Department of Anthropology

Penn State University

David A. Puts

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

Office: 218 Carpenter Building
Telephone: (814) 867-0453 Fax: (814) 863-1474
Email: dap27@psu.edu
Curriculum Vitae
 

Click here to go to Puts Lab

EDUCATION:

  • B.A., Kenyon College, 1995
  • M.A., University of Pittsburgh, 1998
  • Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, 2004

RESEARCH ACTIVITIES AND INTERESTS:

Dr. Puts studies the neuroendocrine and evolutionary bases of human behavior, with special focus on the development and evolution of behavioral sex differences. Research topics include:

How sex hormones affect psychology, behavior, and anatomy: prenatal, pubertal and adult effects of androgens; effects of menstrual cycle-related changes in ovarian hormones.

Sexual selection and the evolution of sexual dimorphism, including the evolution sex differences in voices, faces, bodies, brains, and behavior.  

Other research interests:

  • Developmental and evolutionary causes of differences in sexual orientation
  • Evolutionary basis of female orgasm

COURSES TAUGHT:

  • ANTH 216 Sex and Evolution
  • ANTH 517 Human Evolutionary Biology

SELECTED RECENT PUBLICATIONS:

  • Wolff, S. and Puts, D. A. (in press).  Book review: Sex Differences: Summarizing More Than a Century of Scientific Research, by L. Ellis, S. Hershberger, E. Field, S. Wesinger, S. Pellis, D. Geary, C. Palmer, K. Hoyenga, A. Hetsroni, and K. Karadi. New York: Psychology Press, 2008.  Archives of Sexual Behavior.
  • Puts, D. A. (2009).  The Evolution of Human Sexuality: An Anthropological Perspective, 2nd ed Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt.
  • Zuloaga, D. G., Puts, D. A., Jordan, C. L., and Breedlove, S. M. (2008).  The role of androgen receptors in the masculinization of brain and behavior: What we've learned from the testicular feminization mutation.  Hormones and Behavior, 53: 613-626. doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2008.01.013
  • Dawood, K. and Puts, D. A. (2008).  Genetics and development of human sexual orientation. In: LGBTQ America Today, J. C. Hawley, (ed.).  Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, pp. 469-477.
  • Puts, D. A., McDaniel, M. A., Jordan, C. L., and Breedlove, S. M. (2008).  Spatial ability and prenatal androgens: Meta-analyses of congenital adrenal hyperplasia and digit ratio (2D:4D) studies.  Archives of Sexual Behavior, 37 (1): 100-111. 
  • Martin, J., Puts, D. A., and Breedlove, S. M. (2008).  Fluctuating asymmetry in the hands of homosexuals and heterosexuals: Relationships to digit ratios and other sexually dimorphic anatomical traits.  Archives of Sexual Behavior, 37 (1): 119-132.
  • Puts, D. A., Hodges, C. R., Cárdenas, R. A., and Gaulin, S. J. C. (2007).  Men’s voices as dominance signals: Vocal fundamental and formant frequencies influence dominance attributions among men.  Evolution and Human Behavior, 28 (5): 340-344.
  • Puts, D. A. (2007). Arousing Imaginations: Review of The Handbook of the Evolution of Human Sexuality, M. R. Kauth (Ed.). Binghamptom, NY: Haworth Press, 2005. Evolutionary Psychology, 5 (4): 778-785.
  • Puts, D. A.  (2007).  Of bugs and boojums: Female orgasm as a facultative adaptation.  Archives of Sexual Behavior, 36 (3): 337-339.
  • Puts, D. A., Gaulin, S. J. C., and Breedlove, S. M. (2007).  Sex differences in spatial cognition: Evolution, hormones, and the brain.  In: Evolutionary Cognitive Neuroscience, S. M. Platek, J. P. Keenan, and T. K. Shackelford (eds.).  Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, pp. 329-379.
  • Puts, D. A., Jordan, C. L., and Breedlove, S. M. (2006).  Defending the brain from estrogen.  Nature Neuroscience, 9 (2): 155-156.
  • Puts, D. A., Gaulin, S. J. C., and Verdolini, K. (2006).  Dominance and the evolution of sexual dimorphism in human voice pitch.  Evolution and Human Behavior, 27 (4): 283-296.
  • Puts, D. A., Jordan, C. L., and Breedlove, S. M. (2006).  O Brother, where art thou? The fraternal birth order effect on male sexual orientation.  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 103 (28): 10531-10532.
  • Puts, D. A. and Dawood, K. (2006).  The evolution of orgasm in women: Adaptation or byproduct?  Twin Research and Human Genetics, 9 (3): 467-472.
  • Puts, D. A. (2006).  And hast thou slain the Jabberwock? Response to Wallen.  Archives of Sexual Behavior,35 (6): 637-639.
  • Puts, D. A. (2006).  Cyclic variation in women’s preferences for masculine traits: Potential hormonal causes.  Human Nature, 17 (1): 114-127.
  • Puts, D. A.  (2006).  Book review: The Case of Female Orgasm: Bias in the Science of Evolution, by E. A. Lloyd.  Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2005.  Archives of Sexual Behavior, 35 (1): 103-108.
  • Puts, D. A. (2005).  Mating context and menstrual phase affect female preferences for male voice pitch.  Evolution and Human Behavior, 26 (5): 388-397.
  • Puts, D. A., Gaulin, S. J. C., Sporter, R. J., and McBurney, D. H. (2004).  Sex hormones and finger length: What does 2D:4D indicate?  Evolution and Human Behavior, 25 (3): 182-199.