I think this is a good EP explanation for men, but there is a problem with it as an
explanation for women. I have to admit that I don't know if women are aroused by
stress as well, but from the woman's perspective it would seem that her offspring
would be most likely to succeed if she waited for the guys to come back and then
picked from that bunch. They would presumably be a more fit sub-sample of the original
population and would be more likely to be around to help provide for the children. - -
Bill Dickens
William T. Dickens
The Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202) 797-6113
FAX: (202) 797-6181
E-MAIL: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
AOL IM: wtdickens
>>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 10/01/01 10:19PM >>>
With regard to Mr. Dickens' comment regarding whether stress should cause
sexual arousal, I am tempted to think that evolutionary psychology can
certainly explain this phenomenon. Early societies, according to most models
of human development, used the males as hunters and warriors; females were
gatherers. With this division of labor, males certainly incurred the more
perilous part of the community's job. Before an important hunt or major
battle, it is manifestly in the male's evolutionary favor to become sexually
aroused; after all, this may be his genome's last chance to reproduce itself!
Even if he dies in battle, his sex partners -- still safely at home -- will
be able to bear his young.
