The Don Symons Adaptationism Award was created by the Human Behavior and Evolution Society in honor of UCSB Professor Emeritus, Don Symons. Professor Symons was a founder of the field of evolutionary psychology, starting with his breakout book in 1979, The Evolution of Human Sexuality. He was widely known for his careful use of adapationist thinking, especially when evaluating alternative hypotheses about the adaptive function of a mechanism.
The Don Symons Adaptationism Award is bestowed for the best paper exemplifying the adaptationist program written or published in the last three years. The inaugural award was announced at the 2023 Human Behavior and Evolution Society meeting in Palm Springs, California.
