Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-qsmjn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-20T03:22:43.776Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Selfish goals serve more fundamental social and biological goals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 April 2014

D. Vaughn Becker  and
Douglas T. Kenrick
D. Vaughn Becker
Affiliation:
Cognitive Science and Engineering Unit, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85201. vaughn.becker@asu.eduhttp://www.public.asu.edu/~loids/
Douglas T. Kenrick
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85201. douglas.kenrick@asu.eduhttp://douglaskenrick.faculty.asu.edu/
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Proximate selfish goals reflect the machinations of more fundamental goals such as self-protection and reproduction. Evolutionary life history theory allows us to make predictions about which goals are prioritized over others, which stimuli release which goals, and how the stages of cognitive processing are selectively influenced to better achieve the aims of those goals.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 37 , Issue 2 , April 2014 , pp. 137 - 138
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ackerman, J. M., Becker, D. V., Mortensen, C. R., Sasaki, T., Neuberg, S. L. & Kenrick, D. T. (2009) A pox on the mind: Disjunction of attention and memory in the processing of physical disfigurement. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 45:478–85.Google Scholar
Becker, D. V., Anderson, U. S., Neuberg, S. L., Maner, J. K., Shapiro, J. R., Ackerman, J. M., Schaller, M. & Kenrick, D. T. (2010) More memory bang for the attentional buck: Self-protection goals enhance encoding efficiency for potentially threatening males. Social Psychological and Personality Science 1:182–89.Google Scholar
Becker, D. V., Mortensen, C. R., Ackerman, J. M., Shapiro, J. R., Anderson, U. S., Sasaki, T., Maner, J. K., Neuberg, S. L. & Kenrick, D. T. (2011) Signal detection on the battlefield: Priming self-protection vs. revenge-mindedness differentially modulates the detection of enemies and allies. PLoSOne, 6, e23929. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0023929.Google Scholar
Hume, D. (1739) A treatise of human nature. Available at: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/4705/4705-h/4705-h.htm.Google Scholar
Kenrick, D. T., Griskevicius, V., Neuberg, S. L. & Schaller, M. (2010) Renovating the pyramid of needs: Contemporary extensions built upon ancient foundations. Perspectives on Psychological Science 5:292–314. Available at: http://www.csom.umn.edu/assets/144040.pdf.Google Scholar
Martindale, C. (1980) Subselves. In: Review of personality and social psychology, ed. Wheeler, L., pp. 193–218. Sage.Google Scholar
Minsky, M. (1986) The society of mind. Simon and Schuster.Google Scholar