Human Evolutionary Psychology by Louise Barrett, Robin Dunbar and John Lycett, Princeton, $29.95, ISBN 0691096228 Reviewed by Kate Douglas
SITTING in Robin Dunbar鈥檚 office at the University of Liverpool earlier this year, I couldn鈥檛 resist asking him whether he had considered changing the name of his department from 鈥淓volutionary Psychology鈥� to something that might be taken more seriously in scientific circles. EP continues to grab newspaper headlines with 鈥渟exy鈥� subjects such as attraction, risk taking, creativity and rape. But is it really science? This book, the first comprehensive text in the field, should persuade even the most hardened sceptics that it is. Written with students in mind, Human Evolutionary Psychology is a highly readable and balanced account of EP鈥檚 central concepts and conflicts, from altruism and mate choice to cultural evolution and the origins of language.