Quotes from David M. Buss

One distinguishing feature of men's relaxation of standards for short-term sex partners involves the need for commitment. In contrast to the tremendous positive value of +2.17 out of 3.00 that men placed on commitment when seeking a marriage partner, men seeking a casual hookup disliked a quest for commitment in a woman, judging it – 1.40, or undesirable, in a short-term partner.

Both low conscientiousness and high psychoticism proved to be solid predictors of marital infidelity. Like those high on narcissism, these people flirted, kissed, and dated others more frequently than their more conscientious and less impulsive peers. And they more often leaped into bed with others without thinking of the consequences, both for one-night stands, brief flings, and even more serious affairs. These personality predictors showed remarkable consistency for men and women.

Se ha demostrado que el hombre que emplea la coerción para obtener relaciones sexuales manifiesta un conjunto específico de características. Suele ser agresivo con las mujeres, sostiene el mito de que en el fondo quieren ser violadas y presenta un perfil de personalidad marcado por la impulsividad, la agresividad y la hipervirilidad, combinados con un elevado grado de promiscuidad sexual. Los estudios sobre violadores demuestran asimismo que poseen una baja autoestima.

Feeling lonely and lacking intimacy are problems that are especially apparent for heterosexual women in their elderly years. Because women more often marry men who are older and because men have a shorter life expectancy than women, women generally outlive their husbands. Because elderly single women outnumber elderly men, it is harder for them to find a mate.

Los varones constituyen, claramente, el sexo más coercitivo y violento y son responsables de la mayoría de las conductas socialmente inaceptables, ilegales o repulsivas del mundo.

El hombre a quien solo le interesan las relaciones sexuales ocasionales no tiende a invertir tanto esfuerzo.

The mate value of a man does not necessarily decline from age twenty to forty, as it does for a woman, because his capacity to accrue resources often increases with age. Thus, the intensity of a woman's efforts to retain a mate should be linked less to a man's age than to his effectiveness at providing her with valuable resources.

Emotions, far from opposing reason, are extraordinarily effective means for implementing goals. Passions possess a functional, subconscious logic.

La belleza no se halla repartida de forma democrática.

Most killers, in a nutshell, are not crazy. They kill for specific reasons, such as lust, greed, envy, fear, revenge, status, and reputation, or to get rid of someone who they perceive is inflicting costs on them. They are like you. They are like me.

Cultures in tropical paradises that are entirely free of jealousy exist only in the romantic minds of optimistic anthropologists, and in fact have never been found.

These naive arguments fly in the face of the scientific evidence.

Women who make more money than their husbands tend to leave them.

For this reason, men and women do not merely enhance their own attractiveness; they also derogate their rivals. While making themselves appear attractive by exhibiting the qualities sought by the other sex, people also denigrate their rivals by making them appear to lack these desired qualities.

molecular genetic studies show that there has been an acceleration of human adaptive evolution over the past 40,000 years, and especially during the past 10,000 years

Worldwide, infidelity is the leading cause of divorce.

Women were more likely to regret sexual acts of commission, such as losing virginity to the wrong person, hooking up with a person with low mate value when drunk, and having sex with someone who was not interested in a relationship.

Como en el resto de las tendencias destructivas, el hecho de que el empleo del maltrato tenga una lógicas adaptativa subyacente no significa que debamos aceptarlo, desearlo o descuidar su erradicación. Por el contrario, una mayor comprensión de la lógica que subyace a tales tácticas y de los contextos en que se producen puede llevar a métodos más eficaces para reducirlas o eliminarlas.

Murders by acquaintances, friends, and family are much more common than murders by strangers.

The mate attraction studies confirm the power of displaying commitment in the long-term mating market. Discussing cohabitation or marriage signals that a man would like to integrate the woman into his social and family life, commit his resources to her, and perhaps have children with her. Offering to convert to her religion shows a willingness to accommodate to her needs. Showing a deep concern for her problems communicates emotional support and a commitment to be there in times of need.

Wives judged as more physically attractive than their husbands stated that they would be more likely to divorce unfaithful husbands. Similarly, wives higher in mate value than their husbands declared that they would break from unfaithful husbands. Women who were lower than their husbands on attractiveness and mate value, in contrast, were more forgiving. These women indicated that they would probably remain with their husbands, even if these men had a one-night stand or a brief affair.

Women are more likely than men to experience negative emotions after a hookup. Men are more likely to regret when the woman they hooked up with wants a more serious relationship. Men report that their ideal outcome of a hookup would be more hookups in the future. Women are more likely to report that their ideal outcome would be a romantic relationship. Following hookups, women are more likely than men to report feeling "used" and experiencing depressed mood.42

El hombre descalifica el aspecto de la mujer para disminuir la percepción femenina de su capacidad de atracción, asegurándose un equilibrio de poder más favorable en la relación.

Whereas signals of commitment prove highly effective in attracting long-term mates, creating an illusion of commitment can be effective in attracting and seducing a woman.