Karl Grammer
University of Vienna, Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Faculty Member
Asymmetry is a universal feature characterizing biological systems that occurs in different forms: While fluctuating asymmetry represents the result of developmental perturbations, differentiating organisms according to their... more
Asymmetry is a universal feature characterizing biological systems that occurs in different forms: While fluctuating asymmetry represents the result of developmental perturbations, differentiating organisms according to their developmental stability, directional asymmetry is both said to be genetically determined as well as influenced by biomechanical loading. Both asymmetries can thus be seen as a function of the socio- economic position of an individual, which is influenced by their manual occupation, and forming the basis of differential stress of that individual. In the Early Bronze Age population of Hainburg-Teichtal such a socio-economic differentiation, expressed through the composition of funerary deposits, was connected to measures of asymmetry: Asymmetry scores of 3D-µCT-Data included maximal lengths of second and third metacarpals and GMM-analysis of a proximal joint structure in third metacarpals. Homogeneous fluctuating asymmetry values across status groups indicated homogeneous stress pressure, and thus a rather stable economic situation of the population as a whole. Significant differential directional asymmetry of status groups as well as sexes, combined with significantly status-dependent joint shape variation suggest differences in activity patterns across these groups.
Research Interests: Marketing, Psychology, Cognitive Science, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and 21 morePersonality, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Culture, Evolution, Mate selection, Middle East, Cross-Cultural Comparison, Humans, Sex Difference, Female, Male, Sexual Behavior, South America, North America, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Questionnaires, Adult, Sex Factors, Time Factors, and Sexual Differentiation
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Research Interests: Psychology, Cognitive Science, Evolutionary Psychology, Algorithms, Fertility, and 19 moreFace, Comparative psychology, Comparative, Social Desirability, Humans, Beauty, Computer Simulation, Female, Male, Sexual Behavior, Homo Sapiens, Facial Attractiveness, Skin, Austria, Computer Program, Skin Pigmentation, Adult, Facial Asymmetry, and Surface Texture
ABSTRACT Planning and architecture of modern housing projects should take into account the fact that human well-being depends very much on needs derived from the natural history of human evolutionary aspects, which include territoriality,... more
ABSTRACT Planning and architecture of modern housing projects should take into account the fact that human well-being depends very much on needs derived from the natural history of human evolutionary aspects, which include territoriality, security, and a balance between privacy and communal activity. Although model housing projects should consider space, all to often the need for privacy and the importance of the residential environment has been neglected.
Cross-culturally, fragrances are used to modulate body odor, but the psychology of fragrance choice has been largely overlooked. The prevalent view is that fragrances mask an individual's body odor and improve its pleasantness. In two... more
Cross-culturally, fragrances are used to modulate body odor, but the psychology of fragrance choice has been largely overlooked. The prevalent view is that fragrances mask an individual's body odor and improve its pleasantness. In two experiments, we found positive effects of perfume on body odor perception. Importantly, however, this was modulated by significant interactions with individual odor donors. Fragrances thus appear to interact with body odor, creating an individually-specific odor mixture.
Abstract Inclusive fitness theory presumes a human ability to discriminate between kin and nonkin. The present study investigated to what extent computer-generated similarity or dissimilarity can be discerned as phenotypic resemblance or... more
Abstract Inclusive fitness theory presumes a human ability to discriminate between kin and nonkin. The present study investigated to what extent computer-generated similarity or dissimilarity can be discerned as phenotypic resemblance or dissimilarity, respectively, on a conscious level. Furthermore, sex differences assumed from female dispersal theory were examined.
Am Beginn einer Schwangerschaft sind alle Embryonen zunächst weiblich und Männlichkeit entsteht aus vorgeburtlichen Signalen, die dem Gehirn und Körper mitteilen, daß sie maskulinisiert werden müssen. Panksepp geht davon aus, daß dies... more
Am Beginn einer Schwangerschaft sind alle Embryonen zunächst weiblich und Männlichkeit entsteht aus vorgeburtlichen Signalen, die dem Gehirn und Körper mitteilen, daß sie maskulinisiert werden müssen. Panksepp geht davon aus, daß dies durch den Einfluß von Hormonen auf die reifenden Gehirnschaltkreise und auf die körperliche Entwicklung geschieht. Dadurch wird sozusagen ein Negativ des Geschlechts belichtet.
Abstract Evolutionary theory proposes that adaptive traits are reproduced more successfully than maladaptive traits. Accordingly, natural selection should favor heterosexuality as it facilitates reproduction and the propagation of genes.... more
Abstract Evolutionary theory proposes that adaptive traits are reproduced more successfully than maladaptive traits. Accordingly, natural selection should favor heterosexuality as it facilitates reproduction and the propagation of genes. However, the question becomes, what has maintained homosexuality in a small but consistent percentage of the human population? Research into the evolutionary and hormonal factors associated with a homosexual orientation have yielded provocative but inconsistent results.
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Abstract Communication is a multichannel, multiunit process that works on different levels. It is sequential with specific information carriers on a cognitive accessible level, and dynamic for the regulation of relationships at the same... more
Abstract Communication is a multichannel, multiunit process that works on different levels. It is sequential with specific information carriers on a cognitive accessible level, and dynamic for the regulation of relationships at the same time. One function of communication is the broadcasting of internal states that can be assessed by inferential communication.
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Men and women score differently on some personality traits and people’s behavior reflects who they are. Therefore, males and females could be expected to express themselves differently on a behavioral level. To test this idea we turned... more
Men and women score differently on some personality traits and people’s behavior reflects who they are. Therefore, males and females could be expected to express themselves differently on a behavioral level. To test this idea we turned the public performances of speakers (20 female and 20 male) into stick figure movies. Students of the University of Vienna (n = 150) rated these movies on scales measuring the Big Five personality traits. The participants experienced difficulties in ascribing the correct sex to the stick figures. Nevertheless, stick figures representing male speakers received higher ratings for extraversion and emotional stability than stick figure animations of female speakers. In addition, gender stereotypes seemed to influence the participants’ ratings. Agreeableness, for instance, was preferably classified as female trait. In conclusion, our results suggest that body motion conveys social information, that men and women present themselves differently, and that people’s judgments are influenced by gender stereotypes.► Body movements of male and female speakers were turned into animated stick figures. ► Participants rated stick figure movies on Big Five personality scale. ► Participants were unable to recognize the stick figure’s sex. ► Male and female stick figures were rated differently for some personality traits. ► Ratings were guided by gender stereotypes.
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It was recently shown that Austrians associate car front geometry with traits in a way that could be related to face shape geometry mapping to those same overall suites of traits. Yet, possible confounding effects of familiarity with the... more
It was recently shown that Austrians associate car front geometry with traits in a way that could be related to face shape geometry mapping to those same overall suites of traits. Yet, possible confounding effects of familiarity with the car models, media coverage and entertainment could not be ruled out. In order to address this, the current study uses a cross-cultural comparison. Adult subjects in two countries (Austria and Ethiopia, n=129) were asked to rate person characteristics of 46 standardized front views of automobiles on various trait scales. These two countries differ substantially with regard to their experience with car models and brands, as well as car marketing and media coverage. Geometric morphometrics was then used to assess the shape information underlying trait attribution. Car shapes for perceived maturity, maleness and dominance were highly similar in both countries, with patterns comparable to shape changes during facial growth in humans: Relative sizes of the forehead and windshield decrease with age/growth, eyes and headlights both become more slit-like, noses and grilles bigger, lips and air-intakes are wider. Austrian participants further attributed various degrees of some interpersonal attitudes and emotions, whereas neither Austrians nor Ethiopians congruently ascribed personalities. Morphological correlates of personal characteristics are discussed, as are person perception and its overgeneralization to inanimate objects. Cross-cultural similarities and differences are addressed, as well as implications for car styling, follow-up studies on driving and pedestrian behavior, and fundamental dimensions in inference from (human) faces.
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Females apparently are the choosier sex in courtship contexts, but there still is limited information about female selection criteria in real courtship settings. Given that a female knows little about a heretofore unacquainted male, upon... more
Females apparently are the choosier sex in courtship contexts, but there still is limited information about female selection criteria in real courtship settings. Given that a female knows little about a heretofore unacquainted male, upon what dimensions can (and do) females base their initial courtship decisions? Here, we report findings from observational studies that investigated male nonverbal behavior in a bar context. Study 1 documented the body movements of males prior to making contact with a female. It was found that males who successfully made “contact” courtship initiation with females exhibited different body language in this precontact phase than did males who did not make contact with females, including significantly more glancing behaviors, space-maximization movements, intrasexual touching, and less closed-body movements. The findings from a second within-subject study comparing the behavior of men in a bar when women were present or not present supported the initial study's findings and showed that males' emphasis on these behaviors increases in a mate-relevant context. We suggest that certain aspects of male nonverbal behavior in courtship contexts can serve as self-presentation and mate-value signals.
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Zusammenfassung Die Bedeutung von Geruchsstoffen für die menschliche Reproduktion wurde bisher von der Medizin vernachlässigt. Es lässt sich aber zeigen, dass männliche Geruchsstoffe (Androstenol/Androstenon) aus dem Schweiss direkten... more
Zusammenfassung Die Bedeutung von Geruchsstoffen für die menschliche Reproduktion wurde bisher von der Medizin vernachlässigt. Es lässt sich aber zeigen, dass männliche Geruchsstoffe (Androstenol/Androstenon) aus dem Schweiss direkten Einfluss auf den weiblichen Menstruationszyklus haben. Ebenso können weibliche Geruchsstoffe aus dem Vaginalsekret (Kopuline) die männliche Wahrnehmung beeinflussen und sogar Hormonveränderungen induzieren. Die gegenseitige Beeinñussung wird als Ergebnis geschlechtsspezifischer Reproduktionsinteressen, die im Laufe der Evolution entstanden sind, diskutiert.Copyright © 1997 S. Karger AG, Basel
Research Interests: Microbiology, Analytical Chemistry, Forensic Anthropology, Fuzzy Logic, Chromatography, and 14 morePrincipal Component Analysis, Pattern Recognition, Humans, Female, Male, DNA fingerprinting, Skin, Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate-Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis, Individual variation, Distance metric, Large Data Sets, Analyst, Positional information, and Gel electrophoresis
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In the history of both animal and human ethology the direct observation of unstaged interactions in a natural habitat plays a critical role for methodological and theoretical considerations. Even when ethologists think that they already... more
In the history of both animal and human ethology the direct observation of unstaged interactions in a natural habitat plays a critical role for methodological and theoretical considerations. Even when ethologists think that they already know much about adaptations and the ways in which they interact with the environment, the principles which have been involved in the evolution of increasingly complex human behaviour are still not very well understood.
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Research Interests: Psychology, Gerontology, Mate Choice, Reproduction, Sex, and 18 moreSexuality, Aging, Evolution, Marriage, Humans, Sex Difference, Female, Male, Sexual Behavior, Reproductive Success, Biological evolution, Mate Preference, Immune system, Evolutionary Constraint, Cognitive Strategies, Psychological Models, Sexual Partners, and Sexual reproduction
Humans tend to judge and sort their social and non-social environment permanently into a few basic categories:'likes' and... more
Humans tend to judge and sort their social and non-social environment permanently into a few basic categories:'likes' and 'don't likes'. Indeed we have developed general preferences for our social and non-social environment. These preferences can be subsumed under the term 'evolutionary aesthetics'(Voland & Grammer 2003). Indeed humans and animals have evolved preferences for mates, food, habitats, odors, and objects. Those stimuli that promoted reproductive success are bound to evoke positive emotional responses, and ...
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The New never grows from nowhere, but is rooted in the Old and Unexpected. The latter is a function of curiosity and emotional not rational involvement in the subject. We hope that the following chapters will stimulate emotion and... more
The New never grows from nowhere, but is rooted in the Old and Unexpected. The latter is a function of curiosity and emotional not rational involvement in the subject. We hope that the following chapters will stimulate emotion and thought, and provoke new systematic and empirical research. The dilemma is that in one sense, we as humans abhor speculation and the unknown, but that in another sense, as scientists, we need the speculative as life needs water. Curiosity drives us and fills the gap. And fortunately, theories pass over, but the frog ...