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Education

2000-2008   University of California, Los Angeles, CA
Doctor of Philosophy degree awarded June, 2008 / Evolutionary Anthropology.

1998-2000   University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
Master of Arts degree awarded August 2000 / Latin American Studies, Anthropology

1990-1994   Hampshire College, Amherst, MA
Bachelor of Arts degree awarded May 1994 / Anthropology, Literary Journalism

Research Statement

My research interests revolve around the evolution of human mating strategies, with a particular focus on long-term mate choice and women’s sexual strategies. I conduct field research with the Shuar, an indigenous hunter-horticultural population in Amazonian Ecuador, and lab-based studies in the U.S.

Publications

See Publications page

Manuscripts in Preparation

Pillsworth, E.G., Barrett, H.C. (2008) Women’s subordination and resistance in Shuar marriage: A case for female choice in the evolution of human mating.

Pillsworth, E.G. (2008) Measuring social assessments: agreement, bias, and effects on romantic desirability: An example from the Shuar.

Awards


2007     Chancellorial Dissertation Year Fellowship, Graduate Division, UCLA
2006     Special Research Grant, Anthropology Department, UCLA
2004     National Science Foundation Dissertation Improvement Grant
2004     Elizabeth Blackwell, M.D. Award, Ctr for the Study of Women, UCLA
2004     Conference Travel Grant, Anthropology Department, UCLA
2004     Edward A. Dickson Award, Communication Studies Program, UCLA
2003     Latin American Center Small Grants, UCLA
2003     Graduate Research Grant, Anthropology Department, UCLA
2003     Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award, Comm. Studies Program, UCLA
2003     Conference Travel Grant, Anthropology Department, UCLA
2001     Regents Fellowship, Anthropology Department, UCLA
2001     Summer Research Mentorship Fellowship, UCLA
2000     Chancellor’s Fellowship, Anthropology Department, UCLA
1999     Title VI Fellowship (Foreign Language and Area Studies), UNM
1998     Title VI Fellowship (Foreign Language and Area Studies), UNM

Presentations


2008  Human Mating: Adaptations for Sexual Preferences and Long-Term Mate Choice.” Invited talk at the Exploring Darwin Conference, Palomar College, San Marcos, CA.

2007  Realistic Mate Choice among Unmarried Shuar Teenagers. Presented at the annual meeting of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society, College of William & Mary.

2006  Long-term mate preferences among the Shuar. Presented at the annual meeting of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society, University of Pennsylvania.

2005  To have and to hold: Male mate retention tactics as a function of sexual attractiveness and partners fertility. Presented at the annual meeting of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society, Austin, TX.

2004  The object of desire: Women’s mate preferences as a function of current mating environment and fertility status. Presented at annual meeting of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society, Berlin, Germany.

2004  Conditional Expression of Female Desires and Male Mate Retention Efforts Across the Human Ovulatory Cycle. Presented at the International Communication Association Conference, New Orleans, LA

2003   Emotional Arousal and Risk-Taking: The interaction of sex and emotion. Presented at the annual meeting of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society, University of Nebraska.

2003  Context-dependent adaptive shifts in female sexual desire across the menstrual cycle. Presented at the quarterly Human Nature and Society Conference, Los Angeles.

2003  Making the Most of It: Menstrual cycle changes in sexual desire and behavior are sensitive to women’s current mating environment. Poster presented at the 2003 Society for Personality and Social Psychology Conference, Los Angeles.

2002  Optimal Mating Strategies: Context specificity in female sexual desire. Presented at the Biological Anthropology Colloquium, UCLA.

2002  What Women Know… and Men Don’t: Changes in women’s sexual behavior found as a function of fertility. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society, Rutgers University.

Field Research

Aug-Sep ‘08   Morona Santiago and Pastaza Provinces, Ecuador. Assisted with the AHRC Culture & the Mind Project’s international research program on early theory of mind, dualism, and folk psychology.

Sep-Dec ‘06   Pastaza Province, Ecuador. Dissertation research. Personality and mate choice data with Shuar high school students.

Jun-Aug ‘06   Williamson County, Texas. Pilot project. Personality and mate choice data with rural high school students.

Feb–Dec ‘05   Morona Santiago and Pastaza Provinces, Ecuador. Dissertation research. Ethnographic data and mate preferences data in Shuar villages. Funded by a National Science Foundation Dissertation Improvement Grant.

Jun-Aug ‘03   Morona Santiago Province, Ecuador. Preliminary field visit to Shuar villages. Relationship history interviews.

Aug-Dec ‘93   Oaxaca and Michoacán, Mexico. BA Thesis research. Ethnography of family relations in rural Mexico.

Teaching Experience

Spring ‘08   Loyola Law School, Los Angeles
Instructor, Course for Faculty, Evolutionary Psychology

Winter ‘06   Anthropology Department, University of California, LA
Teaching Assistant, Anthro 124P: Evolution of Human Sexual Behavior

Fall ‘03   Anthropology Department, University of California, LA
Teaching Assistant, Anthro 7: Human Evolution

Winter ‘02   Communication Studies Program, University of California, LA
Teaching Assistant: CS 150: Research Methods

Fall ‘02   Communication Studies Program, University of California, LA
Teaching Assistant: CS 150: Research Methods

Spring ‘02   Anthropology Department, University of California, LA
Teaching Assistant, Anthro 7: Human Evolution

Fall ‘01   Anthropology Department, University of California, LA
Class Reader, Anthro 124: Evolution & Biology of Human Behavior

Spring ‘01   Communication Studies Program, University of California, LA
Class Reader, CS 197J: Evolution of Communication

Professional Experience


2008 - Present   Visiting Scholar, UCLA Center for the Study of Women
2008 - Present   Administrator, UCLA Center for Culture, Brain, and Development
2007 - 2008     Lab Manager for Dr. Martie Haselton, Evolution and Social Psych Lab
2006 - 2006     UCLA Center for Behavior, Evolution, & Culture representative
2003 - 2005     Graduate Student Researcher (Dr. Martie Haselton)
2004 - 2004     Graduate Student Researcher (Dr. Daniel M. T. Fessler)
2003 - 2003     Head Teaching Assistant, UCLA Anthropology Department.
2003 - 2003     Staff Research Associate (Dr. Daniel M. T. Fessler)
2001 - 2002     Graduate Student Representative, Influential Scholars Speaker Series
1999 - 2000     Assistant Archivist, Center for Southwest Research, UNM
1998 - 2000     Graduate Student Representative, Grants & Awards Committee
1994 - 1998     Public Information Coordinator, NYS Systemic Initiative (NYSSI)

Ad hoc Reviewer for:

(Some links may require academic permissions)

Languages & Statistics

  • Spanish (conversant); Shuar (beginner)
  • Advanced regression analysis using Stata and SPSS

Professional Organizations


References


Dr. H. Clark Barrett, Associate Professor, UCLA Anthropology Department, 341 Haines Hall, Box 951553, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1553. Email: barrett@anthro.ucla.edu

Dr. Robert Boyd, Professor, UCLA Anthropology Department, 341 Haines Hall, Box 951553, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1553. Email: rboyd@anthro.ucla.edu

Dr. Greg Bryant, Assistant Professor, UCLA Department of Communication Studies, Box 951538, 2303 Rolfe Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1538. Email: gabryant@ucla.edu

Dr. Daniel M. T. Fessler, Associate Professor, UCLA Anthropology Department, 341 Haines Hall, Box 951553, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1553. Email: dfessler@anthro.ucla.edu

Dr. Martie G. Haselton, Associate Professor, UCLA Departments of Psychology and Communication Studies, Box 951538, 2303 Rolfe Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1538. Email: haselton@commstds.ucla.edu

Dr. Letitia Anne Peplau, Professor, UCLA Department of Psychology, 1285 Franz Hall, Box 951563, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563. Email: lapeplau@ucla.edu

Dr. Joan B. Silk, Professor, UCLA Anthropology Department, 341 Haines Hall, Box 951553, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1553. Email: jsilk@anthro.ucla.edu



Updated: October 15, 2008