Evolutionary Psychology, Fifth Edition, by Workman and Reader

We are pleased to announce that the fifth edition of our CUP book Evolutionary Psychology by Workman and Reader is now out and that the cover now has a lovely picture of a Golden Headed Lion Tamarin. These tiny primates are interesting for three reasons. First, they are seriously cute little New World monkeys which resemble gremlins (prior to turning into the bad version!). Second, and importantly, they show broad similarities to us in that they live in families where, in addition to Mum, Dad helps out and even the older siblings, with bringing up the youngsters. This is exceedingly rare in mammals where almost 99% of the males show no interest in their own offspring. Observing this level of male parental investment might provide evolutionary clues as to why human males also provide biparental care for their shared offspring. Third, and also very importantly, Golden Headed Lion Tamarins are, like most tamarins and marmosets, an endangered species. This is due to habitat loss largely related to increased urbanisation and deforestation. Sadly, and in common with other primates, we don’t treat our relatives very well. Readers and adopters of our previous editions will be aware that our approach is to make use of evolutionary theory in order to help improve our understanding of the main subject areas of psychology such as developmental, social, cognitive, clinical and personality. If you would like a different approach, then David Buss’s excellent Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind considers the relationship between evolution and the human condition by examining various challenges such as parenting, kinship and reproductive relationships that our ancestors faced on a recurrent basis. If you want a brief introduction to the field, you might also consider Evolutionary Psychology: A Very Brief Introduction by Maryanne Fisher and T. Joel Wade. Happy reading!