Chapter 15 Buss: Evolutionary Theory of Personality 433science or drive cars, but one by-product of the evolution of human intelligence
is the capacity to think scientifically (Feist, 2006). Similarly, driving a car is not
an evolved strategy, but having quick reflexes, hand-eye coordination, and motor
(muscle) control allows us easily to transfer evolved skills to new, modern appli-
cations, such as driving.
Noise, also known as “random effects,” occurs when evolution produces
random changes in design that do not affect function. Noise tends to be produced
by chance and not selected for. An example of noise is the shape of a belly button,
that is, whether it is an “innie” or an “outie.” The belly button itself is a by-
product of an adaptation, namely the umbilical cord (Buss, 1999).
Biography of David Buss
David Buss was born April 14, 1953 in Indianapolis, Indiana, to Arnold
H. Buss, Sr. and Edith Nolte. Arnold H. Buss, Sr. earned his PhD in Psychology
from Indiana University in the early 1950s and was a professor of psychology at
the University of Pittsburgh, Rutgers, and finally the University of Texas, where
he is currently Professor Emeritus. Arnold Buss’s research focused on aggression,
psychopathology, self-consciousness, and social anxiety (A. Buss, 2008).
Even though David Buss grew up in an academic family, in his teens he drifted
toward mediocre grades in school and got involved in drugs in high school, even
being arrested twice on drug charges (D. Buss, 2004). Academics simply did not
appeal to him and by age 17 Buss dropped out of high school. He got the first job
he applied to—working at a truck stop—because he was willing to work the all-night
shift. In just 3 months on the job, however, Buss experienced enough to make him
realize “there must be better ways to make a living” (D. Buss, 2004, p. 16). For
example, one drunken driver threatened to “take a tomahawk to your long hair” and
in another incident a young man beat Buss with a club for no apparent reason other
than to start a fight.
After these experiences he enrolled in night classes, finished his high school
degree, and although his grades were too poor for him to be admitted to college,
in 1971 he was lucky to be admitted to the University of Texas via a random lot-
tery pick of those not in the top 10% of their graduating class (D. Buss, 1989).
The lottery was abandoned the following year. It was as an undergraduate that his
love of knowledge and fascination with human behavior took root. Courses in
geology and astronomy exposed him to the importance of evolution. By his junior
year, he knew he wanted to be a scientist and more specifically a scientist of the
mind. He wrote his first paper on evolution and behavior, entitled “Dominance/
Access to Women.” In this paper, he proposed that men are highly motivated to
achieve dominance and high status because those traits are attractive to women.
Buss acknowledged, however, that his interest in “mating” (i.e., sex) went further
back in his personal history.
From an early age, I found myself fascinated with females. At seven or eight, I
became irresistibly drawn to the girl next door. I had no name for the feelings,
but later I was sure it was love... As I grew up, I found out that nearly every
one of my peers was mesmerized by mating. School gossip revolved around it: