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Phone: 616-331-2195 Fax: 616-331-2480 Psychology Dept. 2224 Au Sable Hall One Campus Dr. Allendale, MI 49401 |
Specialization Evolutionary Psychology, Animal Behavior, Neurobiology
Current Research I study social behavior, drawing on the theory and methods from several fields, including evolutionary psychology, animal behavior, social psychology, behavioral economics, and neurobiology. My current research focus is gender differences in competition, and I investigate this topic using data from the real world and the lab. Competition in the real world I have recently developed a new approach for addressing gender differences, using athletic performances to indicate competitiveness. I have demonstrated a robust gender difference in U.S. running populations, with proportionally more males running fast relative to gender-specific world records. In addition, I have shown that this difference has not diminished in the past two decades, despite dramatic increases in opportunities and incentives for female athletes. These findings imply that the gender difference in athletic competitiveness cannot be solely attributed to differences in external incentives (e.g. scholarships). Nevertheless, my studies of U.S. swimmers indicate that there is no longer a gender difference in relative performance in this sport. Together, these results suggest that, although gender differences may represent evolved predispositions, they also reflect sociocultural and developmental factors. I am now extending this research by testing whether similar gender differences occur in other sports or activities and whether the patterns already discovered for U.S. swimmers and runners hold in other countries. I am seeking students for these projects. Competition in the lab I am currently developing experiments to better characterize behavior in competitive situations. One goal is identifying factors or situations that differentially affect male and female competitiveness. A second goal is to clarify the relationship between competitiveness and risk-taking. Representative Publications (These papers can be downloaded for personal use. If you would like permission to use a reprint for a book or course pack, please contact the publisher.) Hayden BY, Parikh PC, Deaner RO, Platt ML (2007) Economic principles motivating social attention in humans. Proceedings of the Royal Society Deaner RO, Isler K, Burkhart J, van Schaik CP (2007) Overall brain size, and not encephalization quotient, best predicts cognitive ability across non-human primates. Brain, Behavior and Evolution, 70: 115-124. pdf Deaner RO, Shepherd SV, Platt ML (2007) Familiarity accentuates gaze-following in women but not men. Biology Letters. pdf Deaner RO, van Schaik CP, Johnson VE (2006) Do some taxa have better domain-general cognition than others? A meta-analysis of nonhuman primate studies. Evolutionary Psychology, 4: 149-196. pdf Deaner RO (2006) More males run relatively fast in U.S. road races: Deaner RO (2006) More males run fast: a stable sex difference in competitiveness in U.S. distance runners. Evolution and Human Behavior, 27: 63-84. pdf Deaner RO, Khera AV, Platt MP (2005) Monkeys pay per view: adaptive valuation of social images by rhesus macaques. Current Biology, 15: 543-548. pdf Nunn CL, Deaner RO (2004) Collective action and free-riding in ringtailed lemurs (Lemur catta). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 57: 50-61. pdf van Schaik CP, Deaner RO (2003) Life history and cognitive evolution in primates. In (eds. de Waal FBM., Tyack PL, pp. 5-25) Animal Social Complexity. Harvard University Press. Deaner RO, Platt MP (2003) Reflexive social attention in monkeys and humans. Current Biology, 13: 1609-1613. pdf Johnson VE, Deaner RO, van Schaik CP (2002) Bayesian Analysis of multi-study rank data with application to primate intelligence ratings. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 97: 8-17. pdf file Deaner RO, Barton RA, van Schaik CP (2002) Primate brains and life history: renewing the connection. In (eds. Kappeler PM and Pereira ME, pp 233-265) Primate Life Histories and Socioecology. University of Chicago Press. Guzeldere G, Nahmias E, Deaner RO (2002) Darwin's continuum and the building blocks of deception. In (eds. Beckoff M, Allen A, Burghardt GM, pp 353-362) The Cognitive Animal. MIT Press. Deaner RO, van Schaik CP (2001) Flaws in evolutionary theory and interpretation. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 24: 282. Deaner RO, Nunn CL, van Schaik CP (2000) Comparative tests of primate cognition: different scaling methods produce different results. Brain, Behavior and Evolution, 54: 44-52. Deaner RO, Nunn CL (1999) How quickly do brains catch up with bodies? A comparative method for detecting evolutionary lag. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B, 266: 687-694. pdf van Schaik CP, Deaner RO, Merrill, MY (1999) The conditions for tool use in primates: implications for the evolution of material culture. Journal of Human Evolution, 36: 719-741. pdf Badraun JC, Mootnick, AR, Deaner RO, Agoramoorthy G, McNeese KM (1998) Hand modulation of vocalization in Siamangs. International Zoo Yearbook, 36: 84-89. Deaner RO (2006) More males run relatively fast in U.S. road races: further evidence of a sex difference in competitiveness. Evolutionary Psychology. pdfShepherd SV, Deaner RO, Platt ML (2006) Social status gates social attention in monkeys. Current Biology, 16: R119-120. pdf |
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| Last Modified Date: June 14, 2007 | |||
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