Good first Monday morning in 2011 to all!
I just came across a super interesting article regarding research linking Darwinian theory and the psychology of romance readers. The article, Evolutionary Psychologists Turn Attention To Romantic Fiction, posted this past March in The Guardian, is based on an analysis of over 15,000 Harlequin romance novels done by two Canadian researchers from the Centre for Psychology and Computing in Dartmouth, Canada and the Department of Psychology at St. Mary's University in Nova Scotia. More specifically, they analyzed key words in Harlequin titles and looked for a correlation between those buzz words and our 'survival of the fittest' instincts. The most commonly used word was 'love'. Check out the article to what words came up next and why Harlequins fly off the shelves. It seems we go for the same type of guys our cave sisters went for ;).
Also, speaking of Harlequin, today is the launch party for the new Super Romance Author Blog! Head on over there to meet up with a group of truly amazing authors and (rumor has it) Super's editors, Victoria Curran and Wanda Ottewell.
Have a wonderful start to your New Year!
Hi Rula, a interesting theory...so it means we as women haven't evolved at all? We still go for the types our cave sisters were drawn to!
ReplyDeleteHey thanks for helping me welcome Rachel Bailey over at my blog!
LOL, Nas! I guess that would be one way to look at it...but hopefully it doesn't boil down to that :). I can see how being with a man (or partner) who is loyal, good at survival, good with kids, a protector, and nurturer would increase our chances of survival (evolutionarily speaking) and of our childrens' survival. Even with today's technology and social advancements regarding women, apparently we still have certain survival instincts when it comes to men...or who we consider to be the perfect heroes in romance novels ;). I'm sure the reverse holds true for men!
ReplyDeleteHi Rula!
ReplyDeleteOkay, can I just say those researchers haven't seen my county's sheriff. And I quote from the article: (eg sheriff) that may be related to physical fitness because of the highly physical nature of these professions." Um, nope. Our guy looks like a weathered beach-ball on stilts. *insert Homer Simpson type shudder here* All kidding aside, I have a tendency to agree with the theory, as I do love the alpha hero.
Murphy
Oh, Murphy! I can't get the 'weathered beach-ball on stilts' image out of my head, LOL. You crack me up.
ReplyDeleteYay, for the alpha male! I can see how it's build into our pyschology to go for the strong protector type. I'm an independent woman, but I like knowing a man would be more than capable of taking care of me, if that's what I wanted :).
ReplyDeleteHey Kaily! Well it does take an alpha female to handle an alpha male ;). Looking at the rest of the animal kingdom, there is something to be said about alpha wolves seeking alpha mates :). There's a certain Helen Reddy song ringing in my ears right now, LOL.
ReplyDelete