Explanipedia

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning youths’ disclosure of their sexual orientation and gender identity across contexts: Processes, decision making, and related experiences. Open

Jessica N. Fish, Megan S. Paceley, Spencer C. Evans, Briana L. McGeough, Sara DeFiori , et al. · 2025

Agent-based models of the cultural evolution of occupational gender roles Open

Catharine Cross, Lynda G. Boothroyd, Christopher Jefferson · 2023

The causes of sex differences in human behaviour are contested, with ‘evolutionary’ and ‘social’ explanations often being pitted against each other in the literature. Recent work showing positive correlations between indices of gender equa…

Model output visualisation from Agent-based models of the cultural evolution of occupational gender roles Open

Catharine Cross, Lynda G. Boothroyd, Christopher Jefferson · 2023

Output of visualisation and analysis code

Model output visualisation code from Agent-based models of the cultural evolution of occupational gender roles Open

Catharine Cross, Lynda G. Boothroyd, Christopher Jefferson · 2023

The causes of sex differences in human behaviour are contested, with ‘evolutionary’ and ‘social’ explanations often being pitted against each other in the literature. Recent work showing positive correlations between indices of gender equa…

Model segregation output from Agent-based models of the cultural evolution of occupational gender roles Open

Catharine Cross, Lynda G. Boothroyd, Christopher Jefferson · 2023

The causes of sex differences in human behaviour are contested, with ‘evolutionary’ and ‘social’ explanations often being pitted against each other in the literature. Recent work showing positive correlations between indices of gender equa…

Variable expression of linguistic laws in ape gesture: a case study from chimpanzee sexual solicitation Open

Alexandra Safryghin, Catharine Cross, Brittany Fallon, Raphaela Heesen, Ramon Ferrer‐i‐Cancho , et al. · 2022

Two language laws have been identified as consistent patterns shaping animal behaviour, both acting on the organizational level of communicative systems. Zipf's law of brevity describes a negative relationship between behavioural length an…

(Super-)cultural clustering explains gender differences too. Open

Lynda G. Boothroyd, Catharine Cross · 2022

The target paper shows how cultural adaptations to ecological problems can underpin ‘paradoxical’ patterns of phenotypic variation. We argue: 1) Gendered social learning is a cultural adaptation to an ecological problem. 2) In evolutionari…

(Super-)cultural clustering explains gender differences too Open

Lynda G. Boothroyd, Catharine Cross · 2022

The target paper shows how cultural adaptations to ecological problems can underpin “paradoxical” patterns of phenotypic variation. We argue: (1) Gendered social learning is a cultural adaptation to an ecological problem. (2) In evolutiona…

Author response: A meta-analysis of the association between male dimorphism and fitness outcomes in humans Open

Linda H. Lidborg, Catharine Cross, Lynda G. Boothroyd · 2021

Article Figures and data Abstract Editor's evaluation eLife digest Introduction Materials and methods Results Discussion Data availability References Decision letter Author response Article and author information Metrics Abstract Humans ar…

Variable expression of linguistic laws in ape gesture: a case study from chimpanzee sexual solicitation Open

Alexandra Safryghin, Catharine Cross, Brittany Fallon, Raphaela Heesen, Ramon Ferrer‐i‐Cancho , et al. · 2021

Two language laws have been identified as consistent patterns shaping animal behaviour, both acting on the organisational level of communicative systems. Zipf’s law of brevity describes a negative relationship between behavioural length an…

Components of the Fear System and Real-World Evidence for Sex Differences in Fear Open

Anne Campbell, Lee Copping, Catharine Cross · 2021

We begin by briefly outlining how we detect, interpret and respond to fearful stimuli. The fear system involves numerous complex interactions between subsystems serving different functions (Adolphs, 2013; LeDoux, 2012) and it is beyond the…

Sex Differences in Strength of Fear Response Open

Anne Campbell, Lee Copping, Catharine Cross · 2021

While the strength of the fear system can be inferred in part from the conscious experience of fear, it is also instructive to measure the activity of the relevant brain areas directly. Enhanced excitatory activation of some or all of thes…

Discussion and Conclusions Open

Anne Campbell, Lee Copping, Catharine Cross · 2021

As we approach the final discussion of the fear system, it is best to begin with a functional account of how these mechanisms work together as an integrated system. Inspection of sex differences across the components of the fear system dis…

Sex Differences in the Subjective Experience of Fear Open

Anne Campbell, Lee Copping, Catharine Cross · 2021

While the evolutionary significance and source of consciousness remains controversial, fear is a state that is experienced consciously, and women’s experience of fear might be more accessible to awareness than men’s. This might be signific…

Sex Differences in Fear Response Open

Anne Campbell, Lee Copping, Catharine Cross · 2021

Just a few years after the 150 anniversary of the publication of "Origins of the Species" and official Year of Darwin, the social and biological sciences are still working to integrate their research into a more complete understanding of h…

Sex Differences in Time Course of Fear Response Open

Anne Campbell, Lee Copping, Catharine Cross · 2021

Women may differ from men in the time course of their fear experience. Acquired and conditioned fears may persist for longer and each fear experience may extend for a longer duration. This creates a higher baseline of fear onto which situa…

Fear, Sex Differences and the ‘Staying Alive’ Hypothesis Open

Anne Campbell, Lee Copping, Catharine Cross · 2021

Fear is “an evolutionarily conserved affective motivational system that can be activated under conditions of novelty, sudden or intense stimulation, reactions to danger prepared by evolution, social interactions with unfamiliar conspecific…

Sex Differences in Sensitivity to, and Salience of, Fear-Provoking Stimuli Open

Anne Campbell, Lee Copping, Catharine Cross · 2021

Hitherto this point, discussion has focussed on components of the fear system that respond to the presence of threat as opposed to how we detect and interpret fear inducing stimuli. In this chapter, we examine the importance of two distinc…

Is male dimorphism under sexual selection in humans? A meta-analysis Open

Linda H. Lidborg, Catharine Cross, Lynda G. Boothroyd · 2020

Humans are sexually dimorphic: men and women differ in body build and composition, craniofacial structure, and voice pitch, likely mediated in part by developmental testosterone. Sexual selection hypotheses posit that, ancestrally, more ‘m…

Social transmission favours the ‘morally good’ over the ‘merely arousing’ Open