University of New England

Past Talks

Sarah L. Strout, Ph.D. 
"Sex in the City: The Ambiguity of Female Mating  Strategies"

Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2007
6 p.m.
St. Francis Room, Ketchum Library, University Campus
Free and open to the public

Description: Most research on human mating strategies focuses exclusively on their evolutionary adaptiveness. Evolutionary psychologists explain our present-day mating behavior by considering how it may have contributed to the reproductive success of our prehistoric ancestors.

This presentation will explore how any theory that attempts to explain female mating strategies must consider cultural, religious, and social influences on a woman's decision making, as well as the evolutionary influences. To highlight the ambiguities of female mating strategies, we will examine the fictional lives of the characters on the popular TV series "Sex and the City" and use a multi-level theory that takes into account all influences to explain female mating strategies.

Sarah L. Strout received her Ph.D. in social psychology from Clark University in 2006. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, New Hampshire. Dr. Strout's research interests include the social, evolutionary, and cultural influences on human mating strategies. Her work has been published in "Evolutionary Psychology", "Behavior and Philosophy" and "Cultural Psychology." In addition to her articles, she is author of various chapters and reviews. She is co-editor with Rosemarie I. Sokol of the "Journal of Social Evolutionary and Cultural Psychology" and editor-in-chief of the "International Journal of Idiographic Science."

David Livingstone Smith, Ph.D.
"The Most Dangerous Animal: Human Nature and the Origins of War"

Nov 30, 2006
6 p.m.
St. Francis Room, Ketchum Library, University Campus
Free and open to the public

Description:  War is a uniquely human activity, a recurring nightmare from which humanity seems to be unable to awaken.  We have poured energy into the project of slaughtering our fellow human beings for at least the last ten thousand years, and probably much longer.  As technology advanced, we became ever more dangerous to one another. In the last century, war took the lives of over 87 million people, of which 60 percent - around 54 million - were noncombatants.  In this presentation I will explore  the evolutionary and psychological roots of war and genocide, with a view towards identifying what it is about human nature that makes it possible for us to treat our fellow human beings with such extraordinary brutality.  I will argue that our penchant for war is a product of  evolution and is deeply embedded in our human nature.  However, killing does not come easily to us: our lethal ferocity towards members of our own species is matched by equally powerful inhibitions against killing that are also part of our evolutionary heritage.  In taking the lives of others, we also do violence to ourselves.  As a result, psychiatric disorders are common among soldiers.  In order to go to war, we must find a way to overcome our natural reluctance to kill members of our own species. In a remarkable act of self-deception, we activate psychological systems originally evolved to deal with non-human dangers in a prehistoric environment, viewing 'the enemy' not as a real human being, but as a predator, prey or a vector of disease.  This presentation will be accompanied by illustrations, some of which may be disturbing.

"If you have the intestinal fortitude to confront the horrors of war, as well as the intellectual fortitude to confront its basis in human nature, then you are ready for The Most Dangerous Animal.  David Livingstone Smith knows evolutionary biology, and history,and psychology, and philosophy, and anthropology, and has put them together to produce a riveting, unflinching and disturbingly accurate account of human warfare, from the 'commanded wars' of the Old Testament to Bush's Blunder in Iraq."  - David P. Barash, professor of psychology, University of Washington and author of Madame Bovary's Ovaries: a Darwinian Look at Literature, Understanding Violence and Approaches to Peace.

David Livingstone Smith earned his M.A. from Antioch University and his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of London, Kings College, where he worked on topics in the philosophy of mind and psychology.  David's books include Freud's Philosophy of the Unconscious (Kluwer, 1999), Approaching Psychoanalysis: An Introductory Course (Karnac, 1999), Psychoanalysis in Focus (Sage, 2002) and, most recently Why We Lie: The Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the Unconscious Mind (St. Martins Press, 2004).  His next book The Most Dangerous Animal: Human Nature and the Origins of War will be published by St. Martins Press in 2007.  David has been featured in the national and international media, including National Geographic Television, FOX News Live, Forbes, BR Press, Die Welt, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, The Guardian, Scientific American, Seed Magazine, El Mundo, US News and World Report, BBC Radio and National Public Radio.  He lives in Portland, Maine.


Kilian Garvey, Ph.D.
A Neuropsychological Exploration of Creationist and Evolutionary Beliefs

October 26th, 2006
6 p.m.
St. Francis Room, Ketchum Library, University Campus
Free and open to the public

Description: More than seventy-five years after the famous Scopes trial, the battle between evolutionists and creationists continues to rage in the United States. Why is it that the theory of evolution by natural selection, arguably the strongest theory in the history of science, generates so much skepticism and suspicion?  Perhaps science can go some way towards answering this question. In this presentation, I will use a number of psychological and neuroanatomical studies to explore possible reasons for this. I will suggest that there are at least two neuropsychological attributes that lead some people to form an incomplete assessment of evolutionary theory: (1) a relatively inefficient  interaction between the two hemispheres of the brain due to differences in the corpus callosum, the band of nerve tissue that connects them,  and (2) an overactive sympathetic ('fight or flight') nervous system that results in a false sense of danger. Along the way, we will consider a range of phenomena including right- and left-handedness, right-wing authoritarianism, the tolerance of ambiguity, the need for cognition, the need for cognitive closure, the emotions of fear and disgust as we explore the cognitive styles and motivational needs of creationists.

Kilian Garvey is an assistant professor of psychology at the University of New England. Garvey took his undergraduate degree in philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University and his M.A. and Ph.D. in cognitive neuropsychology at the University of Toledo. His graduate research focused on the cerebral laterality of episodic, semantic, and false memories. While working on memory he became interested in the cerebral laterality of other kinds of cognitive functioning, specifically extreme political beliefs and the acceptance or rejection of the data supporting biological evolution.


Barbara S. Held, Ph.D. 
"Positive Psychology: Virtue and Vice"
Sept 28, 2006
6 p.m.
St. Francis Room, Ketchum Library, University Campus
Free and open to the public

Description: Spokespersons for the positive psychology movement urge psychologists to conduct empirical research to determine the routes to and benefits of virtuous behavior.  They also see their movement itself as virtuous by claiming it to be a corrective to mainstream or so-called "negative psychology" (now also called "psychology as usual").  However, their rhetoric and mission are fraught with problems, if not bona-fide vice, nonetheless.  In this colloquium I will consider whether positive psychology is indeed just what the doctor ordered to cure psychological science of its alleged shortcomings.  I will also consider whether the way in which virtue is construed in positive psychology circles allows for a science of virtue that is, as founder and leader of the movement Martin Seligman claims, descriptive and not prescriptive.  The vices of movements in general will be discussed.

Barbara S. Held, Ph.D.,  is the Barry N.Wish Professor of Psychology and Social Studies at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. She is the author of Back to Reality: A Critique of Postmodern Theory in Psychotherapy (Norton, 1995), in which she provides theoretical and philosophical analysis of the postmodern/linguistic turn in psychotherapy. She is currently at work on its sequel, in which she extends her philosophical critique to interpretive trends in psychology. She has served on several editorial boards, including the Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology. Her popular book Stop Smiling, Start Kvetching: A 5-Step Guide to Creative Complaining (St. Martin's, 2001), in which she challenges what she calls the "tyranny of the positive attitude in America," has garnered worldwide media attention, including features in the New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, and People magazine, and appearances on National Public Radio's "Talk of the Nation" as well as ABC, NBC, and CBS TV News.  A clinical psychologist, she practiced psychotherapy for many years. She lives with her husband on the coast of Maine, although she escapes as often as possible to New York City, where her kvetching is seen in a positive light.


David Lahti, Ph.D. 
"'The Better Angels of Our Nature': Evolution and Morality"
Feb. 21, 2006
6 p.m.
St. Francis Room, Ketchum Library, University Campus
Free and open to the public

Description: Are we humans essentially altruistic beings whose natural state is to care for others?  Or are we ogres at heart, our moral codes the only thing holding us back from utter selfishness?  I argue that an evolutionary consideration of morality suggests a third alternative, that we are by nature moral strugglers and deliberators-- that the relevant adaptive trait is neither altruism nor selfishness, but rather a refined ability to assess our social environments and make informed decisions about how altruistic or selfish to be.  We tend to make these decisions on the basis of two main variables:  the anticipated effects of our behavior on our reputation, and the perceived stability of the social groups on which we depend. Furthermore, what we often call morality is actually a conglomerate of tendencies and capacities, some of which are millions of years old and others just thousands.  Many of its more recent features, including moral rules that are difficult for us to follow, are cultural surrogates for adaptation in an age when our social environments are changing too fast for us to adapt genetically to them.

David Lahti, Ph.D.,  is NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Massachusetts Amherst. Lahti received a Ph.D in philosophy at the Whitefield Institute at Oxford in 1998, for work on the relationship between science and the foundations of morality; more recently his research in this area has focused on the evolution of morality.  In 2003 he received a Ph.D in ecology and evolutionary biology from the University of Michigan, where he documented rapid evolution in the African village weaverbird.  From 2003 to 2005 he held the Darwin Fellowship at the Program in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at University of Massachusetts Amherst, and has been studying the evolution and development of bird song. http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/podos/Lahti_Biopage/INDEX.HTM


Rape: Evolutionary And Cross-Cultural Perspectives
Speaker: Craig T. Palmer, Ph.D.
Department of Anthropology
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs

Free Admission
Date: August 14th, 2003
Time: 7:00pm
Place: Parker Pavilion
CHP Room, Parker Pavilion
Westbrook College Campus
University of New England,
716 Stevens Avenue, Portland, Maine.

Many popular approaches see rape as being caused by societal conditions unique to American culture. Evolutionary and cross-cultural perspectives demonstrate that such a view is incomplete. First, anthropological studies indicate that rape has occurred in all known cultures. Second, forced copulations have been observed in a wide variety of species, from insects to nonhuman primates. Both of these facts suggest that fundamental evolutionary principles may be involved in the causation of rape. Far from making unique aspects of

Parker Pavilion

American culture irrelevant to the causation of rape, an evolutionary perspective increases our ability to identify the exact way aspects of American culture influence the frequency of rape. Hence, an understanding of the evolutionary basis of rape may help us to decrease the frequency of rape in our culture.


Second Annual Conference of the New England Institute for Cognitive Science and Evolutionary Psychology Religion, Cognitive Science, and Evolutionary Psychology
August 12-13, 2003


"Consciousness From The Perspective of an Autistic Person"
Temple Grandin, Ph.D.
Department of Animal Science, Colorado State University
2-3:30 p.m., Sunday August 25th, 2002

CHP Room, Parker Pavilion
Westbrook College Campus
University of New England,
716 Stevens Avenue, Portland, Maine.
Free Admission

I think in pictures. In verbal thinking, people view it as covered up with language. When I design a piece of equipment, however, I can test run it in my head like a video. If there is no picture in my imagination, I have no understanding. Some maintain that true thought without language is impossible. The basis of simple concepts are categories, and pictures can be placed in categories. In my talk I will explain how thinking in pictures can be used to think about complex concepts." -Temple Grandin

Grandin is a designer of livestock handling facilities and an assistant professor of animal science at Colorado State University. Facilities where she has designed and worked are located in the United States, Canada, Europe, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries. In North America, almost half of the cattle are handled in a center track restrainer system that she designed for meat plants. Her web page was put up to educate people throughout the world about modern methods of livestock handling which will improve animal welfare and productivity.

Grandin obtained her B.A. at Frankin Pierce College and her M.S. in animal science at Arizona State University. Grandin received her Ph.D. in animal science from the University of Illinois in 1989. Today she teaches courses on livestock behavior and facility design at Colorado State University and consults with the livestock industry on facility design, livestock handling, and animal welfare. She has appeared on television shows such as 20/20, 48 Hours, CNN Larry King Live, and has been featured in People Magazine, the New York Times, Forbes, and U.S. News and World Report. She has also authored over 300 articles in both scientific journals and livestock periodicals on animal handling, welfare, and facility design.

Public Talk

The following talks by Dr. Haskell and Dr. Smith are part of a single integrated presentation for the evening of April 12th.

The New Unconscious:
An Introduction to Sub-literal Language and Meaning in Everyday, Workplace, and Therapeutic Settings
Friday, April, 12th, 7-9 p.m.

CHP Room, Parker Pavilion
Westbrook College Campus
University of New England,
716 Stevens Avenue, Portland, Maine.
Free Admission

Robert E. Haskell, Ph.D.

This introductory presentation is based on Haskell’s original research into unconscious language and meaning in everyday, workplace, and therapeutic settings. Based on his specifically developed method, he will present an everyday natural language approach for concretely recognizing hidden emotions and attitudes about such eternal human feelings as jealously, racial stereotypes, competition, and secrets from friend, relatives, and co-workers. Prof. Haskell’s findings have direct applications for psychotherapists and mental health counselors (see Smith’s talk below). The editor of Details Magazine called Haskell’s new way of listening to hidden meaning in conversations a veritable “Chat Decoder”(June, 1999). The illustrations presented are based on his two general audience books, Between The Lines, and Deep Listening: Uncovering Hidden Meaning In Conversation. His research also reveals unrecognized novel cognitive and linguistic operations.

Speaking the Unspeakable:
Unconscious Communication in Psychotherapy

David L. Smith, Ph.D.

The study of unconscious communication in psychotherapy shows that psychotherapy clients are unconsciously and exquisitely sensitive to the deeper implications of their therapists' interventions and management of the therapy. These incisive perceptions are communicated in disguised forms by means of the seemingly unrelated narratives that clients tell in therapy. These stories use metaphor and analogy to speak the unspeakable: the raw interpersonal messages that are usually excluded from social interaction and conscious awareness. Using actual clinical examples, Smith will describe the principles of decoding these hidden communications so as to understand their significance. With these skills in hand, mental health professionals can make use of their clients' unconscious supervision to enable them to practice more effectively, and persons undergoing counseling or therapy can come to understand their own unconscious assessment of their therapist.


Public Talk

Elizabeth Lasch-Quinn

"Therapy, Manipulation, and the Mind of the Modern American"
by Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn, Ph.D.
Friday, February, 22, 2002. 7:00pm

CHP Room, Parker Pavilion
Westbrook College Campus
University of New England,
716 Stevens Avenue, Portland, Maine.
Free Admission

Elizabeth Lasch-Quinn is associate professor of history at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. She is the author of the newly published, Race Experts: How Racial Etiquette, Sensitivity Training, and New Age Therapy Hijacked the Civil Rights Revolution (New York: W.W. Norton, 2001).

She contributes regularly to The New Republic and The Washington Times, and has published in other venues, from the academic-oriented Journal of Social History to Salmagundi, a literary, intellectual journal.

Her previous books include, Women and the Common Life: Love, Marriage, and Feminism, Essays by Historian Christopher Lasch. (New York: W.W. Norton, 1997); Black Neighbors: Race and the Limits of Reform in the American Settlement House Movement, 1890-1945 (University of North Carolina Press, 1993), won the Berkshire Conference of Women's Historians book prize.

Lasch-Quinn writes on a range of social, political, and moral issues in history and contemporary America, including race, the family, civil society, the therapeutic sensibility, intellectual life, and culture. She is currently writing books on debates about the American family since the 1960s and on the history of consciousness and the formation of moral conscience in children.

This public lecture is sponsored by the New England Institute for Cognitive Science and Evolutionary Psychology, the College of Arts and Sciences Core Connections Committee, and the Department of History and Politics.