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Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science pp 1–5Cite as

Evolution of Desire, The

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Synonyms

Attraction; Mate preferences; Mate retention; Mate selection; Mating; Mating psychology; Mating strategies

Definition

This book provides a unified theory of human mating strategies, anchored in the best scientific evidence available on sexual psychology.

Introduction

The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating was first published by Basic Books (Buss 1994). It took 4 years to write and represented a synthesis of a decade of research on the psychology of human mating by the author. Two chapters were added to a revised edition in 2003, although the original ten chapters remained in unmodified form. Desire was updated and revised thoroughly from top to bottom (Buss 2016) and represented an explosion of empirical research in the years since its original publication. Desirehas become a citation classic (more than 2,000 scholarly citations as of 2016). It is widely used in college courses. It is used by scientists to guide mating research. And it is used by everyday...

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References

  • Buss, D. M. (1988). Love acts: The evolutionary biology of love. In R. J. Sternberg & M. L. Barnes (Eds.), The psychology of love. New Haven: Yale University Press.

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  • Buss, D. M. (1989a). Sex differences in human mate preferences: Evolutionary hypotheses tested in 37 cultures. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 12, 1–14.

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  • Buss, D. M. (1989b). Conflict between the sexes: Strategic interference and the evocation of anger and upset. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 735–747.

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  • Buss, D.M. (1994/2003/2016). The evolution of desire: Strategies of human mating. New York: Basic Books.

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  • Buss, D. M., & Schmitt, D. P. (1993). Sexual strategies theory: An evolutionary perspective on human mating. Psychological Review, 100, 204–232.

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  • Buss, D. M., & Shackelford, T. K. (1997). From vigilance to violence: Mate retention tactics in married couples. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 346–361.

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  • Haselton, M. G., & Buss, D. M. (2001). Emotional reactions following first-time sexual intercourse: The affective shift hypothesis. Personal Relationships, 8, 357–369.

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  • Schmitt, D. P., & Buss, D. M. (1996). Strategic self-promotion and competitor derogation: Sex and context effects on the perceived effectiveness of mate attraction tactics. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 1185–1204.

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  • Symons, D. (1979). The evolution of human sexuality. New York: Oxford University Press.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA

    David M. Buss

Authors
  1. David M. Buss
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to David M. Buss .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland Univ Dept of Psycholgy, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana Weekes-Shackelford

  2. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  3. Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Psychological Sciences, Kansas State University, 492 Bluemont Hall, Manhattan, KS, USA

    Gary L Brase

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Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing AG

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Cite this entry

Buss, D.M. (2016). Evolution of Desire, The. 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_1863-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1863-1

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  • 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

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