Lectures

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  1. Evolutionary Psychology

  

  In our introductory lecture, Dr. Sarah Hill sets the stage for our course through an exploration of evolutionary psychology and explains how natural and sexual selection shape human behavior, with a focus on sex differences in mating and reproduction. Drawing on Trivers’ parental investment theory, she shows how women’s greater obligatory investment in reproduction leads to greater sexual selectivity, while men tend toward more opportunistic strategies. She demonstrates how the brain is wired to reward behaviors that helped our ancestors survive and reproduce and explains why women across cultures prioritize partners offering resources, protection, and commitment—establishing the basis for later discussions of hormones and hormonal contraception.

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  2. Hormones and Mating

  

  In lecture two, we study the evolutionary basis of sex differences in mate preferences, focusing on how reproductive biology shapes psychological traits. We examine how women's preference for resource-rich partners persists across cultures, and how men prioritize physical attractiveness and youth as indicators of fertility and reproductive value. The lecture also details how sex hormones regulate reproductive behaviors, with testosterone coordinating male mating effort, while women's estrogen and progesterone cycle to optimize both attraction/mating and pregnancy preparation throughout the menstrual cycle.

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  3. The Menstrual Cycle

  

  In lecture three, we examine hormonal changes across the menstrual cycle, focusing on estrogen’s role in driving attraction and mating behaviors during the follicular phase, and progesterone’s role in preparing the body for potential pregnancy during the luteal phase. We discuss how these shifts influence sexual desire, mood, metabolism, immune function, and food intake, showing that women cycle between two physiological states optimized for reproduction. The lecture concludes by highlighting that understanding these changes is crucial for women's well-being, and that denying the importance of biological sex differences has ultimately been harmful to women's health.

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