fei75766_ch15_463-494.indd 467  02/24/20 10:48 AM
Chapter 15    Buss: Evolutionary Theory of Personality467
tofocus onmating inmyprofessional life?Possibly, yetIdoubt thatmyexperiences 
areunique” (D.Buss, 2004, p.17).
Moreover, atthesame timethatDavid wasanundergraduate inpsychology at
theUniversity ofTexas atAustin, hisfather wasinthesame department asaprofes -
sorandpublished thefirstintroductory psychology textbook withevolution asthe
unifying theme, Psychology—Man in Perspective .Thesenior Bussopened hisbook with
thefollowing statement:
Thesubject matter ofpsychology issodiverse astobewilder thestudent. Itwould 
helpinbringing order outofchaos ifthere were asimple, all-embracing theme 
thatencompassed thevarious topics ofpsychology. Theonlyperspective that
appears sufficiently grand inscope isthatofevolution .(A.Buss, 1973, p.2)
Theconcept ofevolution anditsimportance inhuman behavior, therefore, was
clearly ever-present intheBusshousehold, andDavid’s fascination withexplaining 
human behavior, especially sexual behavior, from thisperspective, wasanobvious 
outgrowth ofhisfamily environment.
Incontrast tohismiddle school andhighschool performance, asanunder -
graduate incollege David Bussexcelled anddeveloped apassion forpsychology and
human behavior andwent ontoaPhDprogram inpersonality psychology atthe
University ofCalifornia atBerkeley from 1976 to1981. AtBerkeley, heworked with
JackandJeanne Block, Richard Lazarus, andHarrison Gough, andyethismost fruit-
fulcollaboration waswithKenCraik. Together withCraik, Bussdeveloped abehav -
iorally based assessment topersonality theydubbed the“act-frequency” approach.
Hisfirstprofessorship position wasatHarvard University, where hecontinued 
theact-frequency research butincreasingly turned hisattention tohisfirstloveinpsy-
chology, evolutionary theory. While atHarvard, Bussbegan acollaboration withtwo
graduate students—Leda Cosmides andJohn Tooby—who, along withBuss, would go
ontoestablish thefieldof“evolutionary psychology.”
David Buss hasgarnered many awards overthecourse ofhiscareer, includ -
ingtheEarly Career Contribution toPersonality Psychology bytheAmerican Psy-
chological Association in1988 andbeing elected Fellow toboth theAmerican 
Psychological Association andtheAmerican Psychological Society. Inaddition, 
hehasauthored numerous books, including Evolutionary Psychology (1999) , The 
Evolution of Desire (2003), andThe Murderer Next Door (2005) . Along withRandy 
Larsen, hehasalsopublished atextbook, Personality Psychology (2002).
Principles of Evolutionary  
Psychology
Charles Darwin andHerbert Spencer werethefirstthinkers toargue foranevolution -
aryperspective ofpsychological thought andbehavior. In1859 Darwin wrote: “In
thefuture, Iseeopen fields forfarmore important researches. Psychology willbe
securely based onthefoundation already welllaidbyHerbert Spencer, thatofthe
necessary acquirement ofeachmental power bygradation”1(Darwin, 1859, p.355). 
1In1855, fouryears before Darwin’s Origins ,Herbert Spencer published Principles of Psychology ,inwhich 
heargued forabiological andevenevolutionary viewofhuman thought andbehavior.Final PDF to printer