General Research Interests:

I am very interested in the structure of human personality.  Why, under the same conditions, do two people behave in fundamentally different ways?  What are the major differences in behavior due to such variables as sex, culture, etc.?  To this end my research program focuses on the structure of human personality, specifically, what personality traits do individuals have?  How do these traits determine behavior?  I am also interested in studying these traits through the context of evolutionary psychology.  What were the evolutionary processes that have shaped human behavior in a variety of contexts.

I have studied dating and marital relationships.  Are we attracted to individuals similar to ourselves (generally, yes) or the opposite (usually, no)?  I am also interested in the initial stages of relationships and we skew other peoples' perceptions of ourselves.  To this end my students and myself have studied how people flirt with another and have devised a 163 behavior taxonomy of human flirting.  I hope to develop new research in these areas.

Current Research Projects:

Assortative Mating in Inter-racial Couples

Human Intersexual Flirtation

Structure of Act Data

Masters' Student Projects:

Evocation of Strategic Dominance (w/ Chris Baudino)

Student / Teacher Fit in the Classroom (w/ Judy Hansen)

 
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Dr. Botwin