EP and popular culture

12 Pages·2012·0.09 MB·English

ReviewofGeneralPsychology ©2012AmericanPsychologicalAssociation
2012,Vol.16,No.2,109–120 1089-2680/12/$12.00 DOI:10.1037/a0027906
Nothing in Popular Culture Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution
Gad Saad
ConcordiaUniversity
Anevolutionarylenscaninformthestudyofculturalformsinamyriadofways.Thesecanbeconstrued
asadaptations,asexaptations(evolutionarybyproducts),asgene–cultureinteractions,asmemes,oras
fossilsofthehumanmind.Productsofpopularculture(e.g.,songlyrics,moviethemes,romancenovels)
are to evolutionary cultural theorists what fossils and skeletal remains represent to paleontologists.
Althoughhumanmindsdonotfossilizeorskeletonize(thecraniumdoes),theculturalproductscreated
byhumanmindsdo.Byidentifyinguniversallyrecurringthemesforagivenculturalform(songlyrics
andcollectivewisdomsinthecurrentarticle),spanningawiderangeofculturesandtimeperiods,one
isabletotestkeytenetsofevolutionarypsychology.Inadditiontousingevolutionarypsychologyto
understandthecontentsofpopularculture,thedisciplinecanitselfbestudiedasacontributortopopular
culture.Beginningwiththesociobiologydebatesinthe1970s,evolutionaryinformedanalysesofhuman
behavior have engendered great fascination and animus among the public at large. Following a brief
summary of studies that have explored the diffusion of the evolutionary behavioral sciences within
specificcommunities(e.g.,theBritishmedia),Iofferacaseanalysisofthepenetrationofevolutionary
psychologywithintheblogosphere,specificallytheblogcommunityhostedbyPsychologyToday.
Keywords:contentanalysis,humanuniversals,songlyrics,collectivewisdoms,culturalfossils
Are products of popular culture strictly powerful socialization ofenvironmentalinputstriggerthem.Furthermore,manyforcesof
agents bound to a particular time and place, or do they contain socialization, including those found in popular culture, exist in
elementsthatarereflectiveofauniversalhumannature?Manylay universally recurring forms precisely because they are shaped by
people and scholars alike reflexively pit biology and culture biologicalrealities.Inotherwords,muchofnurtureisdictatedby
againstoneanother,astwomutuallyexclusiveexplanatoryforces natureortoquotetheHarvardentomologistE.O.Wilson(1978,
ofthehumancondition.Thisdichotomyhasmanynamesinclud- p.167),“Thegenesholdcultureonaleash.Theleashisverylong,
ing nature versus nurture, innate/instinctual versus learned, and butinevitablyvalueswillbeconstrainedinaccordancewiththeir
genes versus the environment. Parrott, Silk, and Condit (2003) effectsonthehumangenepool.”Inthecurrentarticle,Iarguethat
investigated how lay people assign relative causal influence to our genes hold popular culture on a leash. In other words, rather
genes, environments, and personal behaviors when it comes to thanviewingthehumanmindasablankslatethatissubsequently
various issues including individuals’ height, weight, contracting shaped by arbitrary (if not patriarchal and sexist) products of
diseases, and various talents and mental abilities. Genes were popularculture,Iproposethatmanyaspectsofpopularcultureare
ascribedamuchgreaterweightforamorphologicaltrait(height) invarianttotimeandplacepreciselybecausetheyareindicativeof
thantheywereforidiosyncratictalentsormentalabilities.Inother our evolved human nature (Saad, 2007, Chapter 5; Saad, 2011a,
words, respondents strongly believe that for many human traits, Chapter6).
nongenetic factors are crucially important. If a similar exercise Todemonstratethatuniversalthemesexistwithinpopularcul-
werecarriedoutwithculturaltheoristswherebytheywereaskedto turedoesnotnegatetheimportanceofculture-specifictraditions.
ascribetherelativeimportancethatbiologyplaysinshapingprod- If asked to identify cross-cultural differences as well as human
ucts of popular culture, it is safe to assume that the net weight universals,mostindividualswouldhaveamucheasiertimelisting
wouldbeclosetozero.Ifanything,thegreatmajorityofscholars
examplesoftheformer.Onecouldeasilygenerateendlessexam-
who study popular culture define their areas of inquiry in juxta-
ples of culture-specific foods, musical styles, clothing attire, cin-
positiontobiology.Intheireyes,whatmakesusuniquewithinthe
ematic genres, religious beliefs, dialects, artistic forms, and folk-
animal kingdom (assuming that such scholars accept that we are
loric dance, to name a few examples. Notwithstanding the rich
animals)isourdistinctcapacitytotranscendourbiology.
tapestry of countless culture-specific expressions, there exists an
In reality, nature versus nurture is a false duality because hu-
underlyingsetofhumanuniversalsonwhichallsuchheterogene-
mansareaninextricablemixoftheirbiologicalheritageandtheir
ity is expressed. In the same way that the existence of wildly
uniquetalentsandenvironmentalcontingencies.Ourevolvedcog-
different spoken languages does not negate the fact that humans
nitiveblueprintsdonotoperateinavacuum;ratherawiderange
possessauniversallanguageacquisitionsystem,thesameapplies
for culture-specific instantiations of popular culture. It is indeed
truethatHindisongsarestylisticallyverydifferentfromAmerican
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Gad
R&B music; however, both genres contain lyrical content that is
Saad, John Molson School of Business, Department of Marketing, Con-
cordiaUniversity,1455deMaisonneuveBoulevard,West,Montreal,QC, quitesimilar(e.g.,menaremuchmorelikelytosingaboutwom-
CANADAH3G1M8.E-mail:[email protected] en’s beauty; women are much more likely to sing about the
109
110 SAAD
unattractivenessoflow-statusmen;seetheanalysisofsonglyrics, formisanadaptationoranexaptation.Whereasadaptationsevolve
asoneofthetwocaseanalysesbelow). viaselectionpressuresbecausetheyyieldsurvivalorreproductive
My objective in the current article is twofold. First, I offer benefits,exaptationsarebyproductsofevolutionaryprocesses(see
content analyses of two instantiations of popular culture: song Andrews, Gangestad, & Matthews, 2002 for additional details).
lyrics and collective wisdoms (e.g., proverbs and sayings), as a For example, religion has been construed as an adaptation that
means of highlighting universal themes of evolutionary import. confers a survival advantage (Wilson, 2002) or as an exaptation
Table 1 lists various elements of popular culture that have been wherebycognitivesystemsthatoriginallyevolvedfornonreligious
exploredfromanevolutionaryperspective.Mysecondobjectiveis purposes have since been usurped in the service of the religion
to demonstrate how evolutionary psychology (EP) has itself be- memeplex (Boyer, 2001; see Boyer & Bergstrom, 2008, and
comepartofpopularculture.FewpeopleareindifferenttoEPbe Pyysia¨inen & Hauser, 2010, for reviews of evolutionary ap-
they academics or laypeople. Some individuals are immediately proaches in the study of religion). Miller (1999, 2000) has pro-
bittenbytheevolutionarybugandaccordinglyfeelliberatedbyits posedthatthecreationand/ormasteryofparticularculturalforms
explanatorypowers.Othersdetestthedisciplineforawidevariety
serveassexualsignalsinthematingmarketthatconferreproduc-
ofreasons,themostimportantofwhichIshallbrieflyenunciate.
tive rather than survival benefits (largely for men). Think of the
Idiscussworksthathavetrackedthepublicdebatesregardingthe
increased mating opportunities that accrue to famous rock stars
evolutionarybehavioralsciences(sociobiologyandEP)alongwith
(e.g.,GeneSimmonsoftherockgroupKiss),actors(e.g.,Warren
their subsequent diffusion within specific communities and intel-
Beatty),orpainters(e.g.,PabloPicasso).Thatsaid,famecouldbe
lectualniches.Iconcludewithacaseanalysisofthediffusionof
potentially beneficial to women as well, perhaps in terms of
EPwithinpopularculture.Specifically,Ihighlighttheprevalence
increasingthequalityofprospectivesuitors(ratherthantheoverall
of EP within the blogosphere, most notably via the number of
numberofsuitors).
evolutionarily informed blogs at Psychology Today, a premier
Gene–culture coevolution is another evolutionary-based ap-
dispenserofpsychologicalknowledgetothemasses.
proachforstudyingculture(Boyd&Richerson,1985;Richerson
Priortotacklingthelattertwoobjectives,Iofferasynopsisof
&Boyd,2005).Theframeworkrecognizesthathumansaresubject
various approaches for investigating culture via an evolutionary
totheinteractiveandtwo-waycausalforcesofbiologicalaswell
lens.Theseapproachesarenotmutuallyexclusive.Theyeachoffer
asculturalevolution.Withinthistheoreticalframework,notonly
uniqueandvaluableinsightsintotheevolutionaryrootsofhuman
doourgenesshapeourenvironmentsincludingthevariousinstan-
culture.
tiations of culture but also cultural forms affect our genes (see
Laland,Odling-Smee,&Myles,2010forareviewofphenomena
Evolutionary Approaches in Studying Culture
that are driven by gene–culture interactions). Perhaps the most
Most scholars who investigate culture via an evolutionary lens famous example of a cultural practice shaping selection for par-
typically do so with an eye toward arguing that a given cultural ticulargenesisthedistributionofthegenesforlactosetoleranceas
Table1
AnalysesofVariousFormsofPopularCultureandAssociatedReferences
Popularculture References
Advicecolumns(nonevolutionaryanalysis) Gudelunas,2008
Advertisingcontent Saad,2004
Architectural,urban,andinteriordesign(evolutionaryand Tsui,1999;Kellert,Heerwagen,&Mador,2008
biophilicarchitecture)
Art(Homoaestheticus) Boyd,2009;Dutton,2009
Celebritygossip DeBackeretal.,2007
Consumerbehavior(Homoconsumericus) Saad,2007,2011a
Culinarytraditions(Darwiniangastronomy) Sherman&Billing,1999;Wrangham,2009
Dance Brownetal.,2005;Neaveetal.,2011
Darwinianliterarystudies/evolutionarynarratology Gottschall&Wilson,2006
Fashion Heywood&Garcia,2010
Films Boyd,Carroll,&Gottschall,2010;Grodal,
2004,2007;Kramer,2004
Newsheadlines Davis&McLeod,2003
Personalads Campos,Otta,&Siqueira,2002;Greenlees&
McGrew,1994;Wiederman,1993
Pornography Pound,2002
Pottery Hudson&Aoyama,2006
Productdesign(biomimicry) Benyus,2002
Religiousnarratives Betzig,2005
Romancenovels Cox&Fisher,2009;Salmon&Symons,2003
Speeddatingservices Kurzban&Weeden,2005
Troubadours Monson,2011
Toys Alexander,2003;Alexander&Hines,2002;
Hassett,Siebert,&Wallen,2008
Videogames Mendenhall,Saad,&Nepomuceno,2010
LIGHTOFEVOLUTION 111
a function of whether or not a culture has adopted pastoral sub- Organicmaterialdoesnotfossilizewell.Unlikepaleontologists
sistence(Beja-Pereiraetal.,2003;Durham,1991;Tishkoffetal., who utilize fossils and skeletal remains to study the evolutionary
2007).ChiaoandBlizinsky(2010)recentlyappliedagene–culture historyofaspecies,evolutionarybehavioralscientistsmustrelyon
coevolution framework in explaining the link between how 29 otherremainsiftheyaretoelucidatetheevolutionaryforcesthat
countriesscoreontheindividualism–collectivismculturaltraitand have shaped the human mind (as brain tissue seldom fossilizes).
thefrequencyofanallelicvariantoftheserotonintransportergene Products of popular culture serve such a purpose in that they are
(5-HTTLPR). In doing so, the researchers have highlighted how creativevestigesofauniversalandsharedhumannaturesteepedin
heterogeneityalongaculturaltraitisattimesrootedinbiological acommonbiologicalheritage.Thecontentsofaspecificcultural
processes. Cataloging cultural diversity is a worthy endeavor. product(e.g.,aparticularplay,novel,song,movie,orpoem)often
Identifying the genesis of such cross-cultural differences com- contain universal themes that highlight features of the evolved
pletesthestory. human mind. It is in this sense that products of popular culture
In Chapter 11 of his classic book The Selfish Gene, Dawkins could be construed as cultural remains ripe for the appropriate
(1976) introduced the term meme as a means of representing the content analysis. I next offer content analyses of two forms of
unit of selection for cultural evolution (see also Aunger, 2000, popularculture,collectivewisdoms(viafamousquotes)andsong
2002; Blackmore, 1999). A meme is any idea, belief, or other lyrics, to demonstrate universally recurring phenomena steeped
packet of information that can spread from one person’s brain to withinasharedhumannature.
another.Inotherwords,amemeistheculturalcounterpartofthe
gene. For example, when reading a book, your brain is being Case Analysis I: Collective Wisdoms
infectedbytheauthor’smemes.Manyelementsofpopularculture
Thewisdomofthewiseandtheexperienceoftheagesispreserved
such as catchy advertising slogans (e.g., Wendy’s famous
intoperpetuity,byanation’sproverbs,fables,folkwisdom,maxims,
“Where’s the Beef” advertising campaign) can be construed as
aphorismsandquotations.—WilliamFeather,Americanpublisher
memesthatspreadvirallywithinapopulation.Thevirulenceofa
memeoramemeplex(aconnectedsetofmemessuchasreligion) Collective wisdoms, as captured by cross-cultural sayings,
varies depending on a host of variables. For example, Islam is a quotes, proverbs, or jokes, constitute an integral component of
more“infectious”memeplexthanJudaismbecauseitiscomposed popularculture.1Theyarepowerfulrepositoriesofuniversaltruths
ofrulesthatgreatlyaidthetransmissionandspreadofitsmemes rooted in a shared human nature. Take for example, the sexual
(e.g., it is very easy to convert to Islam; death for apostasy; dimorphism regarding the extent to which men and women are
proselytizingandexpansionismareinherentandcentralelements willingtoengageincasualsex.Parentalinvestmenttheory(Triv-
ofitsdoctrines;criticismofIslamisforbidden).Thatmemesmight ers,1972)contendsthatforanysexuallyreproducingspecies,the
bediffusedinapopulationviaanevolutionaryprocessispartand sexthatenduresthegreaterminimalobligatoryparentingcostwill
parcel of universal Darwinism (Cziko, 1995), which recognizes make more judicious mating choices. Of course, in the human
that variation, selection, and heredity need not be restricted to context, women provide the greater minimal obligatory parental
biological evolution, as evidenced in fields such as evolutionary investment,andassuchtheyaremorelikelytobesexuallychoosy.
epistemology(Heyes&Hull,2001),Darwiniancreativity(Simon- This reality is not specific to a particular time or place. Accord-
ton, 1999), cultural evolution (Mesoudi, 2011), and social and ingly,oneshouldfindthatcollectivewisdoms(quotes,sayings,or
economicevolution(Hodgson&Knudsen,2010). proverbs) would reflect this universal reality. Here are a few
Thetreeoflifecapturestherelationshipsbetweenspeciesacross quotesthatspeaktothattruth:
deepevolutionarytime.Insuchavisualdepiction,theevolution-
Women need a reason to have sex—men just need a place.—Billy
aryclosenessoftwospeciescaneasilybegauged(e.g.,humansare
Crystal,Americanactorandcomedian,1948–
closertochimpanzeesthantheyaretorabbits).Couldonegenerate
a similar tree-like genealogy albeit for a particular cultural form Among men, sex sometimes results in intimacy; among women,
(e.g., popular music)? Conceptually, this seems feasible as one intimacysometimesresultsinsex.—BarbaraCartland,Britishauthor,
could trace the historical connections (if any) between various 1901–2000
musical genres (e.g., Disco is more closely linked to rap music
Ithinkmentalktowomensotheycansleepwiththemandwomen
thanitistoAmericanfolkmusic).Thisstillleavesthequestionof
sleepwithmensotheycantalktothem.—JayMcInerney,American
howdonewmusicalgenresarise?Martindale(1990)proposedthat
novelist,1955–
new movements within a given artistic form (e.g., painting) are
“speciated” as a function of their distinctiveness from existing Whenaguygoestoahooker,he’snotpayingherforsex,he’spaying
ones.Inotherwords,thesubstrateofselectionintheevolutionof hertoleave.—Unknownauthor
cultural forms is the quest for novelty, given the capacity of
Men place greater importance on physical attractiveness when
newness to arouse the senses of the consuming audience (see
judging prospective mates, and this holds true across cultural
Bunzeck & Du¨zel, 2006 for a neuronal investigation of how the
settings (Buss, 1994). Accordingly, numerous beauty-related
humanbrainprocessesnovelstimuli).Thisisnotunliketheways
quotesarereflectiveofthisuniversaltruth.Hereareafewquotes
by which teenagers in part establish their musical preferences,
thatspeaktothisreality:
namelyseekingtodistancethemselvesfromtheirparents’favorite
musicalgenres.Itisalsoattherootofwhypeoplewillmarvelat
a1950scaronacontemporarystreetwhereasnoonemighthave 1ThequotationscitedinthisarticlewereobtainedviaseveralInternet
battedaneyeatthatcarduringitstimeperiod. repositoriesofquotes.
112 SAAD
BeautyisthefirstpresentNaturegivestowomen,andthefirstittakes Intimeoftest,familyisbest.—Burmese
away.—GeorgeBrossinMe´re´,Frenchmoralist,1610–1685
Treatyourfamilylikefriendsandyourfriendslikefamily.
Itsometimeshappensthatawomanishandsomerat29thanshewas
10yearsbefore.—JaneAusten,Britishnovelist,1775–1817 Proverbsaboutreciprocity(nonkinfriendships,giftgiving,and
hospitality):
Whenamangetsuptospeak,peoplelisten,thenlook.Whenawoman
getsup,peoplelook;then,iftheylikewhattheysee,theylisten.— Agoodfriendisworthmanyrelations.—globalproverb
PaulineFrederick,Americanactress,1883–1938
One good friend is more than nine relatives/A good friend is my
Amanfallsinlovethroughhiseyes,awomanthroughherears.— nearestrelation.—Estonian
WoodrowWyatt,Britishpolitician,1918–1997
Kindfriendsarebetterthanunkindbrothers.—Chinese
Thechiefexcitementinawoman’slifeisspottingwomenwhoare
fatterthansheis.—HelenRowland,Americanhumorist,1875–1950 Smallpresentskeepupfriendship.—WesternEuropean,Islamic,and
OlderAsiatic(Orient)
She’s beautiful, and therefore to be woo’d.—William Shakespeare,
Englishplaywright,1564–1616 The dish sent by a neighbor does not satisfy you, but increases
goodwill.—Persian
Beauty is the wisdom of women. Wisdom is the beauty of men.—
Chineseproverb Goodaccountsmakegoodfriends.—Greek
Everytimeyouseeabeautifulwoman,justremember,somebodygot Hospitalityasksforequaltreatmentinreturn.—Finnish/otherBaltic
tiredofher.—Unknownauthor sea cultures, European in general, sub-Saharan Africa, and older
Asiatic(Orient)cultures
ThelastquotespeakstotheCoolidgeeffect,namelymen’smore
pronounced penchant for sexual variety (see Saad, 2011a, p. 244 Courtesyononesidecanneverlastlong.—global
foradditionaldetailsregardingthiseffect).
A proverb or saying would never be retained within the pan-
Another universal mating reality is that women ascribe greater
theon of collective wisdoms if it were not rooted in a universal
importtocuesofsocialstatusinaprospectivemate.Thefollowing
humannature.DespiteMargaretMead’sstaunchefforttoconvince
quotesaredemonstrativeofthisuniversaltruth:
the world that human sexuality is culture-bound, no culture has
There are a number of mechanical devices that increase sexual everbeenfoundwiththefollowingpopularmaxims:“Menneeda
arousal,particularlyinwomen.ChiefamongtheseistheMercedes- reason to have sex—Women just need a place.” or “Among
Benz380Lconvertible.—P.J.O’Rourke,Americansatirist,1947– women,sexsometimesresultsinintimacy;amongmen,intimacy
sometimes results in sex.” Collective wisdoms, as products of
If women didn’t exist, all the money in the world would have no
popularculture,aremanifestationsofoursharedhumannature.
meaning.—Aristotle Onassis, Greek shipping industrialist, 1906–
1975
Case Analysis II: Song Lyrics
Buttherecertainlyarenotsomanymenoflargefortuneintheworld
asthereareofprettywomantodeservethem.—JaneAusten,British Musicmusttakerankasthehighestofthefinearts—astheonewhich
novelist,1775–1817 morethananyotherministerstohumanwelfare.—HerbertSpencer,
Britishphilosopher,1820–1903
These next two quotes recognize the power of female mate
choice,asimplicitinsexualselection: Music is the universal language of mankind.—Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow,Americanpoet,1807–1882
It is the woman who chooses the man who will choose her.—Paul
Ge´raldy,Frenchpoet,1885–1983 Ihavemyownparticularsorrows,loves,delights;andyouhaveyours.
Butsorrow,gladness,yearning,hope,love,belongtoallofus,inall
Whenamangoesonadatehewondersifheisgoingtogetlucky.A timesandinallplaces.Musicistheonlymeanswherebywefeelthese
womanalreadyknows.—FrederikeRyder,Germanpoet,1788–1866 emotions in their universality.—Harry Allen Overstreet, American
psychologist,1875–1970
WhereasIhavethusfarfocusedonmating-relatedquotes,other
Darwinian processes are as poignantly captured in cross-cultural AlldeepthingsareSong.Itseemssomehowtheverycentralessence
quotations.InChapters4and5ofTheConsumingInstinct(Saad, ofus,Song;asifalltherestwerebutwrappagesandhulls!—Thomas
2011a),Iofferthefollowingcross-culturalproverbsthatspeakto Carlyle,Scottishhistorian,1795–1881
thekinselectionandreciprocitymodules.Inthelattercase,reci-
There is no truer truth obtainable by man, than comes of music.—
procity drives the need for close friendships, which are in part
RobertBrowning,Englishplaywright,1812–1889
nurtured via various forms of gift giving and acts of hospitality
(seequotesbelow): Countless philosophers, poets, and other intellectuals spanning
Proverbsaboutkin: diverse cultural settings and epochs have noted the universal
import of music. It is not surprising then that music is at the
Bloodisthickerthanwater.
forefront of contemporary popular culture. Of the world’s top 20
An ounce of blood is worth more than a pound of friendship.— most powerful celebrities (across genres) in 2011, 10 originate
Spanish from the music industry (Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, U2, Elton
LIGHTOFEVOLUTION 113
John, Taylor Swift, Bon Jovi, Simon Cowell, Katy Perry, Black largelycommunicatedbymalesingers(“MoneyAin’taThang”by
Eyed Peas, and Paul McCartney; http://www.forbes.com/wealth/ Jermaine Dupri featuring Jay-Z; “Got Money” by Lil’ Wayne;
celebrities/list).Musicisacentralelementofmostimportantrites “PlentyMoney”byPlies;“Billionaire”byTravieMcCoy;“Make
of passages and defining moments of an individual’s life. Many It Rain” by Fat Joe featuring Lil’ Wayne). On a related note, in
peoplerememberthesongthatwasplayingduringtheirfirstslow “Hit ’Em Up Style (Oops)!” Blu Cantrell reminds us that a poi-
dance(minewas“LovingYou”byMinnieRiperton).Newlyweds gnant way of seeking revenge on a philandering man is to spend
carefullychoosewhichsongtheywillplayfortheirfirstwedding his money in a lavish manner. Hurt him where it counts—his
dance.BarryWhite’smusicisoftenreferredtoastheepitomeof wallet.
“baby making” music. We exercise to music; work at a cafe´ In line with evolutionary principles, men are also much more
against the backdrop of ambient music; we become nostalgic likelythanwomentosingaboutspecificphysicalattributes(“Baby
wheneverwehearasongthatremindsusofsomepastmomentor Got Back” by Sir Mix-A-Lot; “Rump Shaker” by Wrecks-N-
relationship(e.g.,a“breakupsong”).Ultimately,musicmovesus Effect; “Brick House” by the Commodores; “Thong Song” by
inwaysthatfewotherartisticformscanaspireto,inpartbecause Sisqo; “Da Butt” by E. U.; “Whoot! There It Is” by 95 South;
itisubiquitousinourdailylives. “Back That Ass Up” by Juvenile). There are many songs about
Anevolutionaryanalysisofmusiccanbetackledinthemyriad women’s behinds but few about men’s penises (as sung by
ofwaysthatImentionedearlier(asanadaptation,asanexaptation, women). More generally, songs that refer to physical beauty are
asameme,asasequenceofspeciatedevents;seeSaad,2011bfor almostexclusivelysungbymen(“YouAreSoBeautiful”byJoe
relevant references across the various Darwinian musicology re- Cocker;“You’reBeautiful”byJamesBlunt;“Beautiful”byAkon;
search streams). I argue for yet another evolutionary-based ap- “WhenYou’reinLovewithaBeautifulWoman”byDr.Hookand
proach, namely the thematic contents of song lyrics speak to the Medicine Show; “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World” by
universal mating preferences. If one wishes to understand sexual Prince;“Nothin’onYou”byB.o.B.featuringBrunoMars;“Beau-
dimorphisms when it comes to human sexuality, there are few tifulGirls”bySeanKingston;“Beautiful”bySnoopDoggfeatur-
cultural fossils that are as enlightening as song lyrics, in part ingPharrellandUncleCharlieWilson).Whenwomensingabout
because the overwhelming majority of songs are about mating, physicalattributes,itismuchmorelikelytobeforthepurposeof
love,andromance(Dukes,Bisel,Borega,Lobato,&Owens,2003; advertisingtheirbeautyratherthantorefertoaman’sbeauty(e.g.,
Horton,1957;Ostlund&Kinnier,1997).Theissuesthatmenand “Bootylicious”byDestiny’sChild).Onoccasion,asongcaptures
women sing about are perfectly congruent with universal mating multiple evolutionary themes, as is the case with “Beast of Bur-
realities.Forexample,menaremuchmorelikelytousesongsas den” by the Rolling Stones. Mick Jagger proclaims to his love
aformofsexualsignalingincludingviabrandmentionsofluxury interest that she is very pretty and then wonders whether she is
items.AgendaInc.,aconsultingfirm,conductedacontentanalysis rejectinghimbecauseheisnotsufficientlyrich.Otherevolution-
for 3 consecutives years (2003–2005) of the lyrics of top 20 ary themes captured in song lyrics include paternity uncertainty
billboard songs. Specifically, the study sought to establish the (“BillieJean”byMichaelJackson;“GoldDigger”byKanyeWest;
extent to which brands are mentioned, which brands are most “Lil’NiggaAin’tMine”byJaheim;“ThatBabyDon’tLookLike
frequentlymentioned,andtheextenttowhichmaleversusfemale Me”byShawtyPuttfeaturingLil’Jon;“NotMyBaby”byBone
singersengageinbrandmentions.Acrossthe3yearsofthestudy, Thugs-n-Harmony), and sex differences regarding the judicious-
37.9% of the hit songs contained brand mentions (38.7%, 40%, ness of mate choice (“Let’s Wait a While” by Janet Jackson;
and 34.9% in 2003, 2004, and 2005, respectively), with men “(WhenYouGonna)GiveItUpToMe”bySeanPaul;“Don’tthe
comprisingthegreatmajorityofartistswhomentionedbrandsin GirlsAllGetPrettieratClosin’Time”byMickeyGilley;“Straight
their song lyrics. Finally, an overwhelming number of brand Up”byPaulaAbdul).
mentions dealt with luxury brands associated with conspicuous It is worth reiterating that although I have offered examples
consumption. For example, cars constituted 23 of the 45 most largelystemmingfromAmericanculture,Iamarguingthatthese
mentionedbrands,andnotsurprisinglythesewereforveryhigh- arerepresentativeofglobalrealities.Ultimately,irrespectiveofthe
end luxury automobiles (e.g., Bentley, Jaguar, Lamborghini, cultural origins of a particular song, it will contain contents that
Maybach, Mercedes, Porsche, and Rolls Royce). Other brand areuniversal.Evolutionaryanalysesofpopularculturesuchasthe
mentions were for high-status clothes, shoes, watches, and alco- onesdiscussedherearerarelyconducted(butrefertoTable1for
holic beverages (e.g., Gucci, Manolo Blahnik, Rolex, and Dom examples).Ifso,whathavebeenthedominantparadigmsusedby
Perignon). Of note, there were also several mentions of guns popularculturaltheorists?Intheensuingsection,Iofferasynopsis
(AK-47 and Beretta), meant to highlight men’s readiness to re- of such modes of inquiry, collectively known as antiscience ap-
spondviolentlytointrasexualchallenges. proaches.
Numerous other universal mating realities could be identified
viasonglyricsincludingthedifferentialimportascribedtosocial
Antiscience Approaches
status and physical attractiveness by the two sexes. Women are
much more likely to sing about the undesirability of low-status In2005,IattendedtheNationalMeetingofthePopularCulture/
menwhofailtoprovidethenecessaryresources(“WhyDon’tYou AmericanCultureAssociations(PCA/ACA),whichwasheldthat
Do Right” by Peggy Lee; “Go Away Little Boy” by Marlena year in San Diego, to present my paper titled “Understanding
Shaw;“Ain’tNothingGoin’OnButtheRent”byGwenGuthrie; PopularCultureViaEvolutionaryPsychology:TheCaseofSong
“NoScrubs”byTLC;“Bills,Bills,Bills”byDestiny’sChild;and Lyrics.” This was my first and only attendance at an academic
“Tyrone” by Erykah Badu). It is no surprise then that the preoc- conference dedicated to the study of popular culture. The two
cupation with possessing great wealth (or wishing to obtain it) is characteristicsoftheconferencethatstuckwithmewereitssheer
114 SAAD
size and the lack of unifying theoretical frameworks for under- tity. A hypothetical but otherwise typical example might look as
standing the extraordinarily wide range of cultural products that follows: “My analysis is shaped by the fact that I am a former
were investigated. Typical frameworks utilized by students of Catholic Mexican American male but currently Latina transgen-
popular culture include Marxism, feminism, postmodernism, de- deredanticapitalistfeminist.”
constructionism,andidentitypolitics.Thesemovementsshareone Table2containsarepresentativelistoftitlesoftalksthatwere
commontheme:theyarealldistinctlyantiscientific(seeGross& presented at the recent PCA/ACA conferences (the first two are
Levitt, 1994 for a trenchant criticism of such pseudointellectual from2009andallothersfrom2010).Notehowinmanyinstances
fads, and Sokal & Bricmont, 1998 for a targeted attack on post- multipleidentitiesaredescribedwithinagiventalk(“PolishQueer
modernism).Allsuchapproachesareantitheticaltoanevolution- Lesbianism”;“QueerFatFemmes”).Hence,culturalproductsare
aryanalysisofpopularculturebecausetheirideologicalandepis- invariably analyzed through the lens of one’s preferred political
temological posturing rejects the existence of biological-based ideology (feminism, Marxism), epistemological ideology (post-
human universals. A Marxist analysis of a cultural product will modernism,deconstructionism),and/ordefiningidentity(Chicano,
inevitably focus on class struggles. A feminist analysis purports lesbian, mulatto, fat). Such approaches are incongruent with a
thatsexdifferencesaresociallyconstructed(inpartviatheuseof scientific analysis of popular culture. Instead, they typically con-
culturalproducts)andarelargelyshapedbytheconspiratorialand stitute orgiastic attempts at either offering obscurantist verbiage
sexist agenda of the patriarchy. Identity politics presume that and/orwallowinginthevictimologyethos.Idon’twishtoimply
scholars’ analyses of any cultural phenomenon are ultimately thatanalysesthatareculturallyortemporallyboundareinappro-
bound and constrained by their idiosyncratic identities (cultural, priate. For example, to explore how the depiction of women in
ethnic, religious, sexual orientation, and so forth). This is the American print ads has changed over the past 50 years is a
reasonwhymanyculturaltheoristswillstartofftheiranalyseswith perfectly laudable endeavor. As such, to delineate the scope of a
an admission (confession?) of the likely biases due to their iden- contentanalysisofaproductofpopularculturetoaspecifictime
Table2
TitlesFromRecentPCA/ACAConferences(2009and2010)
Marxism
“MarxandtheMotorcycleintheAmericanFifties”(2009)
“EattheRich:Marx’sSweenyTodd”(2009)
“TheMarxoftheBeast:Socio-SacrificialAltarsandTrickle-DownTheoryinTheHouseOfTheDevil”
Feminism
“ReadingtheStilettoHeel:PostFeministWalkingContradiction”
“SesameStreetLadybugsExaminedThroughtheLensofSymbolicConvergenceTheoryandFeministTheory”
“TheThreePsinCoraline:Postfeminist,Psychoanalytic,andPostmodernistApproachestotheAnimatedFilm”
“AFeministDebateonBodyModification:Women’sLiberationVersustheContinuationofPatriarchy”
“BreakingtheBoundaries:TheVoicesofRaceandFeminisminDarkMatter”
“Feminism,Comics,History,andMe:FramingInterdisciplinaryComicsScholarship”
“GroundbreakingNarrativesofGender:Regression,Reformation,Resistance,orRebellion?”
Postmodernism/Deconstructionism
“LookingfortheManintheMirror:PostmodernNarcissismandtheQueerSemioticsofMichaelJackson”
“The(Post)ModernSimpsons:ReadingTheSimpsonsasaModernandPostmodernText”
“TimeTravelandThePostmodern”
“HollywoodSportFilm:DeconstructingtheGenderBinary?”
“Bravo?DeconstructingAndyCohen’sGayMaleArchetype.”
Race/EthnicIdentity
“Los‘Sharks’HablanEspan˜ol:WestSideStoryandtheRe-ExotizationoftheLatinoCharacter”
“TheBlack/WhiteNarrative:ACriticalAnalysisofRapeandRace”
“TylerPerryandtheMale-CaricaturizationofBlackWomanhood”
“PaintingtheMulattaBlack:AfricanAmericanFemaleSpectatorshipofMixedRaceSocialProblemFilms”
“ButchTeen/BlackFamily:AnalysisofDeeRees’Pariah”
“‘TheRapeofaNation’:ConservativeRadioandthe[Black]BodyPoliticofBarackObama”
“RedastheNewBlack,VampireastheNewNegro:ExploringtheVampireasVisibleMinorityinHBO’sTrueBlood”
“SomethingNew:ResistingtheCouplingConventioninContemporaryBlackRomanticFilm”
“GlobalPopularCultureandClassinFilipinoChickLit”
Queer/gayidentity
“Un-queeringInteriorDesign:MachoMenandtheHeteronormingofHGTV”
“FemmeonWheels:ThePerformanceofQueerFemininties[sic]inWomen’sRollerDerby”
“‘YouKnowItWhenYouSeeIt’:QueerFatFemmesandtheFantasyofFixedVisibility”
“FromOriginofSpeciesto[a]Post-Gay[Closet?]”
“PolishQueerLesbianism:SexualIdentityWithoutaLesbianCommunity”
“ThePossibilityforaPost-Human,Technological‘ModestWitness’:AProposalforaQueerIdentitiesMachine”
“TheVampireandTheQueer:InterrogatingSubjectivity,Advocacy,andEqualityThroughtheSouthernVampireSeries”
“SexPositivity:TheClass,RaceandGenderPoliticsofQueerFascism”
“ThePossibilityofaLesbianGazeinFilm”
Note. Thefirsttwotitlesarefrom2009andtheremainingfrom2010.ForPCA/ACAConferences2009and2010,seehttp://pcaaca.org/conference/
2009pcaacaprogram.pdfandhttp://pcaaca.org/conference/2010program.pdf,respectively.
LIGHTOFEVOLUTION 115
periodandparticulargroupisalegitimateexercise.However,such staunchlyMarxistintheirpoliticalbents.Notonlyistheinfusion
temporallyorculturallyboundanalyseswillremainincompleteat ofpoliticalideologiesintoscienceadangerousendeavor(e.g.,the
best,andgrosslyfaultyatworst,ifscholarsdonotrecognizethat disastrousconsequencesofLysenkoismonagriculturalpoliciesin
someelementsofpopularcultureserveasawindowtoacommon Russia)butalsocontrarytotheNewLeft’sbeliefthatevolutionary
humannaturethattranscendstimeorplace. psychologistsareright-wingzealots,inactualitytheyareprogres-
I should mention that the 2010 conference had sessions titled sive and liberal in their political views (Tybur, Miller, & Gang-
“Homo scientificus” and “Literature & Science: Literature, Evo- estad, 2007). Notwithstanding this reassuring reality, it is worth
lution,andtheBrain,”respectively(thelatterhadJosephCarroll, noting that a few evolutionary scientists have been accused of
theprominentDarwinianliteraryscholar,asoneofthespeakers). supporting nefarious political ideologies (e.g., Kevin MacDonald
Althoughthisisencouraging,itisunclearthatallparticipantswere andJeanPhilippeRushton).
receptive to the evolutionary perspective, as evidenced by the Someculturesaremoreamenabletoanacceptanceofevolution
following talk title: “For Women It’s Love, For Men It’s Sex: ingeneralandEPinparticular.InalettertotheFrenchnaturalist
Stereotyping Sexual Activity in Science Fiction.” In the parlance JeanLouisArmanddeQuatrefages(circa1869),CharlesDarwin
of social constructivists, “stereotypes” amount to pejorative slurs had remarked that his theory of evolution was differentially re-
that are to be combated; the possibility that so-called stereotypes ceivedacrossculturalsettings(asquotedinDarwin,1887,p.118):
mightbegroundedinabiological-baseduniversalrealityissum- “It is curious how nationality influences opinion; a week hardly
marilyrejected. passes without my hearing of some naturalist in Germany who
Given the plurality of perspectives listed in Table 2, it is supports my views, and often puts an exaggerated value on my
somewhatdisconcertingtonotetheextenttowhichtheevolution- works; while in France I have not heard of a single zoologist,
ary perspective is loathed. What are some factors that drive the except M. Gaudry (and he only partially), who supports my
antipathy toward evolutionary thinking within the social sciences views.” In support of Darwin’s observation, Miller, Scott, and
in general and the study of popular culture in particular? In the Okamoto(2006)reportedthedifferentialrateofpublicacceptance
nextsection,Ibrieflytacklethisissue,andthenproceedtoacase of evolution across 34 countries (32 European countries, Japan,
analysisofhowEPisoftentimesportrayedwithinpopularculture andtheUnitedStates).OnlyTurkeyscoredlowerthantheUnited
usingtherecentdebacleofSatoshiKanazawa’sbloggingcareerat States in its rejection of evolution. Of note, Turkey was the only
PsychologyToday(PT). Islamiccountryinthesample,whichspeakstotheuniquebarriers
ofentryofEPwithinIslamicsocieties(forrecentstudiesexploring
theresistanceagainstevolutionwithinIslamicsocieties,seeBou-
Resistance to Evolutionary Theorizing
Jaoude, Wiles, Asghar, & Alters, 2011; Hameed, 2008; Peker,
EP triggers both fascination and animus among the public at Comert,&Kence,2010).
large.ThevociferousandattimesheateddebatesregardingEPare Culture-specificanalysesoftheacceptanceofsociobiologyand
notrestrictedtoacademicsbattlingitoutintheIvoryTower(for EPabound.Scholarshaveexploredthediffusionofsociobiology
caustic critiques of EP, as well as its intellectual predecessor inChina(Jianhui&Fan,2003),EasternEuropeinlightofthethen
sociobiology, see Buller, 2005; Dagg, 2004; Francis, 2004; Lan- prevailingpoliticalideologies(Bereczkei,1993),Germanpsychol-
caster, 2003; and Rose & Rose, 2000). Generally speaking, the ogyandanthropology(Euler&Voland,2001),andJapan(Sakura,
social sciences have been staunchly resistant to the incorporation 1998).Cassidy(2005,2006,2007)analyzedthedisseminationof
of evolutionary theory within their theoretical toolboxes albeit EP and associated principles within the United Kingdom mass
some disciplines more so than others (cf. Barkow, 2006 for a mediaaswellasviaanassortmentofpopulartradebooks.Seta¨la¨
discussion of the minimal diffusion of evolutionary thinking andVa¨liverronen(2011)investigatedtheacceptanceofevolution
withinsociologyandsocioculturalanthropology).Individualswho andEPinFinland.GeoffreyMillerandSatoshiKanazawadebated
arenotboundtoparticularideologicaldogma(e.g.,religion,social thefutureofEPinAsia(Miller,2006a,2006b;Kanazawa,2006),
constructivism, postmodernism, or radical feminism) generally whereas Wang and Su (2011) culled a collection of articles from
find the explanations provided by EP to be cogent, logically leadingevolutionarypsychologistsasameansofpopularizingEP
coherent,andparsimonious.Ontheotherhand,thosewhohavean in China. It is incontrovertible that EP’s diffusion is affected in
ideologicalaxetogrindareoftentimesvociferousintheirhostility part by various facets of a culture’s ethos. That said, the barriers
towardEP.Sociobiologyfacedtheoriginalonslaughtofcriticisms against a greater acceptance of EP within popular culture extend
whenitfirstgainedinternationalprominenceinthemid-1970s(see wellbeyondthoseerectedwithinnationalboundaries.
Webster, 2007a for an analysis of citation trends for EP vs. The greatest obstacles facing the diffusion of EP lie in the
sociobiology,ascatalogedonGoogleScholarfortheyears1960– frailties of human logic. In Chapter 1 of my trade book, The
2003). The so-called sociobiology debate became part of the Consuming Instinct (Saad, 2011a), I provide a list of the most
prevailing culture wars, which was brilliantly documented in the frequent and hopelessly ignorant concerns levied against EP. To
comprehensive treatise by Segerstråle (2001). The animosity un- summarize, evolutionary psychologists are not closeted Nazis,
leashedtowardsociobiologists,mostnotablyonE.O.Wilson,was racists,eugenicists,ormisogynists,whoespousegeneticdetermin-
partandparcelofthegreaterculturalwarsaslargelywagedbythe ismviaunsubstantiatedjust-sostories.Theyarenotpartofasecret
NewLeft(Jumonville,2002;onarelatednote,seeLinke,2011for conspiracytocomeupwithjustificationsforadultery,childabuse,
an analysis of the German press coverage of the sociobiology andrape.Explainingaphenomenonisdifferentfromcondoningit.
debate). In other words, many critics of sociobiology rejected its Theyarenotmembersofanantireligioncrusadebentonadvanc-
central tenets on political grounds, as was the case with Richard ing an atheist agenda (although it is certainly the case that most
Lewontin and the late Stephen Jay Gould, both known to be scientists are nonbelievers). Evolutionary psychologists do not
116 SAAD
argue that humans are violent brutes void of kindness, empathy, tionary theory (Ward, Wallaert, & Schwartz, 2011). Apparently,
andcooperation.Notwithstandingtheimportofhumanuniversals much work remains to be done to sway the public’s opinion
to evolutionary psychologists, both individual and cross-cultural regardingEP,asexemplifiedbythecaseanalysisdiscussednext.
differencesarealsowithintheirtheoreticalpurview.CriticsofEP
mustalsocometotermswiththefactthatevolutiondoesnotstop EP in the Blogosphere:
at the human head. The evolutionary forces that have shaped all
Opportunities and Potential Pitfalls
living organisms do not mysteriously become irrelevant when
dealingwiththemostcomplexcomputationalsystemknowntous: PTranksasonethemosthighlyreputableandpopularpurveyor
the human brain. They must also reject the astonishingly false of psychological information to the masses. Accordingly, I was
premisethathumansarebornwithblank-slateminds.Theyneedto delightedtostartmyPTbloggingcareerinNovember2008,asI
comprehend that population-level evolutionary principles are not was afforded a powerful platform from which I could share my
falsified by the provision of individual-level data. Humans are a passion for EP (among other topics). A good way to gauge the
sexually reproducing species even though Catholic priests are penetration of EP within the public’s psyche is to determine the
chaste.Menarebiggerthanwomeneventhoughsomewomenare extent to which PT blogs are evolutionarily informed. Until re-
biggerthansomemen.Menprefertomatewithyoungerbeautiful cently,myHomoConsumericusblogwasoneof16withintheEP
women even though you have a male friend who is dating an category although the PT editors have since removed Satoshi
unattractiveolderwoman.Womenpreferhigh-statusmenaspro- Kanazawa’scontroversialblog,TheScientificFundamentalist(see
spectivesuitorsnotwithstandingyourgirlfriend,whoishopelessly additionaldetailsbelowregardingtheKanazawaaffair),aswellas
inlovewithanunemployedandlazyman.Finally,thosehostileto RebeccaSearles’sTheStoneAgeMind.ThatsomanyEP-related
EP must come to grips with the notion that humans do possess a blogs are included within this highly visited portal speaks to the
universal human nature, part of which is its ability to display diffusion of EP within the greater popular culture. Of 44 blog
behavioralplasticityasaresponsetovaryinglocalniches.Cultural categories,theEPcategoryranks22ndintermsofthenumberof
relativism,postmodernism,deconstructionism,radicalsocialcon- blogs under its umbrella (see Tables 3 and 4; these counts were
structivism,andradicalfeminismobfuscateanygenuineattempts conductedinlateJune2011).Ithasmoreblogsthanthefollowing
tounderstandthehumancondition. categories:Addiction,Aging,AnimalBehavior,Anxiety,Autism,
IttooktheCatholicChurchseveralhundredyearstorecognize Depression,Diet,EatingDisorders,Education,EthicsandMoral-
thatGalileo’s“heretical”theorieswereveridical.Today,fewpeo- ity, Gender, Integrative Medicine, Intelligence, Law and Crime,
plecontesthiscosmologicalfacts(e.g.,thattheEarthisnotatthe Memory, Politics, Procrastination, Psych Careers, Race and Eth-
centeroftheuniverse)unlesstheybelongtotheflatearthsociety. nicity,Sleep,SportandCompetition,andStress.Ishouldaddthat
Bad ideas and deeply rooted ideological positions are oftentimes thereareseveralotherblogsthatarenotlistedunder“Evolutionary
hard to slay. This is what the EP discipline has been facing Psychology” that are nonetheless evolutionary-based (e.g., Emily
throughoutitshistoryandmoresoasitincreasesitspresenceand Deans’sEvolutionaryPsychiatryblog).
influencewithinthepublic’spsyche.Igenuinelybelievethatinthe A discussion of the Kanazawa blogging debacle is valuable in
not-so-distantfuture,thekeytenetsofEPwillbenoncontentious thatitdemonstrateshowEPisdiscussedwithinthepublicsphere
andwillconstituteanimportantpartofourpopularculture.How- (especiallyintheviralenvironmentaffordedbytheblogosphere).
ever,theintellectualbattlewillbeadifficultone,asevidencedby Kanazawa wrote a post in which he concluded, based on data
the fact that members of the general public who support evolu- collected via the Add Health project, that black women were
tionarytheorywerefoundtobelessreceptivetokeytenetsofEP perceivedasunattractive.Hethenofferedpossiblereasonsforthis
(as relating to mating) than those who were opponents of evolu- findingincludingthatblackwomenmighthavegreaterbasallevels
Table3
EvolutionaryPsychologyBlogsatPsychologyToday
Blogtitle Author
ApeGirl CatherineSalmon
CavemanLogic HankDavis
Cupid’sPoisonedArrow MarniaRobinsonandGaryWilson
FromDarwintoEternity MichaelPrice
HomoConsumericus GadSaad
HumorSapiens GilGreengross
Love’sEvolver MaryanneFisher
MindDesign RobertKurzban
Sex,Murder,andtheMeaningofLife DouglasKenrick
TheBottomLine NormanLi
TheHowandWhyofSexDifferences MichaelMills
TheHumanBeast NigelBarber
TheMeinWe MollyCastelloe
ThePoliticalAnimal LauraBetzig
TheStoneAgeMind RebeccaSearles(removedinJune2011)
TheScientificFundamentalist SatoshiKanazawa(removedinMay2011)
LIGHTOFEVOLUTION 117
Table4 psychology-0). P. Z. Myers, an evolutionary developmental
AlphabeticalIndexofBlogsatPsychologyTodayandthe biologist and author of the highly popular science blog Pharyn-
NumberofBlogsWithinEachCategory gula, also weighed in on the Kanazawa affair. Here is the first
sentence of his post: “Among the many reasons that I detest
Blogcategory Numberofblogs evolutionarypsychology,onehasaname:SatoshiKanazawa.”He
concludes his post with the following charitable if not deeply
Addiction 12
Aging 9 patronizing comment: “I know that not all evolutionary psychol-
Animalbehavior 10 ogists are this bad; more of them need to stand up and repudiate
Anxiety 3 this bigoted clown and his ridiculous interpretations of sloppy
Autism 8
data.”(http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2011/05/i_guess_even_
Behavioraleconomics 17
psychology_today.php).
Childdevelopment 25
Cognition 20 Critics of EP have the unsavory habit of generalizing from an
Creativity 21 individual to the relevant group, which is ironic in that this is
Depression 8 precisely the cognitive trap that is at the root of racism and
Diet 12
xenophobia,whichapparentlydefinesEP.Wouldsuchcriticsfind
Eatingdisorders 10
Education 8 itacceptabletoconcludethatifoneJewishindividualwerecaught
Ethicsandmorality 6 inataxevasionscandal,thismustimplythatallJewsaremoney-
Evolutionarypsychology 14 grabbing people? Would they indignantly request, “Jews must
Gender 9
repudiate this tax cheat”? I bet not. Yet, if a subpar EP paper is
Happiness 16
published,thisisimmediatelytakenasanindictmentofthewhole
Health 19
Integrativemedicine 5 field.Similarly,ifasingleEPresearcherwritesablogpostthatis
Intelligence 4 construed as racist, this must imply that all EP research is racist.
Lawandcrime 9 Theironyofthecritics’prejudicesandbigotryislostonthem.
Media 25
Theblogospherehasrevolutionizedpublicdiscourseinatleast
Memory 2
Neuroscience 27 threeways:(a)ithasdemocratizedparticipationinpublicdebates.
Parenting 28 Individualswhomighthaveneverhadanopportunitytocommu-
Personalperspectives 23 nicatetheirideastothewiderpubliccannoweasilydosoviathe
Personality 20
blogosphere;(b)therapiditywithwhichsuchdiscourseisdissem-
Philosophy 19
inated has increased drastically; and (c) the platform afforded by
Politics 4
Procrastination 5 theblogospherepermitsforthetransmissionofone’smemestoan
Psychcareers 4 extraordinarily large readership (e.g., in 38 months of blogging,
Psychiatry 21 my blog has garnered more than 1.48 million total hits). As
Raceandethnicity 4
highlightedinthissection,thisoffersbothopportunitiesaswellas
Relationships 52
Resilience 21 possiblepitfallswhenitcomestothememeticdiffusionofEPto
Self-help 47 the masses. I end this section by briefly mentioning the work of
Sex 19 Baba Brinkman, a Canadian rapper and poet, who has created a
Sleep 6
new genre of popular music and theater singularly focused on
Sociallife 26
evolutionarytheory(andEP).Twoofhismostrecentalbumsare
Spirituality 15
Sportandcompetition 4 titled “The Rap Guide to Human Nature” (2010) and “The Rap
Stress 6 GuidetoEvolution”(2009).Brinkman’sworkisveryvaluablein
Therapy 28 that it diffuses central tenets of EP using popular culture as the
Work 32
vehicle of transmission. Thus, not only is EP valuable in under-
standingpopularculture,butalsoithasitselfbecomeacontributor
topopularculture.
of testosterone, in which case their faces would be more mascu-
linized.Notsurprisingly,hispostdrewirefromawiderangeof
Conclusion
sources, eventually leading the PT editors to remove the of-
fending post. Kanazawa’s post was problematic on two levels: InmyopeningarticletothespecialissueonthefutureofEPthat
(a) his conclusions and some of the associated logic seemed IguesteditedinFutures,Iofferedalonglistoffieldsacrossthe
tenuous at best, and (b) his bombastic writing style offended socialsciences,thenaturalsciences,andthehumanitiesthathave
many people. Rather than restricting their attacks to Kanaza- witnessedaninjectionofevolutionarytheory(Saad,2011c,Table
wa’spost,manyEPcriticschosetocastigatethewholefield.The 1). Some scholars have sought to quantify the extent to which a
Kanazawafiascowasusedasanexampleofthesupposedshoddy givenfieldhasbeen“Darwinized”byconductingcontentanalyses
and outright racist research that defines the EP field (see e.g., ofleadingjournalswithinthosefields(cf.Webster,2007b,2007c,
Stanton Peele’s post provocatively titled “Au Contraire: Satoshi forthediffusionofevolutionaryprinciplesincognitiveneurosci-
KanazawaISEvolutionaryPsychology”followedbythepullline: ence, and personality and social psychology, respectively). Al-
“SatoshiKanazawa’sracismperfectlyembodiesevolutionarypsy- thoughitisclearthatthereisanincreasingtrendintheapplication
chology.” http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/addiction-in- ofevolutionaryprinciplesacrossamyriadofacademicfields,the
society/201105/au-contraire-satoshi-kanazawa-is-evolutionary- studyofpopularcultureremainslargelyremovedfromthenatural
118 SAAD
sciences in general and evolutionary theory in particular. Ulti- Andrews,P.W.,Gangestad,S.W.,&Matthews,D.(2002).Adaptation-
mately though, if we are to achieve consilience (Wilson, 1998) ism—How to carry an exaptationist program. Behavioral and Brain
across the various academic faculties, it is inconceivable for dis- Sciences,25,489–553.doi:10.1017/S0140525X02000092
ciplines to continue to operate in isolated silos vigorously pro- Aunger,R.(2002).Theelectricmeme:Anewtheoryofhowwethink.New
York,NY:TheFreePress.
tected by dogmatic and rigid paradigmatic barriers. By its very
Aunger,R.(Ed.).(2000).Darwinizingculture:Thestatusofmemeticsas
nature, EP promotes interdisciplinarity (Garcia et al., 2011). As
ascience.Oxford,England:OxfordUniversityPress.
such, the marriage of EP and popular culture is achievable, and
Barkow,J.H.(2006).Sometimesthebusdoeswait.InJ.H.Barkow(Ed.),
such a union should be construed as complementary to existing
Missingtherevolution:Darwinismforsocialscientists(pp.3–59).New
approachesemployedbypopularcultureresearchers.
York,NY:OxfordUniversityPress.
Webster, Jonason, and Schember (2009) conducted a content Beja-Pereira,A.,Luikart,G.,England,P.R.,Bradley,D.G.,Jann,O.C.,
analysis of the flagship journals Ethology and Sociobiology Bertorelle,G.,...Erhardt,G.(2003).Gene-culturecoevolutionbetween
(1979–1996)andEvolutionandHumanBehavior(1997–2008)to cattlemilkproteingenesandhumanlactasegenes.NatureGenetics,35,
gaugethekeyissuesthatevolutionarypsychologistshavelargely 311–313.doi:10.1038/ng1263
focusedonoverthepast30years.Notwithstandingthebroadrange Benyus, J. M. (2002). Biomimicry: Innovation inspired by nature. New
oftackledtopics,popularculturehasyettoattractmuchattention York,NY:HarperPerennial.
from evolutionary behavioral scientists. A fruitful endeavor for Bereczkei,T.(1993).Anintellectuallegacyofthepast:Thereceptionof
sociobiologyintheEast-Europeancountries.BiologyandPhilosophy,8,
scholarssteepedwithintheEPparadigmistoturntheirattention
399–407.doi:10.1007/BF00857686
to applied areas that have heretofore been largely disconnected
Betzig,L.(2005).Politicsassex:TheOldTestamentcase.Evolutionary
from evolutionary principles. This is precisely what I have done
Psychology,3,326–346.
throughout my career within the field of consumer behavior, and
Blackmore,S.(1999).Themememachine.Oxford,England:OxfordUni-
othershaveengagedinsimilarquestsinmedicine(RandyNesse),
versityPress.
law (Owen Jones), and architecture (Eugene Tsui). If we do not BouJaoude, S., Wiles, J. R., Asghar, A., & Alters, B. (2011). Muslim
openuptheevolutionarylenstonewuncharteredterritories(e.g., Egyptian and Lebanese students’ conceptions of biological evolution.
popular culture), EP runs the risk of becoming stagnant. The Science&Education,20,895–915.
EvolutionaryReview(TER),abookseriesthatwascofoundedby Boyd,B.,Carroll,J.,&Gottschall,J.(Eds.)(2010).Evolution,literature,
Alice Andrews and Joe Carroll, is a perfect example of how EP andfilm:Areader.NewYork,NY:ColumbiaUniversityPress.
mightbeappliedinnewareas.Onitshomepage,TERisdescribed Boyd,B.(2009).Ontheoriginofstories:Evolution,cognition,andfiction.
as follows (http://evolutionaryreview.com/ed.htm; accessed on Cambridge,MA:TheBelknapPressofHarvardUniversityPress.
Boyd,R.,&Richerson,P.(1985).Cultureandtheevolutionaryprocess.
July20,2011):
Chicago,IL:UniversityofChicagoPress.
Published by SUNY Press, TER provides a forum for evolutionary Boyer,P.,&Bergstrom,B.(2008).Evolutionaryperspectivesonreligion.
critiques in all the fields of the arts, human sciences, and culture: Annual Review of Anthropology, 37, 111–130. doi:10.1146/annurev
essaysandreviewsonfilm,fiction,theater,visualart,music,dance, .anthro.37.081407.085201
andpopularculture;essaysandreviewsofbooks,articles,andtheo- Boyer,P.(2001).Religionexplained:Theevolutionaryoriginsofreligious
riesrelatedtoevolutionandEP;andessaysandreviewsonscience, thought.NewYork,NY:BasicBooks.
society, and the environment. Essays in The Evolutionary Review Brown,W.M.,Cronk,L.,Grochow,K.,Jacobson,A.,Liu,C.K.,Popovic,
implicitlyaffirmE.O.Wilson’svisionof“consilience,”thatis,the Z.,&Trivers,R.(2005).Dancerevealssymmetryespeciallyinyoung
unity of knowledge. They also give evidence that an evolutionary men.Nature,438,1148–1150.doi:10.1038/nature04344
perspective can yield a richer, more complete understanding of the Buller, D. J. (2005). Adapting minds: Evolutionary psychology and the
worldandourselves. persistentquestforhumannature.Cambridge,MA:MITPress.
Bunzeck,N.,&Du¨zel,E.(2006).Absolutecodingofstimulusnoveltyin
Consilienceisachievablewithinthestudyofpopularculturebut the human substantia nigra/VTA. Neuron, 51, 369–379. doi:10.1016/
only if we recognize that the dual forces of natural selection and j.neuron.2006.06.021
sexual selection have shaped the brains that create such cultural Buss,D.M.(1994).Theevolutionofdesire:Strategiesofhumanmating.
forms. Popular culture exists in its various forms because of our NewYork,NY:BasicBooks.
Campos,L.D.S.,Otta,E.,&Siqueira,J.D.O.(2002).Sexdifferencesin
biology. It does not exist outside of it. The diffusion of EP in
mate selection strategies: Content analyses and responses to personal
popularculture,aswellasresistanceagainstitscentraltenets,can
advertisementsinBrazil.EvolutionandHumanBehavior,23,395–406.
also be investigated via an evolutionary lens. In sum, the title of
doi:10.1016/S1090-5138(02)00099-5
my article, a rephrasing of Dobzhansky’s (1973) famous truism,
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