The Pleasure Instinct: Why We Crave Adventure, Chocolate, Pheromones, and Music (33 page)

157
In a diverse range of species tested
For a review, see Thornhill, R, Moller, AP (1997) Developmental stability, disease and medicine.
Biological Reviews,
72: 497-548.

157
Population biologist John Manning
Manning, JT, Scutt, D, et al. (1998) Developmental stability, ejaculate size, and sperm quality in men.
Evolution and Human Behavior,
19: 273-282.

157
They found that men with greater body asymmetry
Ibid.

157
In women, breast asymmetry
Manning, JT, Scutt, D, et al. (1997) Breast asymmetry and phenotypic quality in women.
Evolution and Human Behavior,
18: 1-13.

157
and to the probability of marriage
Moller, AP, Soler, M, et al. (1995) Breast asymmetry, sexual selection and human reproductive success.
Ethology and Sociobiology
, 16: 207-219.

158
Gangestad and Thornhill gave a series of health questionnaires to
Gangestad, SW, Thornhill, R (1997a) Human sexual selection and developmental stability. In
Evolutionary Social Psychology,
ed. Simpson, JA, and Kenrick, DT. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, NJ, 169-195.

158
The researchers found a significant negative correlation
Ibid.

158
In a study of 101 college students
Shakleford, TK, Larsen, RJ (1997) Facial asymmetry as an indicator of psychological, emotional, and physiological distress.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
72: 456-466.

159
They were also more likely to complain of depression
Ibid.

159
Consistent with this observation
Markow, TA, Wandler, K (1986) Fluctuating dermatoglyphic asymmetry and the genetics of liability to schizophrenia.
Psychiatry Research,
19: 323-328; Mellor, CS (1992) Dermatoglyphic evidence of fluctuating asymmetry in schizophrenia.
British Journal of Psychiatry,
160: 467-472; Durfee, KE (1974) Crooked ears and bad boy syndrome:Asymmetry as an indicator of minimal brain dysfunction.
Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic,
38: 305-316.

159
Independent judgments by external observers
Shakleford, Larsen (1997).

159
This study confirms other reports that facial
See, for example, Grammer, K, Thornhill, R (1994) Human facial attractiveness and sexual selection: the role of symmetry and averageness.
Journal of Comparative Psychology,
108: 233-242.

161
Such redundancy may facilitate the increased recognition
Bornstein, MH, Ferdinandsen, K, et al. (1981) Perception of symmetry in infancy.
Developmental Psychology,
17: 82-86.

161
Indeed, the data show the latter to be true, since newborns
See, for example, McCall, RB, Melsom,WH (1970) Complexity, contour, and area as determinants of attention in infants.
Developmental Psychology,
3: 343-349.

161
Newborns tend to look longer
See, for example, McCall, RB, Melsom, WH (1970) Complexity, contour, and area as determinants of attention in infants.
Developmental Psychology,
3: 343-349; Bronson, GW (1982)
The Scanning Patterns of Human Infants: Implications for Visual Learning
. Ablex Publishing, Norwood, NJ; Slater, AM (1998)
Perceptual Development: Visual, Auditory and Speech Perception in Infants
. Psychology Press, East Sussex, UK.

161
Newborns also prefer line drawings of faces
Maurer, D, Young, R (1983) Newborns’ following of natural and distorted arrangements of facial features.
Infant Behavior and Development,
6: 127-131.

162
As we have just reviewed, body and facial symmetry
Manning, JT, Scutt, D, et al. (1998) Developmental stability, ejaculate size, and sperm quality in men.
Evolution and Human Behavior,
19: 273-282; Manning, Scutt, et al. (1997); Moller, Soler, et al. (1995).

162
Hence there is evidence that individuals with greater symmetry
Shakleford, Larsen (1997); Grammer, Thornhill (1994).

163
In a landmark study, evolutionary psychologist
For a comprehensive review, see Buss, DM (1994)
The Evolution of Desire
. Basic Books, New York.

163
For instance, in comparison to men with high asymmetry
Gangestad, SW, Thronhill, R, et al. (1994) Facial attractiveness, developmental stability and fluctuating asymmetry.
Ethology and Sociobiology,
15: 73-85; Thornhill, R, Gangestad, SW (1994) Human fluctuating asymmetry and sexual behavior.
Psychological Science,
5: 297-302; Gangestad,Thornhill (1997a); Gangestad, SW, Thorhill, R (1997b) The evolutionary psychology of extra-pair sex: the role of fluctuating asymmetry.
Ethology and Sociobiology,
18: 69-88;Thornhill, R, Gangestad, SW, et al. (1995) Human female orgasm and mate fluctuating asymmetry.
Animal Behavior,
50: 1601-1615.

163
In a recent study, biologist Craig Roberts
Roberts, SC, Little, AC, et al. (2005) MHC-heterozygosity and human facial attractiveness.
Evolution and Human Behavior,
26: 213-226.

164
Men with greater heterozygosity
Ibid.

164
As we saw earlier, waist-to-hip
Singh, D (1993a); Singh, D (1993b); Singh, D, Luis, S (1995); Singh, D (2004).

164
In other experiments, Devendra Singh
Singh, D (1995) Female health, attractiveness, and desirability for relationships: role of breast asymmetry and waist-to-hip ratio.
Ethology and Sociobiology,
16: 465-481.

164
Whereas most body parts exhibit fluctuating
Moller, AP, Soler, M, et al. (1995) Breast asymmetry, sexual selection and human reproductive success.
Ethology and Sociobiology,
16: 207-219; Manning, JT, Scutt, D, et al. (1996) Asymmetry and menstrual cycle in women.
Ethology and Sociobiology,
17: 129-143.

165
For instance, similar to newborns
Palmer, SE, Hemenway, K (1978) Orientation and symmetry: effects of multiple, near, and rotational symmetries.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance,
4: 691-702; Royer, F (1981) Detection of symmetry.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance,
7: 1186-1210.

165
Moreover, symmetric objects and patterns
Humphrey, D (1997) Preferences in symmetries and symmetries in drawings: asymmetries between ages and sexes.
Empirical Studies of the Arts,
15: 41-60; Berlyne, DE (1974)
Studies in the New Experimental Aesthetics: Steps Toward an Objective Psychology of Aesthetic Appreciation
. Hemisphere Company, Washington DC; Reber, R, Schwarz, N (2006) Perceptual fluency, preference, and evolution.
Polish Psychological Bulletin,
37:16-22; Gombridge, EH (1984)
The Sense of Order: A Study in the Psychology of Decorative Art
. Phaidon, London.

165
Indeed, there is widespread use of symmetric designs
Ibid. Gombridge; McManus, C (2002)
Right Hand, Left Hand:The Origins of Asymmetry in Brains, Bodies, Atoms, and Cultures
. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.

165
The subjects were asked to “choose the design
Cardenas, RA, Harris, LJ (2006) Symmetrical decorations enhance the attractiveness of faces and abstract designs.
Evolution and Human Behavior,
27: 1-18.

166
This suggests that symmetry is preferred in nonbiological
Ibid.

167
Interestingly, the application of an asymmetric design to a symmetric face
Ibid.

 

170
After only a few months, the scientists found
Chang, EF, Merzenich, MM (2003) Environmental noise retards auditory cortical development.
Science,
300: 498-502.

171
Most interesting of all, when the noise-reared rats
Ibid.

171
For instance, it is commonly known that older infants
Dissanayake, E (1992)
Homoaestheticus
. Free Press, New York.

171
Various religious groups practice meditation
See, for example, Gass, R, Brehony, KA (2000)
Chanting: Discovering Spirit in Sound
. Broadway, New York; Hahn,TN (2006)
Chanting from the Heart: Buddhist Ceremonies and Daily Practices
. Parallax Press, Berkeley, CA; Crummet, M (1993)
Sun Dance
. Falcon Press Publishing, San Ramon, CA.

171
Babies as young as four months old
Schellenberg, EG, Trehub, SE (1996) Natural musical intervals: evidence from infant listeners.
Psychological Science,
7: 272-277.

172
As an example, let us consider music
Miller, GF (2000)
The Mating Mind
. Doubleday, New York ; Levitan, DJ (2006)
This Is Your Brain on Music
. Dutton, New York; Mithen, S (2006)
The Singing Neanderthals: The Origins of Music, Language, Mind, and Body
. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.

172
Dawkins argued that the classic idea
Dawkins, R (1982)
The Extended Phenotype: The Long Reach of the Gene
. Oxford University Press, Oxford, England.

173
Rather, he suggests that in addition to its potential importance
Mithen, S (2006).

173
Following Darwin’s lead, he suggests that music
Miller, GF (2000) Evolution of human music through sexual selection. In Wallin, NL, Nerker, B, Brown, S (eds.),
The Origins of Music
. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. Also see Mithen, S (2006), who suggests that both natural and sexual selection have driven the evolution of human music production and perception.

174
He notes that from this sample,“males
Miller, GF (2000).

174
It is difficult to imagine the hunter-gatherer equivalent
This example was also considered by Miller, GF (2000).

174
But as Dawkins and others have observed, examples abound
Ibid. Dawkins, R (1982); and see Hauser, M (1996)
The Evolution of Communication
. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

175
Studies in rodents and primates have found
For example, see Chang, EF, Merzenich, MM (2003).

175
Clearly, music has effects on social communication
Mithen, S (2006).

176
That is, they exhibit learning similar
Mache, FB (2000) The necessity and problem with a universal musicality. In Wallin, NL, Nerker, B, Brown, S (eds.),
The Origins of Music
. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

176
There is now evidence that females
Catchpole, CK, Slater, PJB (1995)
Bird Song: Biological Themes and Variations
. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England.

176
Many species of birds also sing songs
Mache, FB (2000); Catchpole, CK, Slater, PJB (1995).

178
Likewise, virtuosic performance of instrumental
Miller, GF (2000).

179
Indeed, experiments have demonstrated that when speaking
Bolinger, D (1986)
Intonation and Its Parts: Melody in Spoken English
. Stanford University Press, Palo Alto, CA.

 

182
Rats that are made sick by ingesting tainted
Reilly, S, Bornovalova, MA (2005) Conditioned taste aversion and amygdala lesions in the rat: A critical review.
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews,
29(7): 1067-1088;Welzl, H, D’Adamo, P, Lipp, HP (2001) Conditioned taste aversion as a learning and memory paradigm.
Behavioral Brain Science,
125(1-2): 205-213;Yamamoto,T, Shimura, T, Sako, N, et al. (1994) Neural substrates for conditioned taste aversion in the rat.
Behavioral Brain Research,
65(2): 123-137.

188
Negative feelings occur with the presence of fitness decrements
Panksepp, J, Knutson, B, Burgdorf, J (2002) The role of brain emotional systems in addiction: a neuro-evolutionary perspective and new “self-report” animal model.
Addiction,
97: 459-469.

188
Many anthropologists have pointed out
For example, see Sullivan, RJ, Hagan, EH (2002) Psychotropic substance seeking: evolutionary pathology or adaptation.
Addiction,
97: 389-400; Dudley, R (2002) Fermenting fruit and the historical ecology of ethanol ingestion: is alcoholism in modern humans an evolutionary hangover?
Addiction,
97: 381-388.

189
For instance,
Areca catechu
, commonly known
Glover, IC (1977) Prehistoric plant remains from Southeast Asia with special reference to rice. In Taddei, M (ed.),
South Asian Archaeology
. Instituto Universitario Orientale, Naples, 7-37.

189
There is also evidence that nicotine
Watson, P (1983)
This Precious Foliage:A Study of the Aboriginal Psychoactive Drug Pituri
. University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.

189
For many psychoactive substances
Sullivan, RJ, Hagan, EH, 2002.

189
Indeed, the anthropoid diet has been predominantly
Dudley, R, 2002.

189
Temperate-zone fruit sources
McKenzie, JA, McKechnie, W (1979) A comparative study of resource utilization in natural populations of
Drosophila Malanogaster
and
D. simulans
.
Oecologia,
40: 299-309.

189
Comparative studies have found that as most temperate
Brady, CJ (1987) Fruit ripening.
Annual Review of Plant Physiology,
38: 155-178.

189
Some anthropologists have suggested that ethanol
Dudley, R (2002).

190
More than 60 percent of Americans have tried an illicit
Johnston, LD, O’Malley, PM, Bachman, JG (2001)
Monitoring the Future: National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2000
.Volume II.
College Students and Adults Aged 19-40
. Bethesda, MD, National Institute on Drug Abuse, MIH Publication 01-4925.