#126 Sarah Hill: Life History Theory, Puberty, Immune Function, and Mating Strategies
Dr. Sarah Hill is Associate Professor of Psychology at Texas Christian University. She studies a range of topics, applying an evolutionary lens, including the interplay between immune function and mating strategies; the impact of inflammation; poverty, food regulation, and weight gain; hormonal contraceptives and mate choice; and other topics under the rubric of life history theory.
In this episode, we talk about life history theory; how life history varies between species, and also how environmental cues might trigger fast or slow life history strategies. We talk about how it all starts in the uterus; the environmental cues people pay more attention to; how personality and other psychological traits might produce individual variation in dealing with the same cues. The we get into specific topics, like immune function; age of puberty onset; inflammation; eating habits and weight gain; how contraceptives affect women’s mating strategies; and also how technology like online porn, dating websites, and sex robots might tweak men’s mating strategies toward preferring short-term relationships.
Time Links:
What is life history theory?
Stages of life history in humans
It all starts in the uterus…
The environmental cues people pay attention to
Individual variation
Immune function and life history
Puberty triggers and women’s reproductive strategies
Inflammation, eating habits, and metabolic diseases
Contraceptives and women’s mating strategies
Current technology and men’s short-term mating
Can life history help us tackle social issues?
Porn, sex robots, and feminist issues
Follow Dr. Hill’s work!
Follow Dr. Hill’s work:
Faculty page: https://tinyurl.com/yc3drxaq
Personal website: https://www.sarahehill.com/
Articles on Researchgate: https://tinyurl.com/ydhuuggy