The Ape That Kicked the Hornet's Nest: Response to Commentaries on “The Ape That Thought It Was a Peacock”

Abstract

We respond to the commentaries on our target article, “The Ape That Thought It Was a Peacock.” We start with specific issues raised by the article. These relate to the magnitude of human sex differences; the evolution and relative importance of pair bonding, paternal care, and polygyny in our species; and the distinction between the males-compete/females-choose (MCFC) model of human sexual psychology and the mutual mate choice (MMC) model. We then evaluate two competing theories of human sex differences and similarities: Social Role Theory and Attachment Fertility Theory. We conclude with some thoughts about how to present and teach evolutionary psychological research and theories without conveying an exaggerated impression of the scale of human sex differences.