Politics is Simple: Vote for the Tall Guy

Our decisions aren’t always as rational as we think, and choosing a presidential candidate is no exception. Researchers at Texas Tech have found an innate preference for candidates who are more physically imposing. This tendency is considered to be an example of evolutionary psychology, in which modern-day humans still exhibit behaviors developed in our hunter-gatherer [...]

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Virtual Coolness

Evolutionary psychology suggests that we humans are all about conspicuous consumption. Displaying expensive or hard to find items raises our status and may suggest a higher degree of “fitness” as a mate (i.e., health and resources). This drive extends even to the virtual world, according to a study conducted by Spent author Geoffrey Miller.

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Why Stories Sell

We know that anecdotes can be a convincing way to sell a product, particularly if the story is told by someone we trust. (See Your Brain on Stories.) Evolutionary psychology may offer a reason. Human brains evolved when we had just two ways to learn about dangers and rewards in their environment: personal experience, and [...]

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Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior

Book Review: Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior by Geoffrey Miller “Marketing is not just one of the most important ideas in business. It has become the dominant force in human culture.” This is how evolutionary psychologist Geoffrey Miller leads into an early chapter on the importance of marketing. In spent, Miller sets out to [...]

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