically related adopted children were analyzed. Parents were asked to detail the types and amounts of monetary and temporal investments they made in their children. Investments in biological and adopted children were then compared. According to kin selection theory, parents should invest in their biological children under a wider range of circumstances than their adopted children. It was therefore predicted that parents would bias their investments toward biological children. The data failed to support this prediction. Parents invested more, in terms of total time and resources, in their unrelated adopted children than their biological children. This finding was largely unexpected and runs contra predictions from kin selection theory. It suggests that, under certain circumstances, fictive kinship ties can be as strong or stronger than biological ones.

Contact information:
kyle.gibson@utah.edu
4022026558

53 S 300 E Apt 18
SLC, UT 84111

Evolution, Income Inequality, and Crime: An Analysis of New York State Counties
*Poster session I

Some evolutionary theorists suggest that poorer men will be over-represented as rapists due to their inability to attract consenting mates (Thornhill and Thornhill 1983). And, indeed, some research indicates that such men are over-represented as rapists and that rape rates are highest in low-income areas. However, recent research indicates that income inequality is a better predictor of criminal behavior than median income level. Daly and Wilson's (2001) research on Canadian homicides suggests that rates will be higher in environments with high income inequality because those at the bottom of the social hierarchy will have little to lose through intense and risky social competition. On the other hand, in areas with more equitable resource division, even when average resource levels are low, the benefits of risky competition drop while the costs rise. Using crime and census data from New York State Counties, this research finds support for Daly and Wilson (2001) with respect to homicide rates. But, contrary to predictions derived from the mate deprivation hypothesis" of rape income inequality is not a better predictor of rape rates than median income.

Contact information:
tgottschall@stlawu.edu
315-386-4024

14 Judson St
Canton, NY 13617

Cueing creativity for courtship: When mere romantic goals increase private creativity in males and females
*Poster session II

Some researchers (e.g., Miller, 2000) have proposed that some uniquely human traits, such as creativity, have evolved at least in part because of their adaptive function in courtship. In concert with this idea, the current experiment tested whether merely activating a romantic goal for males and females would change performance on a test of creativity--the Remote Associates Test (RAT). To activate a romantic goal, Ps imagined themselves either (1) going out on a 1st date with a potential L-T mate, (2) going out on a 5th date with a potential L-T mate after being assured of their trustworthiness, or (3) pursuing a S-T mating encounter. Compared to the control conditions, the 3 romantic primes produced a different pattern of results for males and females. For males, all 3 primes significantly increased creativity. However, females only increased when imagining a 5th date with a potential L-T mate who had shown an indication of being trustworthy; female creativity did not change when imagining a S-T romantic encounter or a 1st date with a nice guy. Additional testing also showed that the current pattern of results cannot be explained solely by changes in mood or arousal.

Contact information:
vladasg@asu.edu
623-748-4276

2433 W. Main St. #296
Mesa, AZ 85201

Fending Off Competition and Preventing Infidelity: A Proposed Experimental Study on Human Mate Guarding
*Poster session II

A key threat to an intimate relationship is infidelity. An important part of maintaining a relationship, therefore, is fending off intrasexual competition and preventing a partner's infidelity. Previous research indicates that jealousy can manifest in the form of mate guarding behaviors -- behaviors aimed at fending off rivals and preventing infidelity. Most research has analyzed mate guarding behaviors using survey measures, asking participants to report how often they or their partners perform mate guarding behaviors. Dijkstra and Buunk found that rivals with a low waist-to-hip (WHR) ratio evoked greater jealousy in women, and those with a high shoulder-to-hip ratio (SHR) evoked more jealousy in men when participants were asked to evaluate pictures of rivals. Although this methodology has proven useful, other methodologies might clarify some issues and contribute insight into human mate guarding. We present an experimental method to examine mate guarding that allows investigators to observe the mate guarding behaviors of participants in response to a rival with differing WHR and SHR.

Contact information:
fguta@fau.edu
954-984-4826

3565 W Atlantic Blvd
Pompano Beach, FL 33069

Ecological Release and the Flood of Enhanced Arousers: The Exodus, Religion, and Ascriptive Inequality
*Poster session I

In our evolutionary context of origin, there were selective advantages to adjusting preconscious emotion release rules to trigger the creation of certain kinds of enhanced arousers as a means to extend network size and reliability. Enhancements offer a special ratio of attractive contrasts to access costs. They piggyback on reward systems originally evolved for somewhat different types of arousers. As I have demonstrated elsewhere(2003,2004), the emergence of religion and ascriptive inequality is tied to this piggybacking. With the historical exodus from our context of origin, the demographic and technological contraints of that context were eroded. One consequence was a flood of enhanced arousers. These additions transformed religion and inequality, as well as other aspects of the social world. However, these transformations followed a pattern rooted in the original dynamics of preconscious emotion release rules. We are still feeling the effects of these dynamics in our contemporary world.

Contact information:
mikehammond@comcast.net
510-644-3727

2834 Russell Street
Berkeley, CA 94705

What predicts male commitment?
*Poster session II

In a sample of over 650 undergraduates, we examined the romantic and sexual factors that may influence commitment of males and females to the relationship. Although relationship length did not differ by gender, females reported that their relationships had progressed significantly farther than males. Males also rated their commitment to the relationship as significantly less than females. While almost all relationship factors (length, strength, seriousness) had a huge impact on female commitment, no relationship factors predicted male commitment. When the effect of the relationship on depression was examined, relationship factors negatively correlated with depression for females, while a few correlated positively with depression for males.

Contact information:
RBURCH@OSWEGO.EDU
315-312-3463

404 Marah Hall
SUNY Oswego
Oswego, NY 13126

Reactive Heritability among Trust and Personalities: Testing Evolutionary Psychological Hypotheses with Behavior Genetics Methodology
*Poster session I

From an evolutionary point of view, adaptively important traits would have small or zero heritability. However, personality, which seems to be important, is known to be heritable. Using twin data, we extend and test the reactive heritability hypothesis proposed by Tooby and Cosmides (1990) to explain the paradox. Yamagishi (1998) argued that one's default trust level towards others in general (general trust) should be dependent on his social environment and should not (and would not) be genetically influenced. We propose, however, that general trust should be tuned to one's genetic background, specifically one's personality, as well, and it makes general trust seemingly heritable. Data from 328 identical and 138 fraternal twin pairs supported our prediction; general trust was estimated to be 36% heritable. However, a multivariate genetic analysis among general trust and personality traits showed that all the genetic factors contributing to general trust were shared by other personality traits. This supports the idea that the heritability observed on general trust was reactive heritability from other personalities. We will discuss why humans have such relatively large genetic variation on personality traits.

Contact information:
kai@darwin.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp
81-3-5454-6186

Komaba 3-8-1
Meguro
Tokyo
Japan

Predicting strategies of aggression in males and females using an evolutionary, domain-specific model of self-esteem
*Poster session II

The relationship between self-esteem (SE) and aggression has been a long-standing question in psychological research. Ambiguities in this area of research are likely due to the widespread assumption that SE is a global measure of self-evaluation In comparison, Kirkpatrick and Ellis (2001) have proposed an evolutionary theory of domain-specific SE that characterizes SE as a "socio-meter" designed by natural selection to monitor an individual's functioning in different domains of social life. Using this model, Kirkpatrick et al. (2004) showed that the relationship between aggression and SE depends upon the domain which is being assessed; in particular, self-perceived superiority predicted aggression positively whereas social inclusion predicted inversely. The present study was designed to replicate and extend this finding to another form of aggression. "Indirect" aggression is that which is delivered circuitously (versus "direct" which is delivered face-to-face) and typically includes behaviors such as social ostracism and malicious gossiping. Indirect aggression is predicted to be more common among females because it avoids the costs of physical aggression (e.g., bodily harm) while gaining the benefits of competition. Analyses are in progress.

Contact information:
crhodg@wm.edu
540-588-4639

116 Woods Drive
Williamsburg, VA 23185

The function of self-deception in conformists
*Poster session I

Self-deception is one of the most complex cognitive-behavioral mechanisms resulting from an interaction of individuals within a group. Previous studies of self-deception as an adaptive phenomenon (whether conducted from ultimate, evolutionary perspective or distal and proximate, psychological/psychiatric/social perspectives) gave inconsistent results. According to a social-brain hypothesis, the growth of social complexity influenced the evolution of more and more complex cognitive-behavioral patterns in social animals. Accordingly, anxiety, depression and self-deception should be a consequence of individuals' status within a group. The aim of this experiment was to test whether persons with discrepancy in their publicly vs. privately stated opinions differ from the rest of the population in levels of self-deception, anxiety and depression. The results show that a change in opinion which occurs after the group pressure has ceased is related to greater levels of self-deception as well as depression. Theoretical implications of results are discussed in terms of evolutionary adaptiveness of self-deception.

Contact information:
josip.hrgovic@pilar.hr
+ 385 1 4886 823

Marulicev trg 19/1
10000 Zagreb
385 Croatia

Jealousy and mate preferences in heterosexuals, bisexuals and homosexuals
*Poster session II

The aim of this study was to compare mate preferences and types of jealous reactions among groups of heterosexual (n=302), bisexual (n=183) and homosexual (n=133) participants. We examined the characteristics which usually show the greatest sex differences regarding their desirability in a potential mate and compared the ratings of their importance among those groups. ANOVA showed no differences between males of different sexual orientations, but there was a trend for females, with highest ratings for importance of partner's financial and social status among heterosexual, followed by bisexual and homosexual women. As for preferred age of a partner, MANOVA showed significant main effects of both age and sexual orientation in males, but only the significant effect of age in females. Contrary to some previous reports, we found no differences between males of different sexual orientations in the type of infidelity (emotional vs. sexual) they found more upsetting, but there were differences among females, with homosexual women having the highest rate of sexual jealousy responses, followed by bisexual and heterosexual women. These results suggest that men of different sexual orientations might not be so very different in their preferences, but that women are.

Contact information:
ivana.hromatko@ffzg.hr
385 1 6120193

Luciceva 3
10000 Zagreb
Croatia

General trust and social perception in Japan and the US
*Poster session I

General trust, which can be defined as the default expectation of benign or cooperative behavior based on the goodwill of the partner (Yamagishi & Yamagishi, 1994), plays a crucial role in mutually beneficial exchanges. They argued that high trusters are more sensitive than low trusters to information about a person's trustworthiness. I tested this possibility in Japan and the US. High and low trusters in both cultures were asked to read a description of six people who engaged in either pro-social or deviant behaviors. For each description, participants evaluated personality traits of the person, indicated to what extent dispositional features influenced the person's behavior, and inferred behavioral consistency of the person across situations. As predicted, regardless of cultures, the degree of inferences of personality traits was more extreme among high trusters than among low trusters. Moreover, high trusters showed more dispositional attribution, focused on traits, and expected consistency of their behaviors between situations. Implications for general trust and social perception are discussed.

Contact information:
ishii@let.hokudai.ac.jp
81-11-706-3057

Department of Behavioral Science
Hokkaido University
N10W7, Kita-ku
Sapporo 060-0810

Perceiving vertical environments and Evolved Fall Avoidance Theory
*Poster session I

The Vertical-horizontal illusion (VHI) is the tendency to perceive vertical distances as longer than equal horizontal distances. Contrary to current theories, I suggest a mechanism by which the VHI evolved: in response to costs from falling. Falling is costly, but vertical surfaces persisted over our evolution and offered benefits via successful navigation. Evolved Fall Avoidance Theory (EFAT) suggests the importance of such navigational pressures in shaping many perceptual mechanisms. One unique prediction derived from EFAT specific to the VHI suggests that vertical length should appear greater from the top of a vertical surface than the bottom. Descending more often results in falls and falls during descent are usually costlier than falls during ascent. Subjects changed the length of a vertical to appear equal to a fixed horizontal from the top and bottom of a 15.90 m vertical surface. Consistent with EFAT, subjects perceived greater vertical distance from the top of the vertical surface than from the bottom. Additional data and EFAT implications for perception and navigation will be discussed.

Contact information:
russelljackson@mail.utexas.edu
512-471-1406

UT Psychology
1 Univ Stn: A8000
Austin, TX 78712

Sex differences in Counterfactual Thinking: Romantic vs. Academic Regrets
*Poster session I

Counterfactual thinking refers to the contemplation of alternative outcomes to factual events. Often people consider how changed actions (their own or others') could have led to a better outcome. The prevalence of counterfactual thinking makes it a likely feature of our evolved psychology. Even so, there has been little, if any, evolutionary analysis applied to this area. There has also been limited examination of sex differences in counterfactuals. In our research we addressed both of these issues by comparing the content of men's and women's counterfactuals in two domains: academic achievements and love lives. Drawing on evolutionary theories, we expected that there would be sex differences in the latter, but not in the former domain. Participants were asked to generate regrets and alternative outcomes in the form of “if only…” and “then…” statements. Considering sex differences in reproductive strategies, we predicted women should have more regrets than men about wasted time and effort, and that men should have more regrets than women about missed opportunities. Content analyses supported these predictions, and also found no sex differences in the academic regrets.

Contact information:
janickim@douglas.bc.ca
604-527-5786

Dept. of Psychology
P. O. Box 2503
New Westminster, BC
V3L 5B3 Canada

Anthropocybernetic Models and Integrity of Anthropology
*Poster session I

Despite the popularity of the "holistic approach", what is conspicuously lacking in anthropology is a general theory applicable both to genetically and culturally transmitted traits. Some respectable attempts to meet this challenge are: Campbell's (1974), Cavalli-Sforza's and Feldman's (1981), Dawkins' (1982), Boyd's and Richerson's (1985), Durham's (1991), Sperber's (1996). In our contribution, we want to assess the usefulness of this general approach for the actual research practice. The model serving as our test case is one developed and applied as part of the research project "Population Structure of Croatia - Anthropocybernetic Models", carried out at the Institute for Anthropological Research in Zagreb, Croatia (www.inantro.hr). The model gives interesting insights into the population dynamics (on the phenotypic level) and enables certain predictions. However, when it comes to the interpretation of the model, the researcher is left without the kind of theoretical guidance available in population genetics. We want to evaluate the prospects for making up for this deficit and draw some general conclusions touching on the issue of anthropology's methodological integrity.

Contact information:
janus@inantro.hr
38514816903

Amruseva 8/V
10000 Zagreb
Croatia

Overconfidence and War
*Poster session I

International conflict is often characterized by two opponents sharing the belief they will win. And usually, of course, one of them is wrong. This problem has been labelled the "War Puzzle" by political scientists -- states led by rational decision-makers should not fight because both sides can avoid the costs and risks of war by negotiating a pre-war bargain reflecting their relative power. Since wars do occur, it appears that states are overconfident about their relative power. A novel solution to the war puzzle is suggested to derive from "positive illusions": the phenomenon that people are prone to exaggerated ideas of their capabilities, their ability to control events, and the future. As Richard Wrangham originally argued (1999; Evolution and Human Behaviour 20: 3-17; see also 23: 245-264), positive illusions may have been favoured by natural selection throughout our evolutionary history because they improved (1) military effectiveness and (2) the ability to bluff an opponent. Today, however, positive illusions isolated from the battlefield can lead to military disasters and protracted wars that no one wanted.

Contact information:
dominic@princeton.edu
609-258-8858

Society of Fellows
Joseph Henry House
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ 08544

Tools Don’t Make the Man
*Poster session I

The development of stone tool technology is often seen as reflecting increasing capacity in our genus. Although the complexity of lithic assemblages is broadly correlated with increasing brain size and archaeological density, this may not be a simple mirror of cognitive ability. The Tjimba of Northwestern Namibia used stone tools well into the 1970s, yet their lithic work was very uncomplicated by most any measure. Interviews indicate that they used minimal core preparation, little retouch, and apparently lacked an elaborate tool typology. An absence of evidence for ‘modern human’ capacity is not necessarily evidence of absence.

Contact information:
SJosephson@largebrainedhominid.org

University of Utah
Salt Lake City

Evolutionary motivations for the inclusion of organic form in architectural design
*Poster session I

Different psychological study fields suggest that evolution in a natural environment has gifted humans with a set of mental modules specialized in perceptual and conceptual information about natural things. Culturally, the existence of such a natural intelligence leads to a tendency to create cultural objects that answer the input-conditions of these modules. During the history of architectural design, this translated in the creation of designs that have remarkable formal similarities with natural elements. Yet, today nature is increasingly pushed back, which leads this natural intelligence to become underdeveloped. An important effect of this understimulation is that people become less interested in creating architectural designs that fulfil the input-conditions of these modules. It is argued that this trend can lead to three interrelated impoverishments. (1) A broad range of architectural formal grammars becomes neglected. (2) The emotional relation towards architectural design becomes poorer. (3) There is a shift towards a relative dominance of functional thinking. In this presentation it is argued that organic designs can provide a counterweight against these impoverishments.

Contact information:
Yannick.JOYE@telenet.be
32474749675

Ghent University

Male and Female Brain on Judgments and Cognitions
*Poster session I

The empathizing-systemizing theory (Baron-Cohen et al., 2003, 2004) argued that the female brain is hard-wired for empathizing, the drive to identify another person's emotions and thoughts, and the male brain is hard-wired for systemizing, the drive to analyze or construct systems. In this study, 471 Japanese undergraduates (247 males, 224 females) completed the S-EQ, which measured systemizing and empathizing, reasoning tasks (Tversky & Kahneman, 1982) and moral judgment tasks (Green et al., 2001). As was predicted, females scored significantly higher than males on the EQ, and significantly lower on the SQ. In reasoning and moral judgment tasks, high SQ scorers tended to make judgments which independent of pragmatic or affective contexts of the problems, while high EQ scorers tended to be influenced by these contexts. These results imply that empathizing and systemizing affect social judgments and cognitions.

Contact information:
chiki1209@yahoo.co.jp
81-3-5454-6266

Dept. of Cognitive and Behavioral Science, Hasegawa Lab.
Tokyo, 153-8902, Japan

Media Richness vs. Media Naturalness: An Evolutionary View of E-Communication
*Poster session I

Among the theoretical hypotheses that have informed research on