My name is Andrew King, and I’m the author of Costly Signals: The Evolution of Dating Advice—due for publication later this year.
With a PhD in media studies, I spent a decade in Myanmar as a journalist, reporting on cultural and political shifts. During that time I was also researching dating advice books and the science of attraction. My work has been published in leading journals, including: Society, Continuum and Sexuality & Culture.
About Costly Signals
In a world overflowing with conflicting dating and relationship advice, Costly Signals stands out as a groundbreaking publication. Through the lens of evolutionary psychology, Costly Signals uncovers how key resources—economic status, social capital, and physical allure—profoundly influence our primal urges to seek a partner. Through this lens, we decode the hidden patterns in popular dating guides, videos, TV shows, songs, celebrity culture, and beyond.
Over the last decade, I’ve curated one of the world’s largest archives of relationship literature, spanning more than 150 years—from 1920s marriage counselors and sexologists to mid-century social scientists and today’s online dating coaches and Instagram influencers. This blog dives deep into these timeless (and timely) insights, offering fresh commentary to help you navigate modern love with clarity and confidence.