“It’s a small step from stalking game animalsto stalking humans”

“It’s a small step from stalking game animals to stalking humans”

David Buss, professor of psychology at the University of Texas. Head of the Individual Differences and Evolutionary Psychology Area and supervisor of the evolutionary psychology lab. His book on the theme of jealousy is The Dangerous Passion: Why Jealousy is as Necessary as Love and Sex, was published in February of 2010.

Some people consider themselves the jealous types.

Others claim they don’t have it in them. Wherever you think you fall on this issue, research says we are all jealous at some level. More importantly, the jealousy we feel in our relationships have an evolutionary purpose.

Even if we fancy ourselves modern and in control of our animal instincts, when it comes to jealousy, we haven’t changed all that much.

You wrote about the evolutionary theory of stalking earlier this year, I was surprised to learn that even stalking has a function?

“An astonishingly large number of people are stalked at some point in their lives. Our studies point to roughly 60% of women and 40% of men. Most of these don’t elevate to the level of ‘criminal stalking,’ which typically requires inducing high levels of fear in the victim. We (my co-author Dr. Josh Duntley and I) have developed a functional theory of stalking. Most of its functions center on mating. One of the most common is a jilted romantic partner who “can’t let go.” Stalking serves the functions of interfering with the ex’s attempts to get romantically involved with others.From an evolutionary perspective, even if stalking only ‘works’ some of the time in driving off a mating rival and reacquiring an ex-mate, it still influences reproduction. I think that stalking came out of, or got ‘exapted,’ from hunting adaptations.

It’s a small step from stalking game animals to stalking humans.”

that a stalker’s behavior should be ‘excused’ just because it has an evolved function.”

You argue that men and women have evolved long-term and short-term mating strategies.

Are these adaptations subject to change, or do they remain the same over time?

“In our modern environment, both strategies get played out in some novel ways because of inventions such as internet dating, websites that cater to married people who want to have affairs, etc. But our fundamental strategies of human mating have not changed.”

‘Why Jealousy Is As Necessary As Love and Sex,’ is the subtitle of your book ‘The Dangerous Passion.’ Why is it necessary?

“Jealousy has several important functions. It motivates ‘mate guarding,’ which is critical in long-term mateships. It motivates driving off rivals or what I call ‘mate poachers.’ But it also serves as a signal of love to the long-term mate, at least in cases of mild to moderate jealousy.

If a man is not jealous at all, women often inAren’t you afraid your studies provide the terpret that as a sign that he doesn’t love her perfect excuse for those who engage in or is not sufficiently committed to her.” stalking?

“Criminal stalking is a crime, and finding that Some men already get jealous when their girlit has an evolved function in no way excuses friends talk to other men, while others might stalkers. Indeed, understanding that men be ok with their girlfriends kissing other guys. might have evolved proclivities to stalk might Is it overall universal how people react when warrant more severe penalties in an attempt it comes to being jealous, or does this depend to deter what they might do more frequently on culture? without those penalties. More generally, find- “There are universal aspects of jealousy and ing that a behavioral syndrome has an evolved culture-specific aspects of jealousy. In general, function does not speak to issues of ‘excuse’ men in all cultures have the evolved jealousy or ‘responsibility,’ any more than finding that circuit, and it serves the functions we already rape or murder caused by bad parenting, pov- discussed. There is some cultural specificity to erty, or “culture” excuses those crimes. Iden- jealousy. For example, in some cultures, men tifying the causes of our psychological circuits will get jealous if another man sees his wife’s is a scientific enterprise. Deciding what to do face. Veils and burkas are often used in those about those circuits is a matter of values. In cultures. I focus more heavily on the universal general, we don’t want people to stalk, rape, components, because those have been woefulor murder, so we have developed laws against ly neglected by scientists throughout the past them, and hired a professional police force to century, but I do discuss the culturally-specific enforce them. I’ve never heard someone day components where there is good evidence for

them.”

it is a construct based on movies, popular culture or a side effect of capitalism. In your reWhat about open relationships? Polyamorous search it seems you don’t agree at all. couples tend to say they aren’t jealous; what happens to them in the long term as com- Does love exist for a reason? pared to those who say they are jealous?

“Love, like jealousy, is an evolved emotion. It Roughly 90% of tends to emerge priopen relationships marily in the context fail, or end up disof long-term mate“Roughly 90% of open solving. Most peoships, and its primary relationships fail, or ple aren’t psychofunction is commitlogically built to ment. Humans differ end up dissolving. Most having their partner from our closest pripeople aren’t psychohaving sex with othmate relatives, the logically built to having ers. Although even chimps, in having their partner having sex here, there’s genlong-term mating rewith others ” der difference. Most lationships; it’s actuopen relationships ally pretty rare in the are initiated by men animal kingdom. Love who want to satisfy their evolved desire for evolved as a commitment device to increase sexual variety. Some women ‘go along’ with the odds that the couple would stay together, the open relationship not necessarily because at least long enough to ensure the survival of they want to sleep with other men, but rath- their children. Of course, people fall out of er in an effort to hold on to the mate they do love, get divorced, and re-mate. But without have by letting him satisfy his desires. Histori- love, long-term mateships would be far more cally and cross-culturally, polygyny - men hav- tenuous or fragile.” ing multiple wives - is far more common than polyandry - women having multiple husbands For more information on Dr David Buss: In fact, 83% of all cultures have been polygy- Check this website nous, whereas less than 1% have been polyandrous. Modern open relationships mimic a polygynous circumstance. Of course, there are some exceptions, or individual differences.

A minority of women really do want to sleep with multiple men in open relationships; but most prefer the commitment of one man.”

Are we in an evolutionary danger if suddenly, people get less jealous?

“I don’t see that happening. We have evolved jealousy circuits that continue to serve their evolved functions. Mate guarding will always be necessary in long-term mateships since infidelity is always possible, and mate poachers are always lurking and waiting for an opening.”

One of the big arguments regarding love is that

By Mark Fonseca Rendeiro