GradPSYCH - March 2012 - (Page 8)
MEDIa PICkS
evolution on the big screen
University of Texas at Austin evolutionary psychologist David Buss, PhD, says he’s a huge fan of movies that cover the same territory he studies in his lab, including a good love story. “I’m drawn to the extremes of human nature, especially in the mating domain, from the glorious heights of love to the despair of sexual treachery,” he says. He suspects he’s not alone. In line with evolutionary psychology theory, he believes people gravitate to films that delve into the emotionally charged territory of survival and mating. “Humans have evolved psychological adaptations whose function is to attend closely to events that have profound impacts on evolutionary fitness,” such as sex and murder, he says. gradPSYCH asked Buss to share his favorite films. • Blade Runner (1982) “A futuristic vision of a man who returns from retirement to hunt down and kill ‘replicants’— androids who seek to track down their creators to discover the key to extending their brief lives. The film brilliantly poses some of the great questions of life: Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going? How long do I have?” • Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) “Few things in life create more psychological anguish than romantic breakup Dr. David Buss is drawn to the “extremes of human nature.” and the loss of love. Would you choose to erase those painful memories if you could? • Amélie (2001) One couple chooses to do so. In the process, they discover the “A poignant film, complex and subtle, about a quirky great love that they had and struggle to reverse the loss.” Parisian girl who discovers life and love through the joy of • Straw Dogs (1971) making other people happy, and in the process achieves “A film that reveals some very dark truths about human [happiness] in her own life. Amélie highlights the generosity nature, such as the brutality of sexual rivalry and sexual of the human spirit and the celebration of life. It shows what violence, the ruthlessness of mate poaching, the despair caused I know to be true, but cannot prove scientifically — that by failures at mate retention and the horrors produced by our although few experience it, true love exists.” n in-group, out-group psychology. The film reveals that dormant —J. CHambeRlin within even the most peace-loving people lie psychological adaptations that can be activated for inflicting appalling violence on other humans.”
8 • gradPSYCH • March 2012
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of GradPSYCH - March 2012
GradPSYCH - March 2012
Contents
Psychology practicums reflect the field’s growth
How evidencebased is your trauma treatment?
Media Picks
Chair’s Corner
Odd Jobs
Research Roundup
Chart your own adventure
Matters to a Degree
Killer apps
The oil spill’s reverberations
A student of synchrony
Literature reviews made easy
Absentee advisers
What’s behind the internship match crisis?
Potential solutions
Steps to the match
Bulletin Board
Jobs, internships, postdocs and other opportunities
The Back Page
GradPSYCH - March 2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/apa/gradpsych_201203
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/apa/gradpsych_201109
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