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Archival data from the MIDUS survey (Brim et al., 2000), a nationally representative sample, on 309 MZ and 333 DZ twin pairs aged 25-74 years were used to test the psychometrics and behavioral genetics of life history strategy. We organized 253 of the originally administered 2,000 questions into 30 scales measuring life history traits (e.g., quality of family relationships and altruism towards kin), medical symptoms (e.g., thyroid problems), personality traits (e.g., neuroticism, extraversion, conscientiousness), and social background (e.g., financial security). A single higher-order factor, indicating a general life history strategy, composed of three lower-order factors, was replicated. Factor analyses were then performed on the genetic variance-covariance matrices. We found that (a) a single higher-order factor explained the preponderance of the genetic correlations among the scales and (b) this higher-order factor was itself 68 percent heritable and accounted for 82 percent of the genetic variance among the three component lower-order factors.

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We present a psychometric test of life history theory as applied to human individual differences using MIDUS survey data (Brim et al. 2000). Twenty scales measuring cognitive and behavioral dimensions theoretically related to life history strategy were constructed using items from the MIDUS survey. These scales were used to construct a single common factor, the K-factor, which accounted for 70% of the reliable variance. The scales used included measures of personal, familial, and social function. A second common factor, Covitality, was constructed from scales for physical and mental health. Finally, a single general factor, Personality, was constructed from scales for the "Big Five" factors of personality. The K-factor, covitality factor, and general personality factor correlated significantly with each other, supporting the prediction that high K predicts high somatic effort and also manifests in behavioral display. Thus, a single higher-order common factor, the Super-K factor, was constructed that consisted of the K-factor, covitality factor, and personality factor.

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Abstract. We assessed whether violent or macabre interests (“sensational interests”) were related to mating effort and a higher-order personality construct reflecting the combined features of higher Extraversion, lower Psychoticism, and lower Neuroticism in 1321 participants from English-speaking (Tucson, Arizona, and Glasgow, Scotland) and Spanish-speaking (Hermosillo, Mexico, and Talca, Chile) communities. Participants from Spanish-speaking communities generally had more sensational interests. Mating effort was positively related to sensational interests, though the relationship was slightly weaker in Spanish-speaking communities. Personality effects were modest and entirely moderated by language; personality was negatively related to sensational interests in English-speaking communities, but positively associated to sensational interests in Spanish-speaking communities. These findings suggest that the relationship between mating effort and sensational interests is universal and reflects general intrasexual competition, whereas the relationship between personality and sensational interests is more culture-specific.

The recent incorporation of sexual selection theories into the rubric of evolutionary psychology has produced an important framework from which to examine human mating behavior. Here we review the extant empirical and theoretical work regarding heterosexual human mating preferences and reproductive strategies. Initially, we review contemporary evolutionary psychology's adaptationism, including the incorporation of modern theories of sexual selection, adaptive genetic variation, and mate choice. Next, we examine women's and men's mating preferences, focusing on the adaptive significance of material, genetic and fertility benefits, and their relationship to environmental

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