Sex, Murder, and the Meaning of Life: A Psychologist Investigates How Evolution, Cognition, and Complexity are Revolutionizing our View of Human Nature

A rather boldish review of psy stuff.Q:Эмерджентность — свойства системы, которые не присущи ее элементам по отдельности, а возникают благодаря объединению этих элементов в целостную систему. Именно таким образом описывается возникновение психики в нашем мозге в настоящее время.(c)Q:Наши � [...]

When a baseball player steps up to the plate and wags his bat at the wall past outfield, it's a sign.  Next pitch is a homerun.  When someone, in this case, Douglas Kenrick, entitles a book Sex, Murder, and the Meaning of Life it's the literary equivalent of holding a bat straight out to the centerfield wall.The introduction begins, "You and I have probably never met, but you might be shocked to learn how well we know one another and how intimately our lives are connected."  Kenrick goes on t [...]

A more apt title should be:A Psychologist tries to explain how he got divorced three times. Interview with Ross Geller not included.

This was a brisk, enlightening, and easy-to-digest account of a lot of evolutionary psychology theories. I've read a lot of books on this topic before, but this was a good presentation that would serve equally well as a refresher, introduction, or further reading, depending on your level of experience with the field. A pleasantly affable, yet still knowledgeable, tone pervades this work. Recommended to anybody interested the the subject.

Much as I wanted to love this book, and in spite of all the enthusiastic reviews (reader, peer and pro no less), I was disappointed by the lack of content and development(a scant 200 pages sans notes) of a fascinating subject. The author runs through each theme with an opening anecdote based on personal experience, a brief description of one or two studies carried out by his own research team or approved affiliates and concludes with yet another anecdote which is meant to illustrate the validity [...]

Useful and funny, but the scope seemed too broad. I enjoyed the attention given to personal anecdotes, but the trade-off (perhaps determined by what fit within a couple hundred pages) was that large concepts were introduced without being fully explained and without ever being returned to. Examples: The four "levels of analysis" — functional, historical, developmental, proximate — seem to me, at least according to their brief definitions here, to separate into an overarching evolutionary goal [...]

Cognitive reductionism with a dash of sexual narcissismI wasn’t crazy about this book. The simple (too simple?) argument is that evolutionary pressures shape our cognitive and psychological landscape. According to the author, the most significant pressure is related to procreative strategies to ensure we continue our genetic lines. As a result, how we advertise sexual availability, seek, choose and retain partners, and how well we do as parents, are the driving forces behind a whole slew of he [...]

**Simple rules make us profoundly human**Weaving together the insights of the three interdisciplinary movements of cognitive science, evolutionary psychology, and dynamical systems theory, Douglas Kenrick reveals the simple rules explaining some of our most complex human behaviors. His fascinating journey illuminating human drives, emotions, and behaviors is grounded in the following basic principles:1. Simple selfish rules—looking at human behavior through an evolutionary context reveals a co [...]

Douglas Kenrick is a pioneer in the field of evolutionary psychology, and despite the criticism it has received for generating too many just-so stories to explain human behavior, I thought he did a good job not only of introducing the discipline, but citing good studies to make his case.The mainspring of evolutionary psychology is the idea that we are primarily driven by our desire to pass along our genes to future generations, and that men and women have fundamentally different strategies for d [...]

Literature has long explored the vagaries of the human condition and I guess science decided it was time to catch up a little bit. Some insights from the book that made me stop and take notes:Conservative attitudes about sex and sexuality may drive religiosity (not the other way around), which may explain my total lack of religiosity.Behavioral economics has done a great job at pointing out our economic irrationality, but if we dig deeper we may be able to find an underlying rationality in our e [...]

The 2nd part of this book was 'better' than the first,changing my 1 star vote to 2 stars.Over-all -- I never felt anything got 'fully' developed. The authors 'defensive-edge' smoothed as the book went along though(so it became easier to enjoy the content of what he wroteBut when the author says"you might think this book is about me" .but its about YOUn't kid yourself.Sure --we are all connected --and its the information he writes is about all of usbut you can bet your booty this book is about HI [...]

This was certainly not the best book I've read on evolutionary psychology; however, Kenrick's book made the concepts personal via examples from his own life. Some may like that; some may not. Additionally, he added complexity theory to the mix, which added a new twist to the theory of EP.I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone already familiar with evolutionary psychology as they will likely find it boring and lacking in new material. On the other hand, Kendrick's book is useful as an introduct [...]

It would be a fair question why we should care about the opinion of a psychologist, about the meaning of life. Psychology has Sigmund Freud and B.F. Skinner to answer for, so it's not as if its record on getting things right is without blemish. Moreover, science proceeds best when its focus is, not on the most important questions one can think of, but the most important questions one can think of a good way to test the answers to (right now). Sex and murder are big enough topics; the meaning of [...]

Very interesting material overall, but it did lose my attention more than a few times. I don't remember when I began it, but it's taken me probably over a year to finish. I will definitely remember the information, either as trivia or for use in intellectual discussion. I am no psychologist (though I am an evolutionary biologist) but the information was written simply enough for myself, and I believe non-scientists, to understand easily. Another bonus was despite losing my attention, picking it [...]

As expected I found listening to this audiobook great. Psychology is ever intriguing and I can't get enough. I had no idea that murderous thoughts were to be had by more than the usual suspects for these things. I will forever remember Maslow's hierarchy pyramid.

Sex, Murder and the Meaning of Life by Douglas T. Kenrick"Sex, Murder and the Meaning of Life" is a book about the study of the underside of human nature and then some. Using a modern form of psychology grounded in evolutionary biology, cognitive science and new research Mr. Kenrick provides the answers of some of the most interesting aspects of human nature. This 256-page book is composed of the following twelve chapters: 1. Standing in the Gutter: How did an innocent young student accidentally [...]

The author says that people have homicidal fantasies. I value the effort that goes into getting a degree and conducting ethical studies that make it legal for him to say that people have homicidal fantasies. This is good information.

I looked forward to reading this book because of my desire to learn more about evolutionary psychology. However, I am not sure if this is the book with which that can be achieved. First good things: Kenrick is a good writer. He has a great knack for clearly explaining tricky psychological experiments. He is also a hands-on experimental psychologist who deals in real data. He seems well informed in his subject (at least psychology) and very main line in his approach to evolution.Now the disappoin [...]

Oh well, oh well.is is by far one of the most fascinating book (I read the Chinese version) I have ever read besides the subject of "Currency War"(little offshoot)Professor opens the door for me to understand several points in which I am going to just "point out": i) inclusive fitness ii) simple selfish motives iii) subselves (very important) that are dominating our behaviors according to different situationsiv) references from Festinger v) Female and Male cognitive understanding and behavioral [...]

I suspect most people’s objections to psychological research that demonstrates a trend toward our more base instincts (e.g it’s all about mating!) is rooted in a basic misunderstanding of how said research is conducted. It’s a series of surveys and other tests administered to a semi-random group of volunteers. The findings imply general tendencies - none of which are all that surprising, by the way - but that does not mean we are mindless automatons at the mercies of our impulses. Obviousl [...]

קראתי את הספר Sex Murder and the meaning of life. הספר פחות עוסק במשמעות החיים מנקודת מבט פילוסופית ורק במסקנות הסופיות הוא מגיע לדיון קצרצר בנושא. אבל מאידך, הוא מנתח את הקשר שבין תופעות חברתיות או אנושיות מנקודת מבט פסיכולוגית וביולוגית אבולוציונית ובמובן זה הוא עוסק במשמעות החיים כתוצר [...]

Douglas Kenrick writes with a very humorous style that is appealing to all audiences - especially with any background knowledge of psychology. Within the text he includes personal examples from his own life that highlight why he pursued certain research topics such as how men and women approach sexuality differently. He is always sure to give credit to other researchers where credit is due. It is a thought-stimulating book highlighting his own research in social psychology but also famous studie [...]

Review based on ARCThis was, for me, someone without much of a background in "evolutionary psychology," interesting and thought provoking. I appreciated that the author presented the theory without dumbing it down too much, while still making it accessible to someone who is interested in psychology but doesn't quite have the time to really focus on it.The author expresses his theories on how our natural inclinations toward selfishness and pleasure have often given way to the some of society's gr [...]

I can totally see why Robert Sapolsky gave this his mark of approval. It's irreverent, funny as hell and stinking brilliant! Sure, the blunt, streetwise, Brooklyn guy narrative voice boarders on shtick at times. That being said, it has a important function, to playfully broach the "offensive" (to some) subject matter that is the hallmark of evolutionary psychology (e.g. sex -including homosex- and aggression). Of course the material covered in this book (which I will not summarize), goes far bey [...]

So, it looks like we are really controlled by our DNAs, good or bad? Or more accurately speaking happy or sad? Depends on whether you r an evolutionary psychologist or not. I am NOT. I guess I could see the evolutionary advantage (of some sort) of women seeking "successful" men over "goodlooking" ones, but following the same train of thought, I don't get why men seeking pretty women over, say, other kinds of women, offers any evolutionary edge to those men who fail at it; or the "theory" that th [...]

Evolutionary psychology has a hard rap in this world - most people are probably put off my the 'evolutionary' and its only natural to freak out a little when people start telling you that your motivations in life stem entirely from what made early humans good baby makers.But then Kenrick comes along and defends evolutionary psychology with skill, wit and insight, and I find it hard to feel sorry for the subject.In Sex, Murder and the Meaning of Life, we explore issues from mate selection, aggres [...]

I really enjoyed this. The author was quite amusing and it's an interesting topic. It's interesting to look at all human motivations as having to do with evolution. My favorite part was when he was describing a study in which coupled men and women were asked about their relationships, then shown pictures of attractive people in the opposite sex, and then asked again about their relationships. Men back pedaled a bit about the seriousness of their relationships after seeing models. "Are women just [...]

This is enjoyably written. If you have already read a bit on evolutionary psychology & similar topics you are not likely to learn anything new.The author does a very nice job of integrating stories about his own life in pertinent ways.However, as he tells us several times, during his rebellious youth he did poorly in algebra and never moved on to calculus. More than that, he scrupulously avoids numbers, even when they are very relevant. He discusses MANY studies but NEVER tells us how big th [...]

I thoroughly enjoyed Kendrick's book on evolutionary psychology.It was well written and engaging to read, and served as an excellent introduction in my opinion to the field of evolutionary psychology.Kendrick methodologically breaks down the science of evolutionary psychology, engaging the reader by using numerous personal anecdotes that he weaves seamlessly into the explanations. It felt a little self-centered at times and certain paragraphs felt rather byzantine and incomprehensible, requiring [...]

It is rare that I have such a negative view of a book that I've read but this book is a scurge. Popular books on social science typically gloss over nuances that social science researchers care about but most manage to represent the research in an authentic way - Steve Pinker is a master at this. Kendrick on the other hand simplifies arguments and streams of logic in a way that outright misrepresents. Beyond this, much of what is covered is based solely on the author's own work as if that is the [...]