Exploring the Intersection of Evolutionary Psychology and Popular Culture

Understanding the Relationship Between Biology and Culture

In the article “Nothing in Popular Culture Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution” (2012), Gad Saad argues that aspects of a universal human nature can be observed in themes and patterns within popular culture, and in particular, within song lyrics and collective wisdoms. He suggests that since human brains do not leave a fossil record, evolutionary psychology has to rely on these sorts of cultural artifacts to explain complex human behaviours. He then discusses the ways in which evolutionary psychology has in itself become part of popular culture.
Saad starts off by suggesting that there is often a false dichotomy between culture and biology, and that in reality, these two systems co-exist and are closely related to each other. He suggests that the way in which biology and culture interact on the human level is through genes.
He states that genes determine human behaviour which leads to the production of culture, and therefore, particular patterns and continuities can be observed across cultures as artifacts of the universal human nature. Saad also makes a point of noting that although he is claiming a certain level of universality, variation does exist across cultures. This variation, however, does not negate the consistent patterns he claims can be observed. He uses the example of language as an analogy in the sense that although there are multiple languages that exist, there is one single system of acquiring language for humans.
Saad then transitions into a discussion of how to take an evolutionary approach to human culture. He suggests that an evolutionary approach often implies a search for adaptationist explanations of behaviours, wherein behaviours, or cultural processes, are examined in terms of their ability to increase survival or reproductive success. He then distinguishes gene-culture co-2 evolution as a particular kind of evolutionary approach that looks at the ways in which culture and genes co-evolve over time to produce human behavioural patterns. Saad however suggests, that the ultimate cause of this co-evolution circles back to biological sources. Saad also acknowledges the concept of memes in which memes are seen as the cultural unit of transmission in the same way that genes are the biological unit of heredity. He uses the concept of the meme to suggest that heredity occurs through processes other than biology.
With this foundation laid, Saad then moves into his case analysis of collective wisdoms as examples of the ways in which universal human nature translates into culture. He suggests that collective wisdoms persist through time and across cultures because they are representative of widespread human truths. He outlines numerous examples of common quotes from popular culture to support evolutionary assertions regarding parental investment theory (which posits that women are more likely to be choosey about sexual partners than men due to the amount of investment they have to make in offspring), women’s emphasis on social status when selecting partners, kin selection principles, and reciprocity principles. Said argues that these sayings are indicative of a larger universal human nature because they never would have lasted as long as they did or be as prominent in culture as they are if they did not represent evolutionary truths.
In his second case analysis, Saad examines a similar process taking place with song lyrics. He focuses more closely on the differential mating strategies of males and females as represented in song lyrics. Saad suggests that the themes in mating preferences observable in song lyrics include, men flaunting their wealth or status through use of high end brand names, male musicians referencing guns to illustrate their willingness to fight male competition, and women being more likely to focus on the lack of resources men may have as a quality making men poor mates. He also highlights that men are more likely to sing songs about women’s