Evolutionary+Psychology



v ** Major Emphasis & Subject Matter ** o Adaption to environmental demands and the natural selection process that results. o If an inherited trait gives certain members an advantage over others (such as increasing their ability to attract mates, escape danger, or acquire food), these members will be more likely to survive and pass these characteristics on to their offspring. o Naturalism.

v ** Typical Topics ** o Survival of the fittest. o Natural selection. o Instinct in behavior motivation. o Evolutionary personality theory looks for the origin of presumably universal personality traits in the adaptive demands of our species’ evolutionary history. o Comparative psychology. o Study of development across the lifespan.

v ** Typical Questions Studied ** o What caused animals/people to change? o How has evolution shaped modern behavior? o How has the brain evolved? o Why are certain genes inherited? o Why have we evolved to seek out a long-term bond with a mate? o Why is it that across the world, on average, men desire a younger mate and attach a greater importance than women to a potential mate’s physical attractiveness, whereas women tend to seek an older mate and attach more importance than men to a potential mate’s ambition?

v ** Foundation ** o George-Louis Leclerc (1707-1788), known as Comte de Buffon was one of the first to argue for geological evolution and uniformitarianism (things change slowly). He also suggested humans and apes may have common ancestors. o Sir Charles Lyell (1797-1875), often regarded as the founder of modern geology, published //Principles of Geology// and advocated uniformitarianism. o Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802) argued that plant life developed before animal life and that all animals evolved from the same organic material. He also accepted the inheritance of aquired characteristics. o Jean-Baptiste Lamark (1744-1829) promoted progressionism, the idea that there is a steady linear advance in nature from simple to more complex forms of life, and proposed the inheritance of aquired characteristics. o Charles Darwin published his theory of evolution in 1859. Similarities among species in the expression of certain basic emotions convinced Darwin and other theorists that certain expressive behaviors have an evolutionary origin. Evolution theory is necessary to study adaptive functions of behaviors and explain how evolution has biologically predisposed modern humans towards certain ways of behaving.

v ** Supporting psychologists and publications ** o David M. Buss (1989). Sex differences in human mate preferences: Evolutionary hypotheses tested in 37 cultures. //Behavioral and Brain Sciences//, 12, 1-49. o Alice Eagly and Wendy Wood (1999). The origins of sex differences in human behavior: Evolved dispositions versus social roles. //American Psychologist//, 54, 408-423. o Confer, J., Easton, J., Fleischman, D., Goetz, C., Lewis, D., Perilloux, C., et al. (2010). Evolutionary psychology: Controversies, questions, prospects, and limitations. //American Psychologist//, //65//(2), 110-126. doi:10.1037/a0018413. o Rozin, P. (2010). Towards a cultural/evolutionary psychology: Cooperation and complementarity. //Evolution, culture, and the human mind// (pp. 9-22). New York, NY US: Psychology Press. Retrieved from PsycINFO database. o Norenzayan, A., Schaller, M., & Heine, S. (2010). Introduction. //Evolution, culture, and the human mind// (pp. 1-5). New York, NY US: Psychology Press. Retrieved from PsycINFO database.

Buss, D.M. (1889). Sex differences in human mate preferences: Evolutionary hypotheses tested in 37 cultures. //Behavioral and Brain Sciences//, 12, 1-49.

Buss, D.M. (2007). //Evolutionary psychology. The new science of the mind//. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Buss, D.M., & Schmitt, D.P. (1993). Sexual strategies theory: An evolutionary perspective on human mating. //Psychological Review//, 100, 204-232.

King, D.B., Viney, W., & Woody, W.D. (2009). //A history of psychology: Ideas and context//. USA: Pearson.

Passer, M.W., & Smith, R. E. (2008). //Psychology: The science of mind and behavior//. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Trivers, R. L. (1972). Parental investment and sexual selection. In B. Campbell (Ed.), //Sexual selection and the descent of man//. Chicago: Aldine- Atherton.