More on gender differences:

Sex differences have been usually seen as a result of social factors, but I believe
that they have also been remarkably influenced by our evolved biology.
A very good example is the parental investment theory which states that there is a conflict for both men a women in how much time, effort, and resources to invest in mating versus parenting. Since gestation occurs within the female, and because women provide most of the caring, nutrition, and support after birth, they are required to invest more in parenting to ensure their children’s survival, but at the same time to be more selective when choosing a partner. One the contrary, men invest less in parenting, because paternal investment is not necessary for a successful reproduction. Males’ investment may be as little as the sperm produced during copulation. What men can do is invest more effort in mating to increase the number of offspring, which has predisposed them to invest less in their children’s care, and to be more inclined to pursue short-term casual sex.

Gender differences in communication also seem to show that there might be some truth when people say “men are from Mars and women from Venus”. Research has shown that women are more prone to interpret people’s emotional behaviors. When we take into consideration that ancestral women had to spend most of their time in female gathering groups, helping each other, and expressing their feelings about social and family matters, it should come as no surprise that modern women continue to respond similarly. Instead, men have had to compete throughout
history for status and position, developing aggressive and direct behaviors. This most have predisposed men to display more task-oriented behaviors in their interactions, and to communicate in a more direct and instrumental way.


Bjorklund, D.F., & Shackelford, T.K. (1999). Differences in parental investment contribute to important differences between men and women. Blackwell Publishers, Inc.

Origins of jealousy

Adaptation is a very important concept in Darwin’s theory of evolution. It means that organisms change over time as a result of natural or sexual selection to increase survival and reproductive success. This happens when organisms by obtaining certain traits gain an advantage or solve an adaptive problem.
Psychological mechanisms have also evolved to solve the adaptive problems that our ancestors faced. For example, during our evolutionary history, because of women’s concealed ovulation and extended sexuality, men can never be certain about their paternity, unlike women, who are always one hundred percent sure. According to David J. Buller (2005) since men and women had to face different threats to their reproductive interests, both sexes have evolved jealousy, but through different mechanisms to solve this adaptive problem. For example, if a man thinks that his woman is being unfaithful, it confuses his paternity, putting him at risk of investing his time and resources in another’s man offspring. This situation has predisposed men to focus on cues of sexual infidelity; while women focus more on cues of emotional infidelity, since an emotional involvement of his partner with another woman can result in a loss of his resources and investment in the family.
Attention to infidelity cues and jealousy have been designed by natural selection to reduce paternity confusion and relationship losses by engaging both men and women in retention behaviors that at the end seek to increase their own genes reproductive success.

Do you agree with the conclusion that women feel angrier facing an emotional infidelity while men feel angrier facing a sexual infidelity? Any experiences?



* Buller, J. David. (2005). Adapting minds:Evolutionary psychology and the persistent quest for human nature. The MIT Press, 318-320.