Chapter 15 Buss: Evolutionary Theory of Personality 439against same sex members of their species are the dominant members of a group
and as such they are generally successful at many specific problems, such as acquir-
ing resources, negotiating social hierarchies, forming successful alliances, and suc-
cessfully courting a potential mate (D. Buss, 1988, 1991).
Psychological mechanisms have behavioral consequences, tactics, and actions
associated with them (Buss, 1991, 1999). For example, intrasex competition results
from a dominant member in a group being a leader and is a result of someone who
could successfully negotiate his or her place in a hierarchy, fend off enemies, and
attract mates. The main job of an evolutionary model of personality is to describe,
study, and explain these enduring psychological mechanisms.
Evolved Mechanisms
Again, psychological mechanisms are internal processes that help solve problems
of survival and/or reproduction. Psychological mechanisms relevant to personality
can be grouped into three main categories:
∙ goals/drives/motives
∙ emotions
∙ personality traitsTABLE 15.1Examples of Evolutionary Problems and Their Solutions (Mechanisms)Problem Solution/Mechanism
Survival
Taking in information from the external world Eyes, ears, nose, skin, & tongue
Temperature regulation Ectothermic system, sweat glands
Disease and parasites Immune system
Wounds and injury Blood clotting
Predators and danger Limbs and locomotion
Fending off attacks of enemy Strength, aggression, speed
Trust/Cooperation Conscientiousness, agreeableness
Alliance and group cohesion Dominance, agreeableness
Food gathering Creativity, intelligence
Shelter Creativity, intelligence
Reproduction
Mate attraction Dominance, surgency, creativity
Mate selection Social intelligence, theory of mind
Trust Conscientiousness, dependability
Intrasex competition Aggression, drive, achievement,
resource acquisition, beauty
Intimacy Love, attachment, agreeablenessAdapted from Buss, 1991 & MacDonald, 1995.