Steven W. Gangestad

Distinguished Professor
Email: sgangest@unm.edu
Office: Logan 104
Phone: 277-2022
More information

Degree Received
Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 1984

Research Interests
Evolutionary psychology; social/personality psychology. General interests concern the ways in which humans' current psychological design is a product of evolutionary selection. Current research generally concerns this issue in regard to phenomena that occur within close relationships such as sexual relationships, friendships, and familial relationships. Other research concerns the developmental expressions of adaptations. Additional interests include individual differences, behavior genetics, psychometric theory, and philosophy of science.

• Gangestad, S.W. (2008). Biological adaptation and human behavior. In C. Crawford & D. Krebs (Eds.), Foundations of evolutionary psychology. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
• Scheyd, G.J., Garver-Apgar, C.E., & Gangestad, S.W. (2008). Physical attractiveness: Signals of phenotypic quality and beyond. In C. Crawford & D. Krebs (Eds.), Foundations of evolutionary psychology. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
• Gangestad, S.W., & Thornhill, R. (2008). Human oestrus. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 275, 991-1000.
• Garver-Apgar, C.E.., Gangestad, S.W., & Thornhill, R. (2008). Hormonal correlates of women’s mid-cycle preference for the scent of symmetry. Evolution and Human Behavior, 49, 509.518.
• Gangestad, S. W., Garver-Apgar, C. E., Simpson, J. A., & Cousins, A. J. (2007). Changes in women’s mate preferences across the ovulatory cycle. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92, 151-163.
• Gangestad, S. W. (2007). Reproductive strategies and tactics. In R. I. M. Dunbar & L. Barrett (Eds.), Oxford handbook of evolutionary psychology (pp. 321-332). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
• Gangestad, S. W., & Thornhill, R. (2007). The evolution of social inference processes: The importance of signaling theory. In J. P. Forgas, M. G. Haselton, & W. von Hippel (Eds.), Evolutionary psychology and social cognition. New York: Psychology Press.
• Gangestad, S. W., & Simpson, J. A. (2007). An introduction to the evolution of mind: Why we developed this book. In S. W. Gangestad & J. A. Simpson (Eds.), The evolution of mind: Fundamental questions and controversies (pp. 1-21). New York: Guilford.
• Gangestad, S. W., & Simpson, J. A. (2007). Whither science of the evolution of mind? In S. W. Gangestad & J. A. Simpson (Eds.), The evolution of mind: Fundamental questions and controversies (pp. 397-437). New York: Guilford.
• Kaplan, H. S., & Gangestad, S. W. (2007). Optimality approaches and evolutionary psychology: A call for synthesis. In S. W. Gangestad & J. A. Simpson (Eds.), The evolution of mind: Fundamental questions and controversies (pp. 121.129). New York: Guilford.
• Kaplan, H. S., Gangestad, S. W., Gurven, M., Lancaster, J., Mueller, T., & Robson, A. (2007). The evolution of diet, brain, and life history among primates and humans. In W. Roebroeks (Ed.), Brains, guts, food and the social life of early hominins (pp. 47-90). Leiden, Netherlands: Leiden University Press.
• Gangestad, S. W., & Simpson, J. A. (Eds.) (2007). The evolution of mind: Fundamental questions and controversies. New York: Guilford.
• Garver-Apgar, C.E., Gangestad, S.W., & Simpson, J.A. (2007). Women’s perceptions of men’s sexual coerciveness change across the menstrual cycle. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 39, 536-540.
• Gangestad, S.W. (2007). Life history theory and evolutionary genetics. European Journal of Personality, 21, 601-603. [Invited commentary on L. Penke, J.A.P. Denissen, & G. F. Miller, The evolutionary genetics of personality.]
• Yeo, R.A., Gangestad, S.W., & Thoma, R.J. (2007). Developmental instability and individual variation in brain development: Implicatios for the etiology of neurodevelopmental disorders. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16, 245-249.
• Tybur, J.M., Miller, G.F., & Gangestad, S.W. (2007). Testing the controversy: An empirical examination of adaptationists’ view toward politics and science. Human Nature, 18, 313-328.
• Gangestad, S.W. (2007). Affordances. In R.F. Baumeister & K.D. Vohs (Eds.), Encyclopedia of social psychology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Cousins, A.J., & Gangestad, S.W. (2007).
• Perceived threats of female infidelity, male proprietarieness, and violence in college dating couples. Violence and Victims, 22, 651-668.
• Rucas, S. L., Kaplan, H. S., Winking, J., Gurven, M., Gangestad, S., & Crespo, M. (2006). Female intrasexual competition and reputational effects on attractiveness among the Tsimane of Bolivia. Evolution and Human Behavior, 27, 40-52.
• Edgar, J. C., Yeo, R., Gangestad, S. W., Blake, M. B., David, J. T., Lewine, J. D., & Canive, J. M. (2006). Reduced auditory M100 asymmetry in schizophrenia and dyslexia: Applying a developmental instability approach to assess atypical brain asymmetry. Neuropsychologia, 44, 289-299.
• Thornhill, R., & Gangestad, S. W. (2006). Facial sexual dimorphism, developmental stability and parasitic infections in men and women. Evolution and Human Behavior, 27, 131-144.
• Haselton, M. G., & Gangestad, S. W. (2006). Conditional expression of women's desires and men's mate guarding across the ovulatory cycle. Hormones and Behavior, 49, 509-518.
• Gangestad, S. W. (2006). Review of D. J. Buller, Adapting minds: Evolutionary psychology and the persistent quest for human nature. Journal of Anthropological Research, 62, 48-49.
• Gangestad, S. W. (2006). Evidence for adaptations for female extra-pair mating in humans: Thoughts on current status and future directions. In S. M. Platek & T. K. Shackelford (Eds.), Female infidelity and paternal uncertainty: Evolutionary perspectives on male anti-cuckoldry tactics, pp. 37-57. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
• Gangestad, S. W., Haselton, M. G., & Buss, D. M. (2006). Evolutionary foundations of cultural variation: Evoked culture and mate preferences. Psychological Inquiry, 17, 75-95.
• Gangestad, S. W., Haselton, M. G., & Buss, D. M. (2006). Toward an integrative understanding of evoked and transmitted culture: The importance of specialized psychological design. Psychological Inquiry, 17, 138-151.
• Thoma, R. J., Yeo, R. A., Gangestad, S., Halgren, E., David, J., Paulson, K. M., & Lewine, J. D. (2006). Developmental instability and the neural dynamics of the speed-intelligence relationship. ,NeuroImage, 32 1456-1464.
• McIntyre, M. H., Gangestad, S. W., Gray, P. E., Chapman, J. F., Burnham, T. C., O’Rourke, M. T., & Thornhill, R. (2006). Romantic involvement often reduces men’s testosterone levels—but not always: The moderating effect of extra-pair sexual interest. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91, 642-65.
• Garver-Apgar, C. E., Gangestad, S. W., Thornhill, R., Miller, R. D., & Olp, J. (2006). MHC alleles, sexually responsivity, and unfaithfulness in romantic couples. Psychological Science, 17, 830-835. (A) Gangestad, S. W., & Yeo, R. A. (2006). Mutations, developmental instability, and the Red Queen. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 29, 412-413.
• Gangestad, S. W., & Scheyd, G. J. (2005). The evolution of human physical attractiveness. Annual Review of Anthropology, 34, 523-548.
• Gangestad, S. W., Thornhill, R., & Garver-Apgar, C. E. (2005). Adaptations to ovulation. In D. M. Buss (Ed.), Handbook of evolutionary psychology, pp. 344-371. New York: Wiley.
• Kaplan, H. S., & Gangestad, S. W. (2005). Life history theory and evolutionary psychology. In D. M. Buss (Ed.), Handbook of evolutionary psychology, pp. 68-95. New York: Wiley.
• Gangestad, S. W., Thornhill, R., & Garver-Apgar, C. E. (2005). Women's sexual interests across the ovulatory cycle depend on primary partner developmental instability. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, 272, 2023-2027.
• Gangestad, S. W., Thornhill, R., & Garver-Apgar, C. E. (2005). Adaptations to ovulation: Implications for sexual and social behavior. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14, 312-316.
• Andrews, P. A., Gangestad, S. W., & Matthews, D. (in press). Adaptationism--how to carry out an exaptationist program. Behavioral and Brain Sciences.
• Gangestad, S. W. (in press). Sexually antagonistic coevolution: Theory, evidence, and implications for human patterns of mating and fertility. In The Biodemography of Fertility-related Behavior (working title). Washington DC: National Academy of the Sciences.
• Gangestad, S. W., & Thornhill, R. (in press). Facial masculinity and bodily fluctuating asymmetry. Evolution and Human Behavior.
• Gangestad, S. W., & Thornhill, R. (in press). Female multiple mating and genetic benefits in humans: Investigations of design. In P. M. Kappeler & C. P. van Schaik (Eds.), Sexual selection in primates: New and comparative perspectives. Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press.
• Thornhill, R., & Gangestad, S. W. (in press). Do women have evolved adaptation for extra-pair copulation? In E. Voland & K. Grammer (Eds.), Darwinian aesthetics. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
• Thornhill, R., & Gangestad, S. W. (in press). The evolutionary psychology of human physical attractiveness. In A. Moya & E. Font (Eds.), Evolution: From molecules to ecosystems. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
• Thornhill, R., & Gangestad, S. W. (in press). Evolutionary theory led to evidence for male sex pheromone that signals male symmetry. Psychological Inquiry.
• Thornhill, R., Gangestad, S. W., Miller, R., Scheyd, G., McCollough, J., & Franklin, M. (in press). MHC, symmetry and body scent attractiveness in men and women (Homo sapiens). Behavioral Ecology.
• Yeo, R. A., Thoma, R., & Gangestad, S. W. (in press). The neuropsychology of handedness. In Handbook of Neuropsychology.
• Gangestad, S. W., & Thornhill, R. (2003). Fluctuating asymmetry, developmental instability, and fitness: Toward model-based interpretation. In M. Polak (Ed.), Developmental instability: Causes and consequences. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
• Polak, M., Møller, A. P., Krueger, D. E., Gangestad, S.W., Manning, J. T., & Thornhill, R. (2003). Statistical covariance in fluctuating asymmetry among traits? A meta-analysis. In M. Polak (Ed.), Developmental instability: Causes and consequences. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
• Gangestad, S. W., Thornhill, R., & Garver, C. E. (2002). Changes in women’s sexual interests and their partners’ mate retention tactics across the menstrual cycle: Evidence for shifting conflicts of interest. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, 269, 975-982.
• Thoma, R. J., Yeo, R. A., Gangestad, S. W., Lewine. J., & Davis, J. (2002). Fluctuating asymmetry and the human brain. Laterality, 7, 45-58.
• Thornhill, R., & Gangestad, S. W. (2002). Human sex pheromones. The Aroma-Chology Review, 10, 6-8.
• Gangestad, S. W. (2001). Sexual selection, good genes, and human mating. In H. R. Holcomb III (Ed.), Conceptual challenges in evolutionary psychology: Innovative research strategies. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer.
• Gangestad, S. W. (2001). Adaptive design, selective history, and women’s sexual motivation. In D. Leger, J. French, & A. Kamil (Eds.), Nebraska symposium on motivation. Volume 48: Evolutionary psychology. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.
• Gangestad, S. W., Bennett, K. L., & Thornhill, R. (2001). A latent variable model of developmental instability in relation to men’s number of sex partners. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, 268, 1677-1684.
• Gangestad, S. W., & Cousins, A. J. (2001). Adaptive design, female mate preferences, and shifts across the menstrual cycle. Annual Review of Sex Research.
• Simpson, J. A., & Gangestad, S. W. (2001). Evolution and relationships: A call for integration. Personal Relationships, 8, 341-355. [Introduction to the Special Issue on Evolutionary Approaches to Understanding Relationships, S. W. Gangestad & J. A. Simpson (Eds.)]
• Blanchard, J. J., Gangestad, S. W., Brown, S. A., & Horan, W. P. (2000). Hedonic capacity and schizotypy revisited: A taxometric analysis of social anhedonia. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 109, 87-95.
• Gangestad, S. W. (2000). Human sexual selection, good genes, and special design. Annals of the New York Academy of the Sciences, 907, 50-61. [In special issue on evolutionary psychology]
• Gangestad, S. W., Bailey, J. M., & Martin, N. G. (2000). A taxometric analysis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 1109-1121.
• Gangestad, S. W., & Simpson, J. A. (2000). On the evolutionary psychology of human mating: Trade-offs and strategic pluralism. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 23, 573-587. [Target article]
• Gangestad, S. W., & Simpson, J. A. (2000). Trade-offs, the allocation of reproductive effort, and the evolutionary psychology of human mating. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 23, 624-636. [Response to 43 commentaries on the target article]
• Gangestad, S. W., & Snyder, M. (2000). Self-monitoring: Appraisal and reappraisal. Psychological Bulletin, 126, 530-555.
• Jung, R. E., Yeo, R. A., & Gangestad, S. W. (2000). Developmental instability predicts individual variation in verbal memory skill following caffeine ingestion. Neuropsychiatry, Neuropsychology, and Behavioral Neurology, 13, 195-198.
• Gangestad, S. W., & Thornhill, R. (1999). Individual differences in developmental precision and fluctuating asymmetry: A model and its implications. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 12, 402-416.
• Møller, A. P., Gangestad, S. W., & Thornhill, R. (1999). Nonlinearity and the importance of fluctuating asymmetry as a predictor of fitness. Oikos, 86, 366-368.
• Scheib, J. E., Gangestad, S. W., & Thornhill, R. (1999). Facial attractiveness, symmetry, and cues of good genes. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, 266, 1318-1321.
• Simpson, J. A., Gangestad, S. W., Christensen, P. N., & Leck, K. (1999). Fluctuating asymmetry, sociosexuality, and intrasexual competitive tactics. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 159-172.
• Thornhill, R., & Gangestad, S. W. (1999). Facial attractiveness. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 3, 452-460.
• Thornhill, R., & Gangestad, S. W. (1999). The scent of symmetry: A human pheromone that signals fitness? Evolution and Human Behavior, 20, 175-201.
• Thornhill, R., Møller, A. P., & Gangestad, S. W. (1999). The biological importance of fluctuating asymmetry and sexual selection: A reply to Palmer. American Naturalist, 154, 234-241.
• Yeo, R. A., Gangestad, S. W., Edgar, C., & Thoma, R. J. (1999). The evolutionary-genetic underpinnings of schizophrenia: The developmental instability model. Schizophrenia Research, 39, 197-206.
• Furlow, B. F., Gangestad, S. W., & Armijo-Prewitt, T. (1998). Fluctuating asymmetry and human violence. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, 265, 1-6.
• Gangestad, S. W., & Thornhill, R. (1998). The analysis of fluctuating asymmetry redux: The robustness of parametric statistics. Animal Behaviour, 55, 497-501.
• Gangestad, S. W., & Thornhill, R. (1998). Menstrual cycle variation in women’s preferences for the scent of symmetrical men. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, 265, 727-733.
• Yeo, R. A., & Gangestad, S. W. (1998). Developmental instability and phenotypic variation in neural organization. In N. Raz (Ed.), The other side of the error term: Aging and development as models in cognitive neuroscience. Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp. 1-51.

Current Graduate Lab Members

	Rachael Falcon The evolution of social interactions, specifically decision making, social comparison and envy.
	Melissa Heap Testosterone's role in mating and competition, energetics, the ovulatory cycle and behavior, sexually antagonistic genes, the relationship between endocrinology and exercise.
	Leslie Merriman Evolutionary and developmental psychology, human reproductive ecology and endocrinology, human adaptation to northern climates.