top of page
Headshot 4.jpg

WILLIAM COSTELLO

Ph.D. student at the University of Texas at Austin.

Joining Dr. David Buss' Evolutionary Psychology Lab Fall 2022.

Home: Welcome

BIO

I am a Ph.D. student studying Individual Differences and Evolutionary Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, where I am a member of Dr. David Buss' Evolutionary Psychology Lab.

My research will build on research started during my MSc in Psychology: Evolution and Culture at Brunel University London, where under the supervision of Prof. David Schmitt, my dissertation conducted some of the earliest primary research investigating the underlying psychological profile of "incels" (involuntary celibates).

I have presented theoretical and empirical work at academic conferences such NEEPS (Northeastern Evolutionary Psychology Society) Conference, the British Psychological Society Male Psychology Conference, and my poster was voted "best poster" at the University of Stirling Evolutionary Perspectives on Culture Conference.

Alongside my PhD, and I contribute as a visiting researcher with Dr. Glenn Geher's Evolutionary Psychology lab at SUNY New Paltz.

I am also a freelance writer with bylines in Quillette and Areo. My work looks at cultural issues through an evolutionary psychology lens and considers the ways in which many aspects of modernity are in tension with our evolved psychology. I have written about topics such as identity politics, racism, and sexual conflict. I have discussed my ideas as a guest on a number of podcasts and YouTube channels.

I have also debated at Universities and festivals around the UK, including the largest debate festival in Europe, the Battle of Ideas.

Check out my current research projects and get in touch if you want to collaborate or just want to chat. 

Home: About

EDUCATION

UT Austin logo.png

PH.D. INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

2022 - 2027

I will join Dr. David Buss' Evolutionary Psychology Lab at the University of Texas at Austin in the Fall of 2022.

Brunel logo.jfif

MSC PSYCHOLOGY: EVOLUTION AND CULTURE BRUNEL UNIVERSITY LONDON

2020 - 2021

Graduated with distinction from the MSc in Psychology: Evolution and Culture, where I was part of Prof. David Schmitt's Personality and Culture lab. Under Prof. Schmitt's supervision, my dissertation conducted some of the world's first research into the underlying psychological profile of incels (involuntary celibates).

Home: Courses
ICMI20: William Costello - Step Your Dick Up: Incels and Men Generally Deserve Better Dating Advice
28:38
Paul Elam

ICMI20: William Costello - Step Your Dick Up: Incels and Men Generally Deserve Better Dating Advice

William is an Irish writer with an Undergraduate Degree in English/Education and a Postgraduate Degree in Career Guidance Counselling. He is currently studying Evolutionary Psychology at Brunel University, London. He has debated about gender politics alongside Elizabeth Hobson at Goldsmiths, University of London, in a debate for the Liberate The Debate society, Sex War: A Discussion. [For a fuller profile, check out the speakers page https://icmi2020.icmi.info/?page_id=27.] This video is one of 120 videos published for the sixth International Conference on Men's Issues (2020) http://icmi2020.icmi.info, a conference originally planned for Sydney, Australia, but later turned into a virtual conference due to Covid-19. The videos are being published simultaneously on two YouTube channel playlists. The first is run by Paul Elam of A Voice for Men “AVfM” http://avoiceformen.com. His personal website, which includes details of his coaching and counselling services, is http://paulelam.com. The video playlist is here https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOXfnai0-o0I8BtOpmjbn_3FGYBHiV64S. The second playlist is run by the British political party Justice for Men & Boys (and the women who love them), “J4MB” http://j4mb.org.uk. The playlist is here https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjMscr0TpRqgzZSIxFCxDwCxVBzyakCMu. The leader of the party since May 2020 has been Elizabeth Hobson (32). From #metoo to the American Psychological Association’s guidelines pathologizing “masculinity” as harmful, to Gillette’s razor adverts blaming all men for the actions of a damaged few, ideologically motivated groups have used unchallenged narratives of female victimhood to promote damaging stereotypes about men and boys, masculinity and men’s relationships to each other. More than ever before, recognition of men’s issues is needed. Men and boys deserve compassion, they deserve consideration for their unique needs, and they deserve our support. Men and boys also deserve respect for their unique contributions to society and an end to the promotion of unkind stereotyping of being harmful, abusive, toxic, selfish and hateful. We would not tolerate this stereotyping directed towards any other group. We are in an era of unprecedented ideological conflict. By reducing men’s ability to take a positive identity from their masculinity we are encouraging young men to pursue ever more radical ideologies to find a place to belong. In turn we are also encouraging young women to embrace an identity as society’s victims rather than its equal co-creators. The inaugural conference was held in 2014, and since 2016 the conferences have been held annually: - Detroit (2014) - London (2016) - Gold Coast, Australia (2017) - London (2018) - Chicago (2019) Playlists of all 100+ presentations at the conferences (as well as the 120 at this one) are accessible by using the link below, which will take you to the YouTube channel of J4MB, along with playlists of the presentations at the Messages 4 Men conferences in London (2017-19) and the (UK) National Conference on Men's Issues, “Domestic Abuse is a Men’s Issue, Too” (2020): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKhX1c3ow6BrzdzP3ydpeZQ/playlists The conferences deal with the social and legal issues that disproportionately (or uniquely) affect men and boys. This year’s conference is being held online, with the publication of 120 videos (one per hour, every hour) from midday, Saturday, 14 November, to midday, Thursday, 19 November, 2020 (International Men’s Day), Sydney time. Our thanks to Tom Caulfield, Technical Director at J4MB, for his impressive launch video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bC13eFl_5E ✨PATREON https://www.patreon.com/PaulElam ✨SUBSCRIBE-STAR https://www.subscribestar.com/paul-elam OR YOU CAN DONATE/SUBSCRIBE https://www.paulelam.com/donate/ BITCOIN WALLET 3BfqbqW4fDv8tVWPqHhcynHf6yVDjNLPcG 👍👍👍GET MY BOOK "MEN. WOMEN. RELATIONSHIPS" ON AMAZON https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07S6L199R SIGN UP FOR THE REGARDING MEN MAIL LIST https://regardingmen.com/ For personal consultation, book with Paul here: https://www.paulelam.com/booking-new-client-questionnaire/ My Website https://www.paulelam.com/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/paul.elam Say Goodbye to Crazy http://www.amazon.com/Say-Goodbye-Crazy-Restore-Sanity-ebook/dp/B014W0587S?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0
Home: Videos

PODCAST EPISODES

My guest appearances on different podcasts, including The Dating Economy with James Bloodworth, Two for Tea with Dr. Iona Italia, and the Incel podcast with Naama Kates.

Dating economy LOGO.jfif

THE DATING ECONOMY WITH JAMES BLOODWORTH

Incels - short for involuntary celibates - are an online community of men characterised by misogyny and rage, some of which occasionally spills over into the offline world. But why have incel communities sprung up in recent years? And is mainstream dating advice making the problem worse?

Click link to listen to this episode: 

https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-modern-dating/do-incels-deserve-better-5x9lQBekPsm/

Home: Publications
Home: Blog Feed

GET IN TOUCH

Based in Birmingham UK

  • Twitter

Thanks for submitting!

Home: Contact
bottom of page