What Science Actually Says About Men and Women — Evolutionary Psychologist David Buss (Video)

In this 16 May 2026 published TRIGGERnometry video, hosts Konstantin Kisin and Francis Foster talks with Dr. David Buss, a pioneer and founding figure in the field of evolutionary psychology, best known for his extensive cross-cultural research on human mating strategies, sexual conflict, and the evolutionary origins of darker psychological traits like jealousy and homicide. As a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, his work frames human behavior, desires, and social interactions as evolved adaptations designed to solve ancestral survival and reproductive problems.

Buss revolutionized the understanding of sexual selection by showing that men and women have evolved distinct short-term and long-term mating desires. According to his landmark cross-cultural studies, women universally place higher value on resource-related characteristics (e.g., financial prospects, status), while men place higher value on youth and physical attractiveness as indicators of fertility.

Buss posits that jealousy is not a maladaptive flaw, but an evolved defense mechanism. He discovered that men experience more distress over sexual infidelity (due to paternity uncertainty), while women experience more distress over emotional infidelity (which threatens resource allocation).

Shifting focus to the darker side of human nature, Buss argues that humans have evolved specific psychological mechanisms that make killing a viable behavioral output under specific ancestral conditions, such as extreme status loss, warfare, or mate poaching.

https://youtu.be/BgMsqQ-lQ8g

00:00 – Trailer
00:55 – Evolutionary Psychology & Why Human Behaviour Exists
07:38 – Why Men & Women Experience Jealousy Differently
12:32 – Human Mating, Attraction & Sexual Strategy
17:59 – Ad: Ground News
19:09 – Why Men & Women Lie About Their “Body Count”
24:08 – Mate Value, Attraction & What People Really Want
32:11 – Why People Cheat & The Truth About Modern Relationships
41:42 – Male Desire, Loyalty & The Psychology Of Temptation
47:25 – Ad: Truewerk
48:11 – Stalking, Abuse & The Dark Side Of Human Nature
58:37 – Violence, Morality & The Instincts We Try To Control
01:02:54 – Ad: BiOptimizers
01:03:35 – Male Violence, Female Violence & Evolutionary Psychology
01:13:56 – What’s The One Thing We’re Not Talking About?