The Rational Animal: How Evolution Made Us Smarter Than We Think (41 page)

Read The Rational Animal: How Evolution Made Us Smarter Than We Think Online

Authors: Douglas T. Kenrick,Vladas Griskevicius

Tags: #Business & Economics, #Consumer Behavior, #Economics, #General, #Education, #Decision-Making & Problem Solving, #Psychology, #Cognitive Psychology, #Cognitive Psychology & Cognition, #Social Psychology, #Science, #Life Sciences, #Evolution, #Cognitive Science

Disney, Walt,
51–52
,
59
,
60
,
62
,
72–73
,
208

Divorce,
94
,
133
,
172
,
177
,
178
,
179

Doug E.
Fresh (rapper),
126

Dowry,
162–163
,
171–172

Drug companies,
199–201

Durante, Kristina,
13

Econs, people as, view focusing on.
See
Rational economist perspective

Eisner, Michael,
52
,
59
,
60
,
64
,
65
,
72–73
,
208

Ellis, Bruce,
134

Emperor’s Club,
161–162
,
163
,
167

Enemies, knowing your,
204

See also
Parasitism

Entrepreneurism, age of,
125–128

Environment, childhood, influence of, on life history strategy,
134–137
,
138–140
,
140–141

Equality matching,
62
,
63
,
64

Errors/mistakes

calculated,
88
costly, built-in mechanism to avoid,
79–81
due to bias,
6–7
,
73
,
76
,
78
evolutionary view of,
11
financial,
81–82
,
118–119
fundamentally different types of,
80
logic,
97
,
99
math,
102
,
103
medical,
97
,
98
,
102
perceived as irrational,
4
sexual, avoiding,
166
that are not random, reasons for,
82
ultimate reasons for, perspective providing,
16
,
20
and the way questions are presented,
99
,
103
,
114
,
115
See also
Bias

Evolutionary challenges, the need to solve,
30–32
,
46
,
76
,
93
,
94
,
172

See also
Ultimate reasons

Evolutionary psychologist perspective

contributions to, recognition of,
213–214
of loss aversion,
9–11
of man, as deeply rational, described,
7–9
theory provided by,
16
three lessons from,
209–213
See also specific ideas/concepts of
evolutionary psychologists

Ewing, Patrick,
118

Exploitation

beneficial,
187
,
189
,
203
continuum of,
187–188
,
194
harmful,
187
marketing strategies used in,
190–194
pervasiveness of,
185–186
See also
Parasitism

Facebook,
36
,
127

Fakes, spotting,
204

See also
Parasitism

False alarms,
79
,
80
,
81
,
88

False consensus bias,
76

False positives,
102

Family businesses

examples of,
51–52
,
72–73
running companies like,
71–72
,
211
,
213

Family model.
See
Home economics

Fast strategy

attitude in, example of,
140
,
141
and conspicuous consumption,
156–157
described,
118–119
,
121
environmental factors leading to,
134–136
,
137
,
138
,
139–140
,
140–141
as a financial investment strategy,
130–131
genetic factor in,
133
high variance of,
137–138
mate-acquisition subself and,
154
,
155
,
156
,
157
and sexual supply and demand,
181
slow strategy versus,
128–129
types of people following,
132–133
unrestricted,
156
,
157

Federal Trade Commission (FTC),
203

Fertility, indicator of,
168

Fessler, Dan,
36

Financial investments

risk aversion and,
45
,
82
smoke detector principle and,
81–82
strategy in, types of, described,
130–131
testosterone levels and,
126
unusual,
129
,
130

Financial mistakes,
81–82
,
118–119

See also
Bankruptcy
;
Debt
;
Exploitation
;
Gambling

Financial prospects, women’s preference for men with,
170–171
,
173

Financial spending

dilemma over,
119
excess, avoiding, by knowing your subselves and evolutionary needs,
205
to fulfill fundamental needs,
189–190
See also
Conspicuous consumption

Fiske, Alan,
61–62
,
64

Fitness

defined,
8
enhancing, decisions leading to,
10
,
20
inclusive,
56–58

Flashy/luxury items, reasons for purchasing.
See
Conspicuous consumption

Fluctuating environments, influence of, on life history strategy,
134–136
,
137
,
139–140
,
141

Followers and leaders,
64
,
65
,
66

Forbes
(magazine),
117

Fortune
(magazine),
71

Fowler, James,
92

Frank, Robert,
38

Friends, rules among,
62
,
63

See also
Affiliation subself

Gambler’s fallacy,
6
,
7

Gambling,
124
,
125–126
,
129
,
139
,
182

See also
Lotteries

Game theory

described,
53–56
,
58
and home economics versus corporate economics,
59
and rules for different subselves,
60–67
,
73
trust and,
69

Gangestad, Steve,
156

Garfield, James,
66

Garrow, David,
24

Gates, Bill,
38
,
127

Gazzaniga, Michael,
25

Gender factors.
See
Men
;
Women

Genetically modified food, responses to,
75–76
,
85–86

Gerety, Frances,
196

Giancana, Sam,
17

Gigerenzer, Gerd,
103–104

Gil-White, Francisco,
38

Goldstein, Noah,
28

Google,
127

Gordon Gecko (character),
3
,
4

Gore, Al,
147
,
150

Grady, Sandy,
4

Green products, status associated with,
148
,
149
,
150
,
151

Griskevicius, Vlad,
215

Guttentag, Marcia,
179–180

Harrelson, Woody,
147

Harry Potter series,
215

Harton, Robyn A.,
199

Harvard students,
95–96
,
108–109

Haselton, Martie,
80–81

Hawking, Stephen,
38

Hellmuth, Phil,
125
,
126

Hendrix, Jimi,
138

Henrich, Joe,
38

Henry VIII,
168–169

Hershberger, Scott,
58

Hierarchy of needs,
42
,
43
,
44

Hill, Kim,
36

Hill, Sarah,
176

Hindsight bias,
6
,
7

Home economics

bringing, into market economics,
69–71
versus corporate economics,
59–60
described,
56–58
family businesses and,
51–52
,
71–73
,
211
,
213
lesson about,
211
See also
Kin-care subself

Homicides,
33
,
57
,
123–124
,
134
,
173
,
179
,
180

Hurtado, Magdalena,
36

Hybrid cars, reason for buying, uncovering,
147–149
,
150–151

Hypocrisy,
48
,
49

Immune systems,
83–84

Impulsivity.
See
Fast strategy

Inclusive fitness,
56–58

Inconsistency,
21
,
24
,
25–26
,
29–30
,
48
,
49
,
112–113

Infidelity,
179

Influence
(Cialdini),
196

iPhones,
37

Irrational man.
See
Behavioral economist perspective

Irving, John,
6

Jealousy,
178–179

Jobs, Steve,
61
,
62
,
63–64
,
65
,
91
,
93
,
127

Johnson, Dominic,
91
,
92

Johnson, Lyndon,
23–24

Jones, Brian,
138

Joplin, Janis,
138

Jordan, Brent,
14

Kahneman, Daniel,
5
,
97
,
111
,
112
,
113

Keefe, Rich,
168
,
169

Kelleher, Herb,
71

Kennedy, David,
2

Kennedy, Jackie (Onassis),
155

Kennedy, John F.,
2
,
17
,
66

Kennedy, John F., Jr.,
2
,
7

Kennedy, Joseph “Joe” Patrick, Jr.,
2
,
4
,
7

Kennedy, Joseph “Joe” Patrick, Sr.,
1–2
,
3
,
4
,
7
,
16–17
,
19–20
,
207

Kennedy, Michael,
2
,
4
,
17

Kennedy, Robert,
2

Kennedy, Teddy,
2
,
4
,
7
,
17

Kenrick, Doug,
215

Khan, Genghis,
66–67

Killeen, Peter,
59

Kin-care subself

activating, and shifting rules of the game,
71
,
72
and compatibility between subselves,
49
described,
41–42
,
212
fulfilling the needs of, spending on,
190
hierarchy of needs and,
43
,
44
mate-acquisition subself versus,
42
meeting needs of, without overspending, example of,
205
parasites of,
199
parenting effort and,
125
and rules of the game,
56–58
,
62
,
70
,
72
and the trust game,
71
voluntarily waking up your,
213
See also specific aspects related to the
kin-care subself

King, Larry,
118
,
135–136
,
138

King, Martin Luther, Jr.,
21
,
23–24
,
48
,
49
,
72
,
207–208

Kinship game,
56–58
,
62
,
70
,
72

Kopechne, Mary Jo,
2
,
17

Kurzban, Rob,
25
,
26

Kwiat,
198

Labor relations,
69
,
71

Lakshminarayanan, Venkat,
9

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