EVOLUTIONARY APPROACHES

Evolutionary Psychology and Close Relationships Research: In what ways do the disciplines of evolutionary psychology and close relationships research intersect, and in what ways do their assumptions and methodological approaches differ? How can these two disciplines inform each other in the future?

  • Eastwick, P. W., Finkel, E. J., & Joel, S. (2023). Mate evaluation theory. Psychological Review, 130, 211-241. [Download Article] [Supplemental Material]

  • Eastwick, P. W., Finkel, E. J., & Simpson, J. A. (2019). Relationship trajectories: A meta-theoretical framework and theoretical applications. Psychological Inquiry, 30, 1-28. (Target article). [Download Article]

  • Eastwick, P. W., Finkel, E. J., & Simpson, J. A. (2019). The relationship trajectories framework: Explanation and expansion. Psychological Inquiry, 30, 48-57. (Response to commentaries). [Download Article] [Commentaries]

  • Eastwick, P. W., Keneski, E., Morgan, T. A., McDonald, M. A., & Huang, S. A. (2018). What do short-term and long-term relationships look like? Building the Relationship Coordination and Strategic Timing (ReCAST) Model. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 147, 747-781. [Download Article] [Supplemental Materials] [Materials and Preregistration] [Stylist] [IFL Science]

  • Eastwick, P. W., Harden, K. P., Shukusky, J. A., Morgan, T. A., & Joel, S.. (2017). Consistency and Inconsistency among romantic partners over time. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 112, 838-859. [Download Article] [OSF Data Files and Scripts]

  • Finkel, E. J., Simpson, J. A., Eastwick, P. W. (2017). The psychology of close relationships: Fourteen core principles. Annual Review of Psychology, 68, 383-411. [Download Article]

  • Eastwick, P. W. (2016). The emerging integration of close relationships research and evolutionary psychology. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 25, 183-190. [Download Article]

  • Durante, K. W., Eastwick, P. W., Finkel, E. J., Gangestad, S. W., Simpson, J. A. (2016). Pair-bonded relationships and romantic alternatives: Toward an integration of evolutionary and relationship science perspectives. In J. M. Olson & M. P. Zanna (Eds.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology (pp.1-74). Burlington: Academic Press. [Download Article]

  • Finkel, E. J., & Eastwick, P. E. (2015). Interpersonal attraction: Toward a theoretical integration of the literature. In J. A. Simpson & J. F. Dovidio (Eds.), Handbook of personality and social psychology: Interpersonal relations and group processes, (pp. 179-210). Washington: American Psychological Association. [Download Article]

  • Eastwick, P. W., Luchies, L. B., Finkel, E. J, & Hunt, L. L. (2014). The predictive validity of ideal partner preferences: A review and meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 140, 623-665. [Download Article]

  • Eastwick, P. W., Luchies, L. B., Finkel, E. J, & Hunt, L. L. (2014). The many voices of Darwin's descendants: Reply to Schmitt (2014). Psychological Bulletin, 140, 673-681. [Download Article] [Commentary]

  • Eastwick, P. W. (2013). The psychology of the pair-bond: Past and future contributions of close relationships research to evolutionary psychology. Psychological Inquiry, 24, 183-191. [Download Commentary] [Target article]

  • Eastwick, P. W. (2013). Cultural influences on attraction. In Jeffry A. Simpson & Lorne Campbell (Eds.), Handbook of Close Relationships (pp. 161-182). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. [Download Article]

Mate Value: To what extent do people agree about who is and is not a desirable mate? Are there other ways of conceptualizing a person’s mate value other than the extent to which they possess desirable traits? 

  • Baxter, A., Maxwell, J. A., Bales, K. L., Finkel, E. J., Impett, E. A., & Eastwick, P. W. (2022). Initial impressions of mate value and compatibility predict later dating and romantic interest. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119, e2206925119. [Download Article]

  • Eastwick, P. W., Harden, K. P., Shukusky, J. A., Morgan, T. A., & Joel, S.. (2017). Consistency and Inconsistency among romantic partners over time. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 112, 838-859. [Download Article] [OSF Data Files and Scripts]

  • Hunt, L. L., Eastwick, P. W., & Finkel, E. J. (2015). Leveling the playing field: Acquaintance length predicts reduced assortative mating on attractiveness. Psychological Science, 26, 1046-1053. [Download Article] [NYTimes]

  • Eastwick, P. W. & Buck, A. A. (2014). Too much matching: A Social Relations Model enhancement of the pairing game. Teaching of Psychology, 41, 246-250. [Download Article]

  • Eastwick, P. W. & Hunt, L. L. (2014). Relational mate value: Consensus and uniqueness in romantic evaluations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 106, 728-751. [Download Article] [NYTimes Op-Ed]

Phylogeny (Timeline of Human Evolution): Did different features of the human mind evolve at different times in the lineage leading to Homo sapiens? If so, can researchers draw from this timeline to make a priori moderational predictions about psychological processes?

  • Tidwell, N. D., Eastwick, P. W., & Kim, A. (2017). She's not one of us: Group membership moderates the effect of fertility cues on attractiveness ratings. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 8, 689-697. [Download Article] [OSF Preregistration]

  • Eastwick, P. W., & Durante, K. W. (2015). Adaptive workarounds. Current Opinion in Psychology, 1, 92-96. [Download Article]

  • Tidwell, N. D., & Eastwick, P. W. (2013). Sex differences in succumbing to sexual temptations: A function of impulse or control? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 39, 1620-1633. [Download Article]

  • Eastwick, P. W. & Finkel, E. J. (2012). The evolutionary armistice: Attachment bonds moderate the function of ovulatory cycle adaptations. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 38, 174-184. [Download Article]

  • Eastwick, P. W. (2009). Beyond the Pleistocene: Using phylogeny and constraint to inform the evolutionary psychology of human mating. Psychological Bulletin, 135, 794-821. [Download Article]

Attachment and Pair-bonding: How does the attachment-behavioral system intersect with romantic relationship initiation and maintenance in humans?

  • Finkel, E. J., & Eastwick, P. W. (2015). Attachment and pair-bonding. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 3, 7-11. [Download Article]

  • Eastwick, P. W. & Finkel, E. J. (2008). The attachment system in fledgling relationships: An activating role for attachment anxiety. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95, 628-647. [Download Article]