Author Index

Amazon listing

Why do girls tend to earn better grades in school than boys? Why are men still far more likely than women to earn degrees in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics? And why are men on average more likely to be injured in accidents and fights than women? These and many other questions are the subject of both informal investigation in the media and formal investigation in academic and scientific circles.

In his landmark book Male, Female: The Evolution of Human Sex Differences, author David C. Geary provided the first comprehensive evolutionary model to explain human sex differences. Using the principles of sexual selection, such as female choice and male–male competition, Geary systematically reviewed and discussed the evolution of sex differences and their expression throughout the animal kingdom, as a means of not just describing but explaining the same process in Homo sapiens.      
           
Now, over 10 years since the first edition, Geary has completed a massive update, expansion, and theoretical revision of his classic text. New findings in brain and genetic research inform a wealth of new material, including a new chapter on sex differences in patterns of life history development; expanded coverage of genetic research (e.g., DNA fingerprinting to determine paternity as related to male–male competition in primates); fatherhood in humans; cross-cultural patterns of sex differences in choosing and competing for mates; and genetic, hormonal, and socio-cultural influences on the expression of sex differences. Finally, through his motivation to control framework (introduced in the first edition and expanded in The Origin of Mind, 2005), Geary presents a theoretical bridge linking parenting, mate choices, and competition with children’s development and sex differences in brain and cognition. The result is an even better book than the original—a lively and nuanced application of Darwin’s insight to help explain our heritage and our place in the natural world.

Male, Female is a superb introduction to the science of sex differences, and one with a real difference: it seeks to explain the differences between women and men, rather than just describe them. The book is coherent, balanced, incisive, and well-written. It is both an invaluable resource for researchers and a pleasure to read.
– Steven Pinker, Harvard College Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of How the Mind Works and The Blank Slate.

Geary demonstrates in Male, Female just how much understanding of sex differences can be achieved by looking at human development through evolutionary lenses. Confusion turns into insight when the most powerful scientific paradigm ever developed in the life sciences replaces ideology. Any student, teacher, or even layperson fascinated by why we humans behave the way we do will find this exhaustively researched volume highly informative, to say nothing of fascinating.
- Jay Belsky, PhD, Director, Institute for the Study of Children, Families and Social Issues, Birkbeck University of London, England

Warning! If you still insist that sex differences have little to do with evolution and don’t want your cherished nostrums shattered, then avoid this book. For this new edition is testimony to the rapid burgeoning of the science of such differences and to Geary’s unrivaled command of it. From genes and hormones, to physiology and psychology, to brains and behavior, Male, Female is a comprehensive, authoritative guide to Darwin’s fundamental explanation and to the cornucopia of stunning new findings that it continues to inspire. Human nature is revealed as distinct male and female natures—an insight with profound implications for natural and social science, for public policy, and for our view of ourselves. This is a must-read for experts, novices, and anyone else who cares about today’s science and tomorrow’s agenda.
- Helena Cronin, PhD, Co-Director, Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science, London School of Economics, London, England

Earlier in my career as a developmental psychologist, I had little interest in sex differences for their own sake. Sex differences only make sense when you have a theory about why they should exist. Evolutionary psychology provides that theory, and nowhere is it better articulated than in Geary’s Male, Female. This comprehensive yet highly accessible book is a must-read for anyone interested in sex differences, their evolution, and their development.
- David F. Bjorklund, PhD, Department of Psychology, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton

This richly illustrated second edition documents hundreds of ways the sexes differ, and it persuasively argues that most of the differences are not simply the result of sex role training and gender stereotypes. For anyone interested in better comprehending male and female cognition and behavior, I cannot think of a better book to read.
- Lee Ellis, PhD, Department of Anthropology and Sociology, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

David Geary’s The Origin of Mind is a remarkable book. As suggested by its subtitle, it ambitiously addresses many of the oldest questions of science (and society)… These are profound questions to ask and (to varying degrees in different chapters) Geary’s work does an extraordinary job in answering them. American Journal of Psychiatry. [read review]

Geary, D. C. (2005). The origin of mind: Evolution of brain, cognition, and general intelligence. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. [Amazon listing]

This is a work of massive and wide ranging scholarship … The Origin of Mind will be of fundamental importance for developing an evolutionary psychology that integrates all of contemporary behavioral science. Geary has made a ground-breaking contribution…   Human Ethology Bulletin. [read review]

This book is a tour de force of current thinking and research in evolutionary psychology, neuroscience, and decision science.  The Journal of Behavioral Finance

The Origin of Mind… is an impressive effort to make the case for a modern interdisciplinary study of brain and cognition that views cognitive processes as biological adaptations…  PsycCRITIQUES

This book develops several lines of thought about issues that are crucial to understanding human nature.  Readers will find this a rewarding experience.  MetaPsychology

All Reviews

Sample excerpted chapter

Ellis, L., Hershberger, S., Field, E., Wersinger, S., Sergio, P., Geary, D., Palmer, C., Hoyenga, K., Hetsroni, A., & Karadi, K. (2008). Sex differences: Summarizing more than a century of scientific research. New York: Francis & Taylor. [Amazon listing]

Geary, D. C. (1998). Male, female: The evolution of human sex differences. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
ISBN: 1-555798-527-8

Male, female is now available in French

Honorable mention, Best sciences books of the 1990s, Lingua franca

Reviews

Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Seven

Geary, D. C. (1994). Children's mathematical development: Research and practical applications. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Table of Contents

Children's mathematical development is a monumental book and an exciting one -- an encyclopedia that will end one era and begin another. Robert B. Davis, Journal for Research in Mathematics Education (1995).