fei75766_ch15_463-494.indd 466  02/24/20 10:48 AM
Part V    Biological/Evolutionary Theories466
Noise ,alsoknown as“random effects,” occurs when evolution produces ran-
domchanges indesign thatdonotaffect function. Noise tends tobeproduced by
chance andnotselected for.Anexample ofnoise istheshape ofabelly button, that
is,whether itisan“innie” oran“outie.” Thebelly button itself isaby-product ofan
adaptation, namely theumbilical cord(Buss, 1999).
Biography of David Buss
David BusswasbornonApril 14,1953 inIndianapolis, Indiana, toArnold 
H.Buss, Sr.andEdith Nolte. Arnold H.Buss, Sr.earned hisPhDinPsychology 
from Indiana University intheearly 1950s andwasaprofessor ofpsychology atthe
University ofPittsburgh, Rutgers, andfinally theUniversity ofTexas, where heis
currently Professor Emeritus. Arnold Buss’s research focused onaggression, psycho -
pathology, self-consciousness, andsocial anxiety (A.Buss, 2008).
Even though David Bussgrewupinanacademic family, inhisteens hedrifted 
toward mediocre grades inschool andgotinvolved indrugs inhighschool, evenbeing 
arrested twice ondrugcharges (D.Buss, 2004). Academics simply didnotappeal to
himandbyage17Bussdropped outofhighschool. Hegotthefirstjobheapplied 
to—working atatruck stop—because hewaswilling towork theall-night shift. Injust
3months onthejob,however, Bussexperienced enough tomake himrealize “there 
must bebetter ways tomake aliving” (D.Buss, 2004, p.16).Forexample, onedrunken 
driver threatened to“take atomahawk toyourlonghair” andinanother incident, a
young manbeatBusswithaclubfornoapparent reason other thantostartafight.
After these experiences heenrolled innight classes, finished hishighschool 
degree, andalthough hisgrades weretoopoorforhimtobeadmitted tocollege, in
1971, hewaslucky tobeadmitted totheUniversity ofTexas viaarandom lottery pick
ofthose notinthetop10%oftheirgraduating class (D.Buss, 1989). Thelottery was
abandoned thefollowing year. Itwasasanundergraduate thathisloveofknowledge 
andfascination withhuman behavior tookroot. Courses ingeology andastronomy 
exposed himtotheimportance ofevolution. Byhisjunior year, heknew hewanted 
tobeascientist andmore specifically ascientist ofthemind. Hewrote hisfirstpaper 
onevolution andbehavior, entitled “Dominance/Access toWomen.” Inthispaper, 
heproposed thatmenarehighly motivated toachieve dominance andhighstatus 
because those traits areattractive towomen. Bussacknowledged, however, thathis
interest in“mating” (i.e.,sex)went further backinhispersonal history.
From anearly age,Ifound myself fascinated withfemales. Atseven oreight, I
became irresistibly drawn tothegirlnextdoor. Ihadnoname forthefeelings, but
laterIwassureitwaslove...AsIgrewup,Ifound outthatnearly every oneof
mypeers wasmesmerized bymating. School gossip revolved around it:Attractions, 
repulsions, mate competition, mate poaching, mate switching, andsexual conflict 
permeated oursocial lifebeginning insixthorseventh grade andpossibly earlier ...
Once Ibecame enchanted byevolutionary theory, however, mating became anatural. 
Differential reproductive success istheengine ofevolution. (2004, pp.17–18)
Aswehaveseenconsistently throughout thisbook, thepersonality ofthetheo-
ristshapes hisorhertheory ofpersonality. Bussseems tobenoexception. “Did 
these childhood experiences somehow create some causal vector thatmotivated meFinal PDF to printer