A Framework for Integrating Evolutionary and Feminist Perspectives in Psychological Research by Daniel J. Kruger, Maryanne L. Fisher & Paula Wright Kruger, D.J., Fisher, M.L., Wright, P. (2013). A framework for integrating evolutionary and feminist perspectives in psychological research. Journal of Social, Evolutionary and Cultural Psychology, 7(4), By Austin Ertman, Christine Motokane, Jenny Asmann, and Vanessa Romero

Overview of the article ●There is a growing interest in combining the ideology of feminism with evolutionary psychology ●The researchers came up with three core components for a constructive dialogue on bridge the two ideologies: o 1.Think critically of sex and gender o 2.Recognize females as active agents in evolutionary progress o 3.Recognize females as active agents in human dynamics

Think Critically of sex and gender ●There are variations across different cultures regarding different gender roles yet there is a universal foundation based on common evolutionary roots ●Common criticisms against the evolutionary approach is it is associated with genetic determinism and justifications for unsavory or negative behaviors ●Human sexuality is shaped by millions of years of sexual selection but there is a lot of psychological variation within each sex and there is an overlap between each characteristic ●Unger (1979) proposed that when referring to biological differences we use the term “sex” while referring to differences in socio-cultural influences we use gender to propose a richer understanding on human behavior.

Females as active agents in Evolutionary Processes ●Females as active agents in evolutionary processes is not universal among researchers ●Some hold the position that males have greater variation in reproductive success than females; they act as the primary or solely genetic features in which selection occurs ●According to Fisher, Chang and Garcia (2013), evolutionary research has been misled due to the assumption that women are docile during mating which neglects other important topics such as mating, female aggression, alliances between females, female intrasexual competition as well as the female role in evolution

Women as active agents in interpersona l and human dynamics ●Misconceptions of evolutionary psychology view women simply as a resource and passive recipients of male reproductive strategies ●Women select partners who are consistent with their reproductive interests. They choose men who have high paternal investment for long term relationships and for brief relationships choose men with good genetic qualities. ●Women can identify male mating strategies and make decisions based on this available information ●Women compete with each other for status and male partners (intrasexual competition) ●In groups, women provided daily calorie offerings as a result of their gathering efforts

Conclusion and Controversies ●Evolutionary and feminist perspectives are not necessarily mutually exclusive o Further research needs to be done o Education on feminism ●Naturalistic Fallacy o What is vs. what ought to be” ●Politics with studying sex differences o Goals behind research

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