Sex, Murder and the Meaning of Life Book Summary - Sex, Murder and the Meaning of Life Book explained in key points

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Sex, Murder and the Meaning of Life summary

Name: Sex, Murder and the Meaning of Life
Rating: 3.9 (87 reviews)
Author: Douglas T. Kenrick

Douglas T. Kenrick

A Psychologist Investigates How Evolution, Cognition, and Complexity Are Revolutionizing Our View of Human Nature

3.9 (87 ratings)

13 mins

Brief summary

"Sex, Murder and the Meaning of Life" by Douglas T. Kenrick explores how evolutionary psychology has impacted human behavior throughout history. It provides insights into our motivations, impulses and how we make important decisions in life.

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Sex Social Psychology Culture

Table of Contents

Sex, Murder and the Meaning of Life
Summary of 5 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 5

What’s in it for me? Discover how our reproductive drive makes us feel homicidal and prejudiced.

All of us have probably displayed some seriously strange behavior when attracted to another person. Why is that? Well, although many of us know about evolution and humans’ desire to find suitable mates, this powerful drive actually affects our lives much more than we could imagine.

A few decades ago, most social psychologists focused on how humans’ thoughts and behavior were influenced by changes in their current situation. These same social psychologists rejected the idea that humans share innate traits as causes of certain behavior – but this view has changed over time. There are indeed consistent traits to be found that link the behavior of modern man to evolutionary instincts such as survival and reproduction.

In these blinks, you will delve deep into the human reproductive psyche and explore some not-too-flattering aspects of what this powerful force makes us humans think and do.

In these blinks, you’ll discover

why 76 percent of students polled at Arizona State had homicidal fantasies;
how reproduction and survival determine what we remember; and
why an average-looking man with a Rolex is more attractive than a handsome man without one.

Preference for beauty and social dominance is linked to our reproductive instincts.

Have you ever found yourself gazing at an attractive person across the bar – even though you had a partner waiting for you at home? While this kind of ogling is more or less inevitable, it still has clear consequences.

For starters, your level of commitment to your partner is likely to drop when exposed to attractive or socially dominant people. This was demonstrated in an experiment conducted by the author and his colleagues, in which men and women were exposed to attractive members of the opposite sex. Afterwards, participants were asked to rate their level of commitment to their partners.

The experiment revealed that men undervalued their commitment to their partner after seeing beautiful women. Women, however, tended to undervalue their commitment to their partners after being shown a series of socially dominant men.

If you want to nurture your loving relationship, then it’s certainly not in your best interests to seek out beautiful or socially dominant people.

Interestingly, the same wisdom applies if you are actively seeking a partner.

To illustrate this point, the author shares an anecdote from his time at university. During his studies, he and one of his friends were at odds over the number of beautiful women on campus. The author believed that there were beautiful women everywhere; his friend disagreed since, despite being an average-looking guy, he couldn’t seem to get any dates.

The author finally understood why they didn’t see eye-to-eye after seeing his friend’s bedroom: the walls were lined with Playboy centerfolds. Being surrounding by impossibly beautiful women made his friend unable to recognize other people’s beauty.

So why do we show such deference to beautiful and socially dominant people? In essence, we perceive them as the best mating partners.

Our Stone Age ancestors always sought out the most beautiful women or most dominant men when it was time to find partners with whom they could mate and reproduce. Though we’ve come a long way in our modern society, this primal drive hasn’t left us.

Men’s tendency to commit more homicides is tied to their reproductive instincts.

Have you ever been so full of darkness and anger that you actually thought or fantasized about killing someone? If you have, don’t panic – you’re not alone.

Most of us have these murderous fantasies at some point or another. Indeed, a survey of 760 students at Arizona State University revealed that 76 percent of men and 62 percent of women had had homicidal fantasies.

Prejudice springs from our evolutionary survival instincts.

Are you 100 percent unprejudiced? In other words, can you honestly say that thoughts like, “people in fancy sports cars are overcompensating for something” or “short people always feel like they have to assert themselves” have never occurred to you?

We all have prejudices that are tied to our evolutionary survival instincts. For example, we are often prejudiced against people from outside our social group.

The memories that stick in our long-term memory are usually related to survival and reproduction.

Here’s a tough question: was the last person you interacted with wearing a blue shirt? Don’t worry if you don’t remember; it’s really not that important.

Day in and day out, we’re presented with enormous amounts of social information. As you go to work one morning, you might meet hundreds of people on your way, all of whom look, smell, sound and act differently.

Conspicuous consumption is tied to our reproductive desire.

Every day, people choose to purchase extravagant, expensive stuff instead of the ordinary and affordable things that would do the job just as well. This trend has led many people to lament American consumer culture, seeing it as the source of modern society’s social woes.

But they’re wrong! Conspicuous consumption has always existed and would continue to exist even without capitalistic consumerism. Indeed, conspicuous consumption has been documented all over the world throughout various periods – it’s certainly not a concept native to the United States.

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What is Sex, Murder and the Meaning of Life about?

Sex, Murder and the Meaning of Life (2011) looks at the many ways in which our evolutionary survival and reproductive instincts influence our behavior in the modern world. From conspicuous consumption to cold-blooded murder, it often seems that humans will do just about anything to survive and reproduce, and these blinks takes a closer look at what drives these profound desires.

Sex, Murder and the Meaning of Life Review

Sex, Murder and the Meaning of Life explores the interconnectedness of our most basic human instincts and how they shape our behavior (2011). Here's why this book is worth diving into:

Full of fascinating case studies and scientific research, it offers a compelling exploration of the dark side of human nature.
By delving into the psychological factors behind sex, violence, and our search for meaning, it provides a deep understanding of human behavior.
The book challenges conventional wisdom and promotes critical thinking, offering thought-provoking insights into the complex nature of our desires and motivations.

Who should read Sex, Murder and the Meaning of Life?

People interested in a deeper understanding of human behavior
Students of social psychology
Men frightened by their own dark thoughts

About the Author

Douglas T. Kenrick is a professor of psychology at Arizona State University. His contributions to psychology and social research have been published in numerous academic journals, as well as in The New York Times and Psychology Today.

Categories with Sex, Murder and the Meaning of Life

Psychology Sex & Relationships

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