Publications

Note: These materials are for the personal use of visitors to this web site, and are not intended for widespread dissemination.

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Hickey, D., Schmitz, M., Fessler, D.M.T., Smaldino, P.E., Muric, G., & Burghardt., K. (2023) Auditing Elon Musk’s impact on hate speech and bots. Proceedings of the International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media 17:1133-1137. Direct link to article (free open access for all).

Samore, T., Fessler, D.M.T., Sparks, A.M., Holbrook, C., Aarøe, L., Baeza, C.G., Barbato, M.T., Barclay, P., Contreras-Garduño, J., Costa Neves, B., del Pilar Grazioso, M., Elmas, P., Fernández, A.M., Garcia-Marques, L., Giraldo-Perez, P., Gul, P., Habacht, F., Hasan, Y., Hernandez, E.J., Jarmakowski, T., Kamble, S.V., Kameda, T., Kim, B., Kupfer, T., Kurita, M., Li, N.P., Lu, J., Luberti, F., Maegli, M.A.,  Mejía, M., Morvinski, C., Naito, A., Posner, D.N., Prokop, P., Shani, Y., Solorzano, W.O.P., Stieger, S., Suryani, A.O., Tan., L.K.L., Tybur, J.M., Viciana, H., Visine, A., Wang, J., & Wang, X.T. (2023) Greater traditionalism predicts COVID-19 precautionary behaviors across 27 societies. Scientific Reports 13:4969. Direct link to article (free open access for all)

Holbrook, C., Fessler, D.M.T., Sparks, A.M., Johnson, D.L., Samore, T., & Reed, L.I. (2023) Coalitionality shapes moral elevation: Evidence from the U.S. Black Lives Matter protest and counter-protest movements. Royal Society Open Science 10:220990. Direct link to article (free open access for all)

Fessler, D.M.T.*, Merrell, W.*, Holbrook, C., & Ackerman, J. (2023) Beware the foe who feels no pain: Associations between relative formidability and pain sensitivity in three U.S. online studies. Evolution & Human Behavior 44(1):1-10. * denotes joint first-authorship. Direct link to article via Evolution & Human Behavior (free open access for all).

Samore, T. & Fessler, D.M.T. (in press) Steps toward an interdisciplinary anthropology of mind and emotion: Intersections between evolutionary and psychological anthropologies. To appear in The Cambridge Handbook of Psychological Anthropology, Edward D. Lowe, Editor. Cambridge University Press. Download preprint PDF

Samore, T. & Fessler, D.M.T. (2022) Implications of instrumental and ritual stances for traditionalism–threat responsivity relationships. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 45: e267. (Commentary on Jagiello, Heyes, & Whitehouse [2022], “Tradition and invention: The bifocal stance theory of cultural evolution”). PDF coming soon.

Holbrook, C., Yoon, L, Fessler, D.M.T., Moser, C., Jimenez Delgado, S., and Kim, H. (2022) Moral parochialism and causal appraisal of transgressive harm in Seoul and Los Angeles. Scientific Reports 12:14227. Direct link to article via Scientific Reports (free open access for all).

White, C., Marin, M., & Fessler, D.M.T. (2022) The dead may kill you: Do ancestor spirit beliefs promote cooperation in traditional small-scale societies? Journal of Cognition and Culture 22:294-323. Download preprint PDF

Clint, E.K. & Fessler, D.M.T. (2022) Early adversity, adult lifestyle, and posttraumatic stress disorder in a military sample. Evolutionary Human Sciences 4:e24. Direct link to article via EHS (free open access for all).

Kupfer, T., Fessler, D.M.T., Wu, B., Hwang, T., Sparks, A., Alas, S., Samore, T., Lal, V., Sakhamuru, T., & Holbrook, C. (2021) The skin crawls, the stomach turns: Ectoparasites and pathogens elicit distinct defensive responses in humans.  Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 288(1955): 20210376Download PDF

Samore, T., Fessler, D.M.T., Sparks, A.M., & Holbrook, C.  (2021) Of pathogens and party lines: Social conservatism positively associates with COVID-19 precautions among U.S. Democrats but not Republicans.  PLOS ONE 16(6): e0253326. Direct link to article via PLOS (free open access for all).

Dinh, T., Gangestad, S.W., Emery Thompson, M., Tomiyama, A.J., Fessler, D.M.T., Robertson, T.E., Haselton, M.G. (2021).  Endocrinological effects of social exclusion and inclusion: Experimental evidence for adaptive regulation of female fecundity.  Hormones and Behavior 130:104934Download PDF

Dishakjian, V., Fessler, D.M.T., & Sparks, A.M. (2021)  Live fast, die young, and sleep later: Life history strategy and human sleep behavior. Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health 9(1):36-52.  Direct link to article via EMPH (free open access for all).

Curtin, C.M., Barrett, H.C., Bolyanatz, A., Crittenden, A., Fessler, D.M.T., Fitzpatrick, S., Gurven, M., Kanovsky, M., Kushnick, G., Laurence, S., Pisor, A., Scelza, B., Stich, S., von Rueden, C., & Henrich, J. (2020) Kinship intensity and the use of mental states in moral judgment across societies.  Evolution & Human Behavior 41(5): 415-429.  Download preprint PDF

Scrivner, C., Holbrook, C., Fessler, D.M.T., & Maestripieri, D. (2020).  Gruesomeness conveys formidability: Perpetrators of gratuitously grisly acts are conceptualized as larger, stronger, and more likely to win.  Aggressive Behavior 46(5):400-411Download preprint PDF

Sparks, A.M., Fessler, D.M.T., & Holbrook. C. (2019). Elevation, an emotion for prosocial contagion, is experienced more strongly by those with greater expectations of the cooperativeness of others. PLoS ONE 14(12): e0226071.  Direct link to article via PLOS (free open access for all).

Fessler, D.M.T., Sparks, A.M., Samore, T., & Holbrook, C. (2019) Does observing reciprocity or exploitation affect elevation, a mechanism driving prosociality? Evolutionary Human Sciences 1:e3. Direct link to article via EHS (free open access for all).

Samore, T., Fessler D.M.T., Holbrook, C., & Sparks, A.M. (2018) Electoral fortunes reverse, mindsets do not. PLoS ONE 13(12): e0208653.  Direct link to article via PLOS (free open access for all).

Fessler, D.M.T. (2019) Believing Chicken Little: Evolutionary perspectives on credulity and danger.  In DRUMS: Distortions, Rumours, Untruths, Misinformation & Smears, N. Vasu, B. Ang, and S. Jayakumar, Eds., pp. 17-36. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing. Download preprint PDF

Soh, M., Shaner, A., Gelberg, L., Kopelson, K., Stuber, M., Fessler, D., & Warde, C. (2018) Using the Humanism Pocket Tool for patients with challenging behaviors.  Annals of Family Medicine 16(5):467.  Download PDF

Fleischman, D.S. and Fessler, D.M.T. (2018) Response to “Hormonal correlates of pathogen disgust: Testing the compensatory prophylaxis hypothesis”.  Evolution & Human Behavior 39(4):468-469.  Download PDF

Bryant, G.A., Fessler, D.M.T., Fusaroli, R., Clint, E., Amir, D., Chavez, B., Denton, K.K., Diaz, C., Duran, L.T., Fančovičová, J., Fux, M., Ginting, E.F., Hasan, Y., Hu, A., Kamble, S.V., Kameda, T., Kuroda, K., Li, N.P., Luberti, F.R., Peyravi, R., Prokop, P., Quintelier, K.J.P., Shin, H.J., Stieger, S., Sugiyama, L.S., van den Hende, E.A., Viciana-Asensio, H., Yildizhan, S.E., Yong, J.C., Yuditha, T., & Zhou, Y. (2018)  The perception of spontaneous and volitional laughter across 21 societies.  Psychological Science 29(9):1515-1525. Download PDF

Pollack, J.,* Holbrook, C.,* Fessler, D.M.T., Sparks, A.M., and Zerbe, J.G. (2018). May God guide our guns: Visualized supernatural aid heightens team confidence in a paintball battle simulation. Human Nature 29(3):311-327. (“*”equal authorship.)  Download PDF

Kupfer, T.R. and Fessler, D.M.T. (2018) Ectoparasite defence in humans: Relationships to pathogen avoidance, and clinical implications.  Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 373(1751): 20170207.  Download preprint PDF

White, C. and Fessler, D.M.T. (2018) An evolutionary account of vigilance in grief.  Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health 1(1):34-42.  Download PDF

Sparks, A.M., Fessler, D.M.T., Chan, K.Q., Ashokkumar, A., and Holbrook, C. (2018) Disgust as a mechanism of decision making under risk. Emotion 18(7):942-958.  Download PDF

White, C., Marin, M., & Fessler, D.M.T. (2017) Not just dead meat: An evolutionary account of corpse treatment in mortuary rituals.  Journal of Cognition and Culture 17(1-2):146-168.  Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T., Pisor, A.C., and Holbrook, C. (2017) Political orientation predicts credulity regarding putative hazards. Psychological Science 28(5):651-660. Download PDF

Holbrook, C., López-Rodríguez, L., Fessler, D.M.T., Vázquez, A., and Gómez, A. (2017) Gulliver’s politics: Conservatives envision potential enemies as readily vanquished and physically small.  Social Psychological and Personality Science 8(6):670-678.  Downloard preprint PDF

Murray, D.R., Fessler, D.M.T., Kerry, N., White, C., and Marin, M. (2017) The kiss of death: Three tests of the relationship between disease threat and ritualized physical contact within traditional cultures. Evolution & Human Behavior 38(1):63-70.  Download PDF

Gervais, M.M. and Fessler, D.M.T. (2017) On the deep structure of social affect: Attitudes, emotions, sentiments, and the case of “contempt”.  Behavioral and Brain Sciences (target article), 40:e225. Download preprint PDF

Gervais, M.M. and Fessler, D.M.T. (2017) Seeing the elephant: Parsimony, functionalism, and the emergent design of contempt and other sentiments. Behavioral and Brain Sciences (response to commentaries), 40:e252. Download preprint PDF

White, C., Fessler, D.M.T., & Gomez, P.S. (2016) The effects of corpse viewing and corpse condition on vigilance for deceased loved ones. Evolution & Human Behavior 37(6):517-522.  Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. & Holbrook, C.  (2016) Synchronized behavior increases assessments of the formidability and cohesion of coalitions. Evolution & Human Behavior 37(6):502-509.  Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T., Natterson-Horowitz, B., and Azziz, R. (2016) Evolutionary determinants of polycystic ovary syndrome – Part 2. Fertility and Sterility 106(1):42-47.  Download PDF

Bryant, G.A., Fessler, D.M.T., Fusaroli, R., Clint, E., Aarøe, L., Apicella, C.L., Petersen, M.B., Bickham, S.T., Bolyanatz, A.H., Chavez, B., De Smet, D., Díaz, C., Fančovičová, J., Fux, M., Giraldo-Perez, P., Hu, A., Kamble, S.V., Kameda, T., Li, N.P., Luberti, F.R., Prokop, P., Quintelier, K., Scelza, B., Shin, H.J., Soler, M., Stieger, S., Toyokawa, W., van den Hende, E.A., Viciana-Asensio, H., Yildizhan, S.E., Yong, J.C., Yuditha, T., Zhou, Y. (2016) Detecting affiliation in co-laughter across 24 societies. Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences 113(17):4682-4687.  Download PDF

Barrett, H.C., Bolyanatz, A.H., Crittenden, A.N., Fessler, D.M.T., Fitzpatrick, S., Gurven, M., Henrich, J. Kanovsky, M., Kushnick, G., Pisor, A.C., Scelza, B., Stich, S., von Rueden, C., Zhao, W., and Laurence, S. (2016) Small-scale societies exhibit fundamental variation in the role of intentions in moral judgment. Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences 113(17):4688-4693.  Download PDF

Kushnick, G., Fessler, D.M.T., and Zuska, F. (2016) Disgust, gender, and social change: Testing alternative explanations for the decline of cousin marriage in Karo society. Human Nature 27(4):533-555.  Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T., Holbrook, C., Kanovsky, M., Barrett, H.C., Bolyanatz, A.H., Gervais, M.M., Gurven, M., Henrich, J., Kushnick, G., Pisor, A.C., Stich, S., von Rueden, C., & Laurence, S. (2016) Moral parochialism misunderstood: A reply to Piazza and Sousa. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.  Download PDF or Direct link to article via Proceedings B (free open access for all).

Holbrook, C., Fessler, D.M.T., and Pollack, J.S. (2016) With God on our side: Religious primes reduce the envisioned physical formidability of a menacing adversary. Cognition 146:387-392. Download PDF

Clint, E. and Fessler, D.M.T.  (2016)  Insurmountable heat: The evolution and persistence of defensive hyperthermia.  The Quarterly Review of Biology, 91(1)25-46.  Download PDF.

Holbrook, C., Izuma, K., Deblieck, C., Fessler, D.M.T., and Iacoboni, M. (2016) Neuromodulation of group prejudice and religious belief. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 11(3):387-394. Download PDF.

Holbrook, C., Fessler, D.M.T., and Navarrete, C.D. (2016) Looming large in others’ eyes: Racial stereotypes illuminate dual adaptations for representing threat versus prestige as physical size. Evolution & Human Behavior 37(1):67-78. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T., Holbrook, C., and Dashoff, D. (2016) Dressed to kill? Visible markers of coalitional affiliation enhance conceptualized formidability. Aggressive Behavior 42(3):299-309. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T., Barrett, H.C., Kanovsky, M., Stich, S., Holbrook, C., Henrich, J., Bolyanatz, A.H., Gervais, M.M., Gurven, M., Kushnick, G., Pisor, A.C., von Rueden, C., & Laurence, S. (2015) Moral parochialism and contextual contingency across seven societies. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.  Download PDF or Direct link to article via Proceedings B (free open access for all)

Fessler, D.M.T., Holbrook, C., and Fleischman, D.S. (2015) Assets at risk: Menstrual cycle variation in the envisioned formidability of a potential sexual assailant reveals a component of threat assessment.  Adaptive Human Behavior & Physiology 1(3):270-290. Download PDF

Fleischman, D.S., Hamilton, L.D., Fessler, D.M.T., and Meston, C.M. (2015) Disgust versus lust: Exploring the interactions of disgust and fear with sexual arousal in women. PLOS ONE 10(6): e0118151.  Direct link to article via PLOS (free open access for all)

Murray, D.R., Fessler, D.M.T., and Lupfer, G.J. (2015) Young flames: The effects of childhood exposure to fire on adult attitudes.  Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences 9(3):204-213.  Download PDF

Fleischman, D.S., Fessler, D.M.T., & Cholakians, A.E. (2015) Testing the affiliation hypothesis of homoerotic motivation in humans: The effects of progesterone and priming.  Archives of Sexual Behavior 44(5):1395 -1404.  Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T., Clark, J.C., & Clint, E.K. (2015) Evolutionary psychology and evolutionary anthropology.  In The Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology, D. M. Buss, ed., pp.1029-1046. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Download ms version PDF

Holbrook, C. and Fessler, D.M.T. (2015) The same, only different: Threat management systems as homologues in the tree of life. In Handbook of Personal Security, P. J. Carroll, R. M. Arkin, and A. L. Wichman, eds., pp. 95-109. New York: Psychology Press. Download preprint PDF

Quintelier, K.J.P. and Fessler, D.M.T. (2015) Confounds in moral/conventional studies.  Philosophical Explorations 18(1):58-67 Download preprint PDF. 

Manson, J.H., Gervais, M.M., Fessler, D.M.T., and Kline, M.A. (2014) Subclinical primary psychopathy, but not physical formidability or attractiveness, predicts conversational dominance in a zero-acquaintance situation.  PLOS ONE 9(11): e113135. Direct link to article via PLOS ONE (free open access for all)

Fessler, D.M.T., Holbrook, C., Tiokhin, L.B., and Snyder, J.K. (2014) Sizing up Helen: Nonviolent physical risk-taking enhances the envisioned bodily formidability of women.  Journal of Evolutionary Psychology 12(2):67-80. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. and Holbrook, C. (2014) Marching into battle: Synchronized walking diminishes the conceptualized formidability of an antagonist in men.  Biology Letters 10(8):20140592 Download PDF.

Clark, J.A. and Fessler, D.M.T. (2014) Recontextualizing the behavioral immune system within psychoneuroimmunology. Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences 8(4):235-243. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T., Pisor, A.C., and Navarrete, C.D. (2014) Negatively-biased credulity and the cultural evolution of beliefs. PLOS ONE 9(4), e95167.  Direct link to article via PLOS ONE (free open access for all)

Snyder, J.K. and Fessler, D.M.T. (2014) Narcotics Anonymous: Anonymity, admiration, and prestige in an egalitarian community. Ethos 42(4):440-459. Download PDF

Clark, J.A. and Fessler, D.M.T. (2014) The role of disgust in norms, and the role of norms in disgust research: Why liberals shouldn’t be morally disgusted by moral disgust. Topoi, An International Review of Philosophy 9240 DOI: 10.1007/s11245-014-9240-0. Download PDF

Holbrook, C., Galperin, A., Fessler, D.M.T., Johnson, K.L., Bryant, G.A., & Haselton, M.G. (2014) If looks could kill: Anger judgments are intensified by affordances for doing harm. Emotion 14(3):455-461. Download PDF

Quintelier, K.J.P., De Smet, D., & Fessler, D.M.T. (2014) Agent versus appraiser relativism: An exploratory study. In Advances in Experimental Moral Psychology: Affect, Character, and Commitments, J. C. Wright and H. Sarkissian, eds., pp. 209-230.  New York: Continuum Press. Download preprint PDF

Fessler, D.M.T., Holbrook, C., Pollack, J.S., and Hahn-Holbrook, J. (2014) Stranger danger: Parenthood increases the envisioned bodily formidability of menacing men.  Evolution & Human Behavior 35(2):109-117. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T., Holbrook, C., and Gervais, M.M. (2014) Men’s physical strength moderates conceptualizations of prospective foes in two disparate societies.  Human Nature 25(3):393-409. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T., Tiokhin, L.B., Holbrook, C., Gervais, M.M., and Snyder, J.K. (2014) Foundations of the Crazy Bastard Hypothesis: Nonviolent physical risk-taking enhances conceptualized formidability.  Evolution & Human Behavior 35(1):26-33. Download PDF

Holbrook, C., Piazza, J. and Fessler, D.M.T. (2014) Further challenges to the ‘authentic’ / ‘hubristic’ model of pride:  Conceptual clarifications and new evidence.  Emotion 14(1):38-42. Download PDF

Holbrook, C., Piazza, J. and Fessler, D.M.T. (2014) Conceptual and empirical challenges to the ‘authentic’ versus ‘hubristic’ model of pride. Emotion 14(1):17-32Download PDF

White, C. and Fessler, D.M.T. (2013) Evolutionizing grief: Viewing photographs of the deceased predicts the misattribution of ambiguous stimuli by the bereaved.  Evolutionary Psychology 11(5):1084-1100. Download PDF

Quintelier. K.J.P., Fessler, D.M.T., and De Smet, D. (2013) The moral universalism-relativism debate. Klesis Revue Philosophique 27:211-262. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. and Holbrook, C. (2013) Bound to lose: Physical incapacitation increases the conceptualized size of an antagonist in men.  PLOS ONE 8(8):e71306. Direct link to article via PLOS ONE (free open access for all)

Galperin, A., Fessler, D.M.T., Johnson, K.L., & Haselton, M.G. (2013) Seeing storms behind the clouds: Biases in the attribution of anger.  Evolution & Human Behavior 34(5):358-365. Download PDF

Snyder, J.K. and Fessler, D.M.T. (2013) Fear does not correspond to higher costs of rape among married women.  Journal of Evolutionary Psychology 11(2):49-64. Download PDF

Amir, D. and Fessler, D.M.T. (2013) Boots for Achilles: Progesterone’s reduction of cholesterol is a second-order adaptation.  Quarterly Review of Biology 88(2):97-116. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. and Holbrook, C. (2013) Friends shrink foes: The presence of comrades decreases the envisioned physical formidability of an opponent.  Psychological Science 24(5):797-802Download PDF

Snyder, J.K. and Fessler, D.M.T. (2013) Reexamining individual differences in women’s rape avoidance behaviors.  Archives of Sexual Behavior 42(4):543-551. Download PDF

Holbrook, C. and Fessler, D.M.T. (2013) Sizing up the threat: The envisioned physical formidability of terrorists tracks their leaders’ failures and successes. Cognition 127(1):46-56. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. and Quintelier, K. (2013) Suicide bombings, weddings, and prison tattoos: An evolutionary perspective on subjective commitment and objective commitment. In Cooperation and its Evolution, K. Sterelny, R. Joyce, B. Calcott, and B. Fraser, eds., pp. 459-483. MIT Press. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T., and Holbrook, C. (2013) Baumard et al.’s moral markets lack market dynamics (commentary on Baumard, André, and Sperber’s “A mutualistic approach to morality”). Behavioral and Brain Sciences 36(1):89-90. Download PDF

Quintelier, K.J.P., Fessler, D.M.T., and De Smet, D. (2012) The case of the drunken sailor: On the generalizable wrongness of harmful transgressions.  Thinking & Reasoning 18(2):183-195. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T., Holbrook, C., and Snyder, J.K. (2012) Weapons make the man (larger): Formidability is represented as size and strength in humans. PLOS ONE 7(4): e32751. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0032751 Direct link to article via PLOS ONE (free open access for all)

Fessler, D.M.T., Stieger, S., Asaridou, S.S., Bahia, U., Cravalho, M., de Barros, P., Delgado, T., Fisher, M.L., Frederick, D., Giraldo Perez, P., Pisor, A., Goetz, C., Haley, K., Jackson, J., Kushnick, G., Lew, K., Pain, B., Peixinho Florindo, P., Sinaga, E., Sinaga, L., Smolich, L., Mei Sun, D., and Voracek, M. (2012) Testing a postulated case of intersexual selection in humans: The role of foot size in judgments of physical attractiveness and age. Evolution & Human Behavior 33(2): 147-164. Download PDF

Quintelier, K. and Fessler, D.M.T. (2012) Varying versions of moral relativism: The philosophy and psychology of normative relativism. Biology and Philosophy 27(1): 95-113. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. and Machery, E. (2012) Culture and cognition. In The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Cognitive Science, E. Margolis, R. Samuels, and S. Stich, eds., pp. 503–527. New York: Oxford University Press. (Reprinted in Arguing About Human Nature, E. Machery and S. Downes, eds., pp. 245-260. 2013. Routledge: New York). Download PDF

Holbrook, C., Fessler, D.M.T., and Gervais, M.M. (2012) Revenge without redundancy: Functional outcomes do not require discrete adaptations for vengeance or forgiveness (commentary on McCullough, Kurzban, & Tabak’s “Cognitive systems for revenge and forgiveness”). Behavioral and Brain Sciences 36(1):22-23Download PDF

Kushnick, G. and Fessler, D.M.T.  (2012) Misconstruals miss the mark: A Reply to El Guindi & Read.  Current Anthropology 53(1):136-137. Download PDF

Pisor, A.C. and Fessler, D.M.T. (2012) Importing preferences and the pitfall of over-generalization (commentary on Guala’s “Reciprocity: Weak or strong?”). Behavioral and Brain Sciences 35(1):34-35. Download PDF

Lieberman, D., Fessler, D.M.T., and Smith, A. (2011) The relationship between familial resemblance and sexual attraction: An update on Westermarck, Freud, and the incest taboo. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37(9):1229-1232. Download PDF

Gneezy, A. and Fessler, D.M.T. (2011) Conflict, sticks, and carrots: War increases prosocial punishments and rewards. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 279(1727):219-223. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. (2011) Twelve lessons (most of which I learned the hard way) for evolutionary psychologists. In Thus Spake Evolutionary Psychologists, X.T. Wang and Y.-J. Su, eds., pp. 281-293. Beijing: Peking University Press. Download PDF

Kushnick, G. and Fessler, D.M.T. (2011) Karo Batak cousin marriage, cosocialization, and the Westermarck Hypothesis. Current Anthropology 52(3):443-448. Download PDF

Fleischman, D.S. and Fessler, D.M.T. (2011) Progesterone’s effects on the psychology of disease avoidance: Support for the Compensatory Behavioral Prophylaxis Hypothesis. Hormones and Behavior 59(2):271-275. Download PDF

Snyder, J.K., Fessler, D.M.T., Tiokhin, L., Frederick, D.A., Lee, S.W., and Navarrete, C.D. (2011) Trade-offs in a dangerous world: Women’s fear of crime predicts preferences for aggressive and formidable mates. Evolution & Human Behavior 32(2):127-137. Download PDF

Quintelier, K. and Fessler, D.M.T. (2011) Naturalizing the normative and the bridges between “is” and “ought” (Commentary on Elqayam & Evans’ “Subtracting ‘ought’ from ‘is’”).  Behavioral and Brain Sciences 34(5):266. Download PDF

Schnall, S., Roper, J., and Fessler, D.M.T. (2010) Elevation leads to altruistic behavior, above and beyond general positive affect. Psychological Science 21(3):315-320. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. (2010) Madmen: An evolutionary perspective on anger and men’s violent responses to transgression. In Handbook of anger: Constituent and concomitant biological, psychological, and social processes, M. Potegal, G. Stemmler, and C.D. Spielberger, eds., pp. 361-381. Springer. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T., and Gervais, M. (2010) From whence the captains of our lives: Ultimate and phylogenetic perspectives on emotions in humans and other primates. In Mind the Gap: The Origins of Human Universals, P. Kappeler & J.B. Silk, eds., pp. 261-280. Springer. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. (2010) Cultural congruence between investigators and participants masks the unknown unknowns: Shame research as an example (commentary on Henrich, Heine, and Noranzayan’s The Weirdest People in the World?). Behavioral & Brain Sciences 33(2/3):32. Download PDF

Fleischman, D.S., Navarrete, C.D., and Fessler, D.M.T. (2010) Oral contraceptives suppress ovarian hormone production (commentary on Sprengelmeyer et al.’s The Cutest Little Baby Face: A Hormonal Link to Sensitivity to Cuteness in Infant Faces). Psychological Science 21(5):750-752. Download PDF

Stich, S. Fessler, D.M.T., and Kelly, D. (2010) On the morality of harm: A response to Sousa, Holbrook and Piazza. Cognition 113(1):93-97. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. (2009) Return of the lost letter: Experimental framing does not enhance altruism in an everyday context. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 71(2):575-578. Download PDF

Navarrete, C.D., Fessler, D.M.T., Fleischman, D.S., and Geyer, J. (2009) Race bias tracks conception risk across the menstrual cycle. Psychological Science 20(6):661-665. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. and Moya, C.M. (2009). Crying (evolutionary perspectives) In The Oxford Companion to the Affective Sciences, Klaus Scherer and David Sander, eds., pp.105-106. New York: Oxford University Press. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. (2007) Neglected natural experiments germane to the Westermarck Hypothesis: The Karo Batak and the Oneida Community. Human Nature 18(4):355-364. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. (2007) From appeasement to conformity: Evolutionary and cultural perspectives on shame, competition, and cooperation.  In The Self-Conscious Emotions: Theory and Research, J.L. Tracy, R.W. Robins, & J.P. Tangney, eds.
Guilford Press. Download PDF

Fleischman, D.S. and Fessler, D.M.T. (2007) Differences in dietary intake as a function of sexual activity and hormonal contraception. Evolutionary Psychology 5(3): 642-652. Download PDF

Voracek, M., Fisher, M.L, Rupp, B., Lucas, D., and Fessler, D.M.T.  (2007) Sex differences in relative foot length and the perceived attractiveness of female feet: The relationships between anthropometry, physique, and preference ratings.  Perceptual and Motor Skills 104:1123-1138. Download PDF

Kelly, D., Stich, S.P., Haley, K.J., Eng, S.J., and Fessler, D.M.T. (2007) Harm, affect and the moral / conventional distinction.  Mind & Language  22(2):117–131. Download PDF

Navarrete, C.D., Fessler, D.M.T., & Eng, S.J. (2007) Elevated ethnocentrism in the first trimester of pregnancy. Evolution and Human Behavior 28(1):60-65. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. (2006) A burning desire: Steps toward an evolutionary psychology of fire learning. Journal of Cognition and Culture 6(3-4):429-451. Download PDF

Navarrete, C.D. and Fessler, D.M.T. (2006) Disease avoidance and ethnocentrism: The effects of disease vulnerability and disgust sensitivity on intergroup attitudes. Evolution and Human Behavior 27(4):270-282. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. and Haley, K.J. (2006) Guarding the perimeter: The outside-inside dichotomy in disgust and bodily experience. Cognition and Emotion 20(1):3-19. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. (2006) Steps toward the evolutionary psychology of a culture-dependent species. In Innateness and the Structure of the Mind, Vol. II, P. Carruthers, S. Laurence & S. Stich, eds., pp. 91-117. Oxford University Press. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. (2006) The male flash of anger: Violent response to transgression as an example of the intersection of evolved psychology and culture.  In Missing the Revolution: Darwinism for Social Scientists, J. Barkow, ed., pp. 101-117.  Oxford University Press. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. (2006) Contextual features of problem-solving and social learning give rise to spurious associations, the raw materials for the evolution of rituals. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 29(6):617-618. [Commentary on Boyer & Lienard’s ‘Why ritualized behavior? Precaution Systems and action parsing in developmental, pathological and cultural rituals’]. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. (2005) Never eat alone: The meaning of food sharing in a Sumatran fishing village. People and Culture in Oceania 20:51-67. Download PDF

Navarrete, C.D. and Fessler, D.M.T. (2005) Normative bias and adaptive challenges: A relational approach to coalitional psychology and a critique of Terror Management Theory. Evolutionary Psychology 3:297-325. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. and Navarrete, C.D. (2005) The effect of age on death disgust: Challenges to Terror Management perspectives. Evolutionary Psychology 3:279-296. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T., Eng, S.J., and Navarrete, C.D. (2005), Elevated disgust sensitivity in the first trimester of pregnancy: Evidence supporting the compensatory prophylaxis hypothesis. Evolution and Human Behavior 26(4):344-351. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T., Nettle, D., Afshar, Y, de Andrade Pinheiro, I., Bolyanatz, A., Borgerhoff Mulder, M., Cravalho, M., Delgado, T., Gruzd, B., Oliveira Correia, M., Khaltourina, D.,  Korotayev, A. Marrow, J., Santiago de Souza, L., and Zbarauskaite, A. (2005) A cross-cultural investigation of the role of foot size in physical attractiveness.  Archives of Sexual Behavior 34(3):267-276. Download PDF    Correction to the preceding paper Download PDF

Haley, K.J. and Fessler, D.M.T. (2005) Nobody’s watching? Subtle cues affect generosity in an anonymous economic game. Evolution and Human Behavior 26(3):245-256. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T., Navarrete, C.D., Hopkins, W., and Izard, M.K. (2005) Examining the terminal investment hypothesis in humans and chimpanzees: Associations between maternal age, parity, and birth weight.  American Journal of Physical Anthropology 127(1):95-104. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T., Haley, K.J., and Lal, R.D. (2005) Sexual dimorphism in foot length proportionate to stature. Annals of Human Biology 32(1):44-59. Download PDF

Frederick, D.A., Fessler, D.M.T., and Haselton, M.G. (2005) Do representations of male muscularity differ in men’s and women’s magazines? Body Image 2(1)81-86. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. and A.P. Arguello (2004) The relationship between susceptibility to nausea and vomiting and the possession of conditioned food aversions.  Appetite 43(3):331-334. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. and E.T. Abrams (2004) Infant mouthing behavior: The immunocalibration hypothesis. Medical Hypotheses 63(6):925-932. Download PDF

Navarrete, C.D., Kurzban, R., Fessler, D.M.T., and Kirkpatrick, L.A. (2004) Anxiety and intergroup bias: Terror management or coalitional psychology? Group Processes and Intergroup Relations 7(4):370-397. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. and Navarrete, C.D. (2004) Third-party attitudes toward sibling incest: Evidence for Westermarck’s Hypotheses. Evolution and Human Behavior 25(5):277-294. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. (2004) Shame in two cultures: Implications for evolutionary approaches. Journal of Cognition and Culture 4(2):207-262. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T., Pillsworth, E.G., and Flamson, T.J. (2004) Angry men and disgusted women: An evolutionary approach to the influence of emotions on risk taking. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 95(1):107-123. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. (2003) Rape is not less frequent during the ovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle. Sexualities, Evolution & Gender 5(3):127-147. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. and Navarrete, C.D. (2003) Domain-specific variation in disgust sensitivity across the menstrual cycle. Evolution and Human Behavior 24(6):406–417. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. (2003) The implications of starvation-induced psychological changes for the ethical treatment of hunger strikers. Journal of Medical Ethics 29:243-247. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. (2003) An evolutionary explanation of the plasticity of salt preferences: Prophylaxis against sudden dehydration. Medical Hypotheses 61(3):412-415. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T., Arguello, A.P., Mekdara, J.M., and Macias, R. (2003) Disgust sensitivity and meat consumption: A test of an emotivist account of moral vegetarianism. Appetite 41(1):31-41. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. and Navarrete, C.D. (2003) Meat is good to taboo: Dietary proscriptions as a product of the interaction of psychological mechanisms and social processes. Journal of Cognition and Culture 3(1):1-40. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. (2003) No time to eat: An adaptationist account of periovulatory behavioral changes.Quarterly Review of Biology 78(1):3-21. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. and Haley, K.J. (2003) The strategy of affect: Emotions in human cooperation. In The Genetic and Cultural Evolution of Cooperation, P. Hammerstein, ed., pp. 7-36.  Dahlem Workshop Report.  Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Download PDF

McElreath, R., Clutton-Brock, T.H., Fehr, E., Fessler, D.M.T., Hagen, E.H., Hammerstein, P., Kosfeld, M., Milinski, M., Silk, J.B., Tooby, J., and Wilson, M.I. (2003) The role of cognition and emotion in cooperation.  In The Genetic and Cultural Evolution of Cooperation, P. Hammerstein, ed., pp. 125-152.  Dahlem Workshop Report.  Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Download preprint PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. (2003) The Neolithic Revolution did not increase the adaptive value of pregnancy sickness [discussion/reply].  Current Anthropology 44(5):709-711. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. (2003) Book review of Harriet Whitehead’s Food Rules: Hunting, Sharing, and Tabooing Game in Papua New Guinea. Journal of Ritual Studies 17(2):105-111. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. (2002) Starvation, serotonin, and symbolism: A psychobiocultural perspective on stigmata. Mind & Society 6(3):81-96. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. (2002) Dimorphic foraging behaviors and the evolution of hominid hunting. Rivista di Biologia/Biology Forum 95(3):429-454. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. (2002) Windfall and socially distributed willpower: The psychocultural dynamics of rotating savings and credit associations in a Bengkulu village. Ethos 30(1/2):25-48. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. (2002) Pseudoparadoxical impulsivity in restrictive anorexia nervosa: A consequence of the logic of scarcity.  International Journal of Eating Disorders 31(4):376-388. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. (2002) Reproductive immunosuppression and diet: An evolutionary perspective on pregnancy sickness and meat consumption. Current Anthropology 43(1):19-39;48-61. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. (2002) Are mothers battling embryos or pathogens? [corresp.] Trends in Ecology and Evolution 17(8):360. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. (2002) Emotions and self-knowledge. Oxford Encyclopedia of Evolution, M. Pagel, ed. Vol. 1, pp. 296-299.  New York: Oxford University Press. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. (2001) Luteal phase immunosuppression and meat eating. Rivista di Biologia / Biology Forum 94(3):403-426. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. (2001) Emotions and cost/benefit assessment: The role of shame and self-esteem in risk taking.  In Bounded Rationality: The Adaptive Toolbox, R. Selten & G. Gigerenzer, eds. pp.191-214. Cambridge, MA: MIT University Press. Download PDF

Mellers, B., Erev, I., Fessler, D.M.T., Hemelrijk, C.K., Hertwig, R., Laland, K.N., Scherer, K.R., Seeley, T.D., Selten, R., and Tetlock, P.E. (2001) Effects of emotions and social processes on bounded rationality. In Bounded Rationality: The Adaptive Toolbox, R. Selten & G. Gigerenzer, eds. 263-79.  Cambridge, MA: MIT University Press.

Algaze, G. and Fessler, D.M.T. (2001) A reconsideration of the origins of human settlement and social differentiation.  In Studies in the Archeology of Israel and Neighboring Lands in Memory of Douglas L. Esse, Sam Wolff, ed., pp. 9-28.  Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization Series No. 59.  Chicago: Oriental Institute/University of Chicago Press. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. (1999) Toward an understanding of the universality of second order emotions. In Beyond Nature or Nurture:  Biocultural Approaches to the Emotions, A. Hinton, ed. pp.75-116.  New York: Cambridge University Press. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. (1997) Commentary on why polyandry fails.  Current Anthropology 38(3): 391-392.

Fessler, D.M.T. (1997) Arbitrary values [corresp.]. Anthropology Newsletter 38(2):2. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. (1996) Anthropology in Wonderland, or, the virtues of shifting levels and frames [essay].  Anthropology Newsletter 37(8):44-42. Download PDF

Fessler, D.M.T. (1996) The next frontier: Anthropology and evolutionary psychology [essay]. Anthropology Newsletter 37(9):7. Download PDF