Evolutionary psychology m
Evolutionary mpsychologymisma mtheoreticalmapproach min mthemsocialmand mnaturalmsciencesmthat mexaminesmpsychologicalmstructuremfr
om ma mmodern mevolutionary mperspective.mItmseeksmto midentify mwhich mhuman mpsychologicalmtraitsmaremevolved madaptationsm–
mthat mis,mthemfunctionalmproductsmof mnaturalmselection mormsexualmselection m in mhuman mevolution.mAdaptationistmthinkingmabout mphy
siolo gicalmmechanisms,msuch masmthemheart,mlungs,mand mimmunemsystem,mismcommon min mevolutionary mbiology.mSomemevolutionary
mpsychologistsmapply mthemsamemthinkingmto mpsychology,marguingmthat mthemmodularity mof mmind mismsimilarmto mthat mof mthembody mand m
with mdifferent mmodularmadaptationsmservingmdifferent mfunctions.mEvolutionary mpsychologistsmarguemthat mmuch mof mhuman mbehaviormis
mthemoutput mof mpsychologicalmadaptationsmthat mevolved mto msolvemrecurrent mproblemsmin mhuman mancestralmenvironment [s1 .]
Evolutionary mpsychology mismnotmsimply ma msubdiscipline mof mpsychology mbut mitsmevolutionary mtheory mcan mprovidema mfoundational,m
metatheoretica lmframework mthat mintegratesmthementiremfield mof mpsychology min mthemsamemway mevolutionary mbiology mhasmformbiology.[
2][3][4]
Evolutionary mpsychologistsmhold mthat mbehaviorsmormtraitsmthat moccurmuniversally min mallmcu lturesmaremgood mcandidatesmformevolutio
nary madaptations[5]m includingmthemabilitiesmto m infermothers'memotions,mdiscern mkin mfrom mnon-
kin,midentify mand mprefermhealthiermmates,mand mcooperate mwith mothers.mThey mreport msuccessfulmtestsmof mtheoreticalmpredictionsmrela
ted mto msuch mtopicsmasminfanticide,mintelligence,mmarriagempatterns,mpromiscuity,mperception mof mbeauty,mbridemprice, mand mparentalm i
nvestment.[6]
Themtheoriesmand mfindingsmof mevolutionary mpsychology mhavemapplicationsmin mmany mfields,mincludin gmeconomics,menvironment,mhe
alth,mlaw,mmanagement,mpsychiatry,mpolitics,mand mliterature.[7][8]
Criticism mof mevolutionary mpsychology minvolvesmquestionsmof mtestability,mcognit ivemand mevolutionary massumptionsm(such masmmodu
larmfunctioningmof mthembrain,mand mlargemuncertainty mabout mthemancestralmenvironment),mimportance mof mnon-geneticmand mnon-
adaptive mexplanations,masmwellmasmpoliticalmand methicalmissuesmduemto minterpretationsmof mresearch mresult [9 s.][10]
Contents
Scope
Principles mPrem
ises
History
Theoretical mfoundations
Evolvedmpsychological mmechanisms
Historicalmtopics
Products mofmevolution: madaptations, mexaptations,mbyproducts, mand mrandommvariationmObli
gatemand mf acultativemadaptations
Culturalmuniversals
Environmentmofmevolutionarymadaptedness
Mismatches
ResearchmmethodsmMa
inmareasmofmresearch
Survivalmand mindividualmlevelmpsychological madaptations mMat
ing
Parenting mFami
ly mand mkin
Interactions mwithmnon-
kinm/mreciprocity mStrong mreciprocitym(orm"trib
, almreciprocity")
Evolutionarympsychologymandmculture
, Inmpsychologymsub-
fieldsmDevelopmentalmpsy
chology mSocialmpsycholog
y mAbnormalmpsychology
Antisocialmand mcriminalmbehavior
mPsychology mof mreligionmCoalitio
nalmpsychology
Receptionmandmcriticism mEthi
calmimplications mContradict
ions minmmodels
Standard msocialmsciencemmodel
mReductionism mand mdeterminism
mTestability mof mhypotheses mMod
ularity mof mmind
Culturalmrathermthanmgenetic mdevelopment mof mcognitivemtools mEvolutio
nary mpsychology mdef ense
SeemalsomNot
esmReference
s
Furthermreading
External mlinks
Academic msocietie
s mJournals
Videos
Scope
Principles
Evolutionary mpsychology misman mapproach mthat mviewsmhuman mnaturemasmthemproduct mof ma muniversalmsetmof mevolved mpsychologicalm
adaptationsmto mrecurringmproblemsmin mthemancestralmenvironment.mProponentsmsuggest mthat mitm seeksmto mintegratempsychology minto mthem
othermnaturalmsciences,mrootingmitmin mthemorganizingmtheory mof mbiology m(evolutionary mtheory),mandmthusmunderstandingmpsychology m
asma mbranch mof mbiology.mAnthropologist mJohn mTooby mand mpsychologist mLeda mCosmidesmnote:
Evolutionary mpsychology mismthemlong-
forestalled mscientif icmattempt mto massemblemout mof mthemdisjointed,mfragmentary,mand mmutually mcontradictory mhuman m
discip linesma msin gle,mlo gically mintegrated mresearch mframework mformthempsychological,msocial,mand mbehavioralmscien
cesm–
a framework mthat mnot monly mincorporatesmthemevolutionary msciencesmon ma mfullmand mequalmbasis,mbut mthat msystematic
m m
ally mworksmoutmallmof mthemrevisionsmin mexistingmbelief mand mresearch mpracticemthat msuch ma msynthesismrequires.[11]
Just masmhuman mphysiology mand mevolutionary mphysiology mhavemworked mto midentify mphysicalmadaptationsmof mthembody mthat mreprese
ntm"human mphysiologicalmnature,"mthempurposemof m evolutionary mpsychology mism to m identify mevolved memotionalmand mcognitivemadaptati
onsmthat mrepresent m"human mpsychologicalmnature."mAccordin gmto mSteven mPinker,m itmism"not ma msinglemtheory mbut ma mlargemsetmof mhyp
otheses"mand ma mterm mthat m"hasmalso mcomemto mrefermto ma mparticularmway mof mapplyingmevolutionary mtheory mto mthemmind,mwith manme
mphasismon madaptation,mgene-
levelmselection,mand mmodularity."mEvolutionary mpsychology madoptsman munderstandingmof mthemmind mthat mismbased mon mthemcomputat
ionalmtheory mof mmind.mIt mdescribesmmentalmprocessesmasmcomputationalmoperations,mso mthat,mformexample,ma mfearmresponsemismd esc
ribed masmarising mfrom ma mneurologicalmcomputation mthat minputsmthemperceptionalmdata,me.g.ma mvisualmimagemof ma mspider,mand moutputsm
the
, appropriatemreaction,me.g.mfearmof mpossibly mdangerousmanimals.mUndermthismv iew,many mDomain-
generalmlearningism impossiblembecausemof mthemCombinatorialmexplosion.mThis mimpliesmDomain-
specificmlearning.mEvolutionary mPsychology mspecifiesmthemdomain masmthemproblemsmof msurvivalmand mreproduction [.12]
Whilemphilosophersmhavemgenerally mconsidered mthemhuman mmind mto mincludembroad mfaculties,msuch masmreason mand mlust,mevolutiona
ry mpsychologistsmdescribemevolved mpsychologicalmmechanismsmasmnarrowly mfocused mto mdealmwith mspecificmissues,msuch masmcatching
cheatersmormchoosingmmates.mThemdisciplinemviewsmthemhuman mbrain masmcomprisin gmmany mfunctionalmmechanisms,mcalled mpsych
m
ological madaptationsmormevolved mcognitivemmechanismsmormcognitivemmodules,mdesigned mby mthemprocessmof mnaturalmselection.mExa
mplesmincludemlanguage-acquisition mmodules,m incest-avoidance mmechanisms,mcheater-
detection mmechanisms,m intelligencemand msex-specificmmatingmpreferences,mforagingmmechanisms,malliance-
trackingmmechanisms,magent-detection mmechanisms,mand mothers.mSomemmechanisms,mtermed mdomain-
specific,mdealmwith mrecurrent madaptivemproblemsmovermthemcoursemof mhuman mevolutionary mhistory.mDomain-
general mmechanisms,mon mthemothermhand,maremproposed mto mdealmwith mevolutionary mnovel.ty
Evolutionary mpsychology mhasmrootsmin mcognit ivempsychologyand mevolutionary mbiology mbut malso mdrawsmon mbehavioralmecology,marti
ficialmintelligence,mgenetics,methology,manthropology,marchaeology,mbiology,mand mzoology.mItmismclosely mlinked mto msociobiology,[5]m b
utmtheremaremkey mdifferencesmbetween mthem mincludingmthememphasismon mdomain-specificmrathermthan mdomain-
general mmechanisms,mthemrelevancemof mmeasuresmof mcurrentfitness,mthemimportancemof mmismatch mtheory,mand mpsychology mrathermth
an mbehavior.mMost mof mwhat mismnowmlabeled masmsociobiologicalmresearch mismnowmconfined mto mthemfield mof mbehavioralmecolog.y
NikolaasmTinbergen'smfourmcategoriesmof mquestionsmcan mhelp mto mclarify mthemdistinctionsmbetween mseveralmdifferent,mbut mcompleme
ntary,mtypesmof mexplanations.[13]mEvolutionary mpsychology mfocusesmprimarily mon mthem"why?"mquestions,mwh ilemtraditionalmpsychol
ogy mfocusesmon mthem"how?"mquestions.[14]
Sequential mvs. mStaticmPerspective
Historical/Developmental mE CurrentmForm
xplanationmof mcurrent mformmin Explanationmofmthemcurrent mformmofmspec
mterms mof mamhistorical msequen ies
ce
Proximate Ontogeny
Mechanism
Howmanmindividualmo Developmentalmexplanations mf orm
Mechanistic mexplanations mf ormhowmanmor
rganism's mstructures m changes minmindividuals,mf rommDN
Howmvs.m ganism's mstructures mwork
f unction Amto mtheirmcurrent mf orm
WhymQue
stions Evolutionary Phylogeny Adaptation
Whymamspecies mevolv Themhistory mof mthemevolutionmof mse Amspecies mtrait mthat mevolved mto msolvemam
ed mthemstructures m(ad quentialmchanges minmaspeciesmove reproductivemormsurvivalmproblemminmthem
aptations)mitmhas rmmany mgenerations ancestralmenvironment
Premises
Evolutionary mpsychology mismfounded mon mseveralmcorempremises.
1. Thembrainmis manminf ormationmprocessing mdevice, mand mitmproduces mbehaviorminmresponsemto mexternalmand mint
ernalminputs. [2][15]
2. Thembrain's madaptivemmechanisms mweremshaped mby mnaturalmand msexualmselectio [n2. ][15]
3. Dif f erent mneuralmmechanisms maremspecializedf ormsolving mproblems minmhumanity's mevolutionary mpas [t2.m][15]
4. Thembrainmhas mevolved mspecialized mneuralmmechanisms mthat mweremdesigned mf ormsolvingmproblems mthat mrecurred m
overmdeep mevolutionary mtime, [15]m giving mmodernmhumans mstone-agemminds [.2][16]
5. Most mcontents mand mprocesses mofmthembrainmaremunconscious; mand mmostmmentalmproblems mthat mseemmeasy mto msolv
emaremactually mextremely mdif icult mproblems mthat maresolved munconsciously mby mcomplicated mneuralmmechanisms [2.]
6. Humanmpsychology mconsistsmof mmany mspecialized mmechanisms, meachmsensitivemto mdfeifrent mclasses mof minf ormati
onmorminputs. mThesemmechanisms mcombinemto mproducemmanif est mbehavio. [r15]
History
Evolutionary mpsychologymisma mtheoreticalmapproach min mthemsocialmand mnaturalmsciencesmthat mexaminesmpsychologicalmstructuremfr
om ma mmodern mevolutionary mperspective.mItmseeksmto midentify mwhich mhuman mpsychologicalmtraitsmaremevolved madaptationsm–
mthat mis,mthemfunctionalmproductsmof mnaturalmselection mormsexualmselection m in mhuman mevolution.mAdaptationistmthinkingmabout mphy
siolo gicalmmechanisms,msuch masmthemheart,mlungs,mand mimmunemsystem,mismcommon min mevolutionary mbiology.mSomemevolutionary
mpsychologistsmapply mthemsamemthinkingmto mpsychology,marguingmthat mthemmodularity mof mmind mismsimilarmto mthat mof mthembody mand m
with mdifferent mmodularmadaptationsmservingmdifferent mfunctions.mEvolutionary mpsychologistsmarguemthat mmuch mof mhuman mbehaviormis
mthemoutput mof mpsychologicalmadaptationsmthat mevolved mto msolvemrecurrent mproblemsmin mhuman mancestralmenvironment [s1 .]
Evolutionary mpsychology mismnotmsimply ma msubdiscipline mof mpsychology mbut mitsmevolutionary mtheory mcan mprovidema mfoundational,m
metatheoretica lmframework mthat mintegratesmthementiremfield mof mpsychology min mthemsamemway mevolutionary mbiology mhasmformbiology.[
2][3][4]
Evolutionary mpsychologistsmhold mthat mbehaviorsmormtraitsmthat moccurmuniversally min mallmcu lturesmaremgood mcandidatesmformevolutio
nary madaptations[5]m includingmthemabilitiesmto m infermothers'memotions,mdiscern mkin mfrom mnon-
kin,midentify mand mprefermhealthiermmates,mand mcooperate mwith mothers.mThey mreport msuccessfulmtestsmof mtheoreticalmpredictionsmrela
ted mto msuch mtopicsmasminfanticide,mintelligence,mmarriagempatterns,mpromiscuity,mperception mof mbeauty,mbridemprice, mand mparentalm i
nvestment.[6]
Themtheoriesmand mfindingsmof mevolutionary mpsychology mhavemapplicationsmin mmany mfields,mincludin gmeconomics,menvironment,mhe
alth,mlaw,mmanagement,mpsychiatry,mpolitics,mand mliterature.[7][8]
Criticism mof mevolutionary mpsychology minvolvesmquestionsmof mtestability,mcognit ivemand mevolutionary massumptionsm(such masmmodu
larmfunctioningmof mthembrain,mand mlargemuncertainty mabout mthemancestralmenvironment),mimportance mof mnon-geneticmand mnon-
adaptive mexplanations,masmwellmasmpoliticalmand methicalmissuesmduemto minterpretationsmof mresearch mresult [9 s.][10]
Contents
Scope
Principles mPrem
ises
History
Theoretical mfoundations
Evolvedmpsychological mmechanisms
Historicalmtopics
Products mofmevolution: madaptations, mexaptations,mbyproducts, mand mrandommvariationmObli
gatemand mf acultativemadaptations
Culturalmuniversals
Environmentmofmevolutionarymadaptedness
Mismatches
ResearchmmethodsmMa
inmareasmofmresearch
Survivalmand mindividualmlevelmpsychological madaptations mMat
ing
Parenting mFami
ly mand mkin
Interactions mwithmnon-
kinm/mreciprocity mStrong mreciprocitym(orm"trib
, almreciprocity")
Evolutionarympsychologymandmculture
, Inmpsychologymsub-
fieldsmDevelopmentalmpsy
chology mSocialmpsycholog
y mAbnormalmpsychology
Antisocialmand mcriminalmbehavior
mPsychology mof mreligionmCoalitio
nalmpsychology
Receptionmandmcriticism mEthi
calmimplications mContradict
ions minmmodels
Standard msocialmsciencemmodel
mReductionism mand mdeterminism
mTestability mof mhypotheses mMod
ularity mof mmind
Culturalmrathermthanmgenetic mdevelopment mof mcognitivemtools mEvolutio
nary mpsychology mdef ense
SeemalsomNot
esmReference
s
Furthermreading
External mlinks
Academic msocietie
s mJournals
Videos
Scope
Principles
Evolutionary mpsychology misman mapproach mthat mviewsmhuman mnaturemasmthemproduct mof ma muniversalmsetmof mevolved mpsychologicalm
adaptationsmto mrecurringmproblemsmin mthemancestralmenvironment.mProponentsmsuggest mthat mitm seeksmto mintegratempsychology minto mthem
othermnaturalmsciences,mrootingmitmin mthemorganizingmtheory mof mbiology m(evolutionary mtheory),mandmthusmunderstandingmpsychology m
asma mbranch mof mbiology.mAnthropologist mJohn mTooby mand mpsychologist mLeda mCosmidesmnote:
Evolutionary mpsychology mismthemlong-
forestalled mscientif icmattempt mto massemblemout mof mthemdisjointed,mfragmentary,mand mmutually mcontradictory mhuman m
discip linesma msin gle,mlo gically mintegrated mresearch mframework mformthempsychological,msocial,mand mbehavioralmscien
cesm–
a framework mthat mnot monly mincorporatesmthemevolutionary msciencesmon ma mfullmand mequalmbasis,mbut mthat msystematic
m m
ally mworksmoutmallmof mthemrevisionsmin mexistingmbelief mand mresearch mpracticemthat msuch ma msynthesismrequires.[11]
Just masmhuman mphysiology mand mevolutionary mphysiology mhavemworked mto midentify mphysicalmadaptationsmof mthembody mthat mreprese
ntm"human mphysiologicalmnature,"mthempurposemof m evolutionary mpsychology mism to m identify mevolved memotionalmand mcognitivemadaptati
onsmthat mrepresent m"human mpsychologicalmnature."mAccordin gmto mSteven mPinker,m itmism"not ma msinglemtheory mbut ma mlargemsetmof mhyp
otheses"mand ma mterm mthat m"hasmalso mcomemto mrefermto ma mparticularmway mof mapplyingmevolutionary mtheory mto mthemmind,mwith manme
mphasismon madaptation,mgene-
levelmselection,mand mmodularity."mEvolutionary mpsychology madoptsman munderstandingmof mthemmind mthat mismbased mon mthemcomputat
ionalmtheory mof mmind.mIt mdescribesmmentalmprocessesmasmcomputationalmoperations,mso mthat,mformexample,ma mfearmresponsemismd esc
ribed masmarising mfrom ma mneurologicalmcomputation mthat minputsmthemperceptionalmdata,me.g.ma mvisualmimagemof ma mspider,mand moutputsm
the
, appropriatemreaction,me.g.mfearmof mpossibly mdangerousmanimals.mUndermthismv iew,many mDomain-
generalmlearningism impossiblembecausemof mthemCombinatorialmexplosion.mThis mimpliesmDomain-
specificmlearning.mEvolutionary mPsychology mspecifiesmthemdomain masmthemproblemsmof msurvivalmand mreproduction [.12]
Whilemphilosophersmhavemgenerally mconsidered mthemhuman mmind mto mincludembroad mfaculties,msuch masmreason mand mlust,mevolutiona
ry mpsychologistsmdescribemevolved mpsychologicalmmechanismsmasmnarrowly mfocused mto mdealmwith mspecificmissues,msuch masmcatching
cheatersmormchoosingmmates.mThemdisciplinemviewsmthemhuman mbrain masmcomprisin gmmany mfunctionalmmechanisms,mcalled mpsych
m
ological madaptationsmormevolved mcognitivemmechanismsmormcognitivemmodules,mdesigned mby mthemprocessmof mnaturalmselection.mExa
mplesmincludemlanguage-acquisition mmodules,m incest-avoidance mmechanisms,mcheater-
detection mmechanisms,m intelligencemand msex-specificmmatingmpreferences,mforagingmmechanisms,malliance-
trackingmmechanisms,magent-detection mmechanisms,mand mothers.mSomemmechanisms,mtermed mdomain-
specific,mdealmwith mrecurrent madaptivemproblemsmovermthemcoursemof mhuman mevolutionary mhistory.mDomain-
general mmechanisms,mon mthemothermhand,maremproposed mto mdealmwith mevolutionary mnovel.ty
Evolutionary mpsychology mhasmrootsmin mcognit ivempsychologyand mevolutionary mbiology mbut malso mdrawsmon mbehavioralmecology,marti
ficialmintelligence,mgenetics,methology,manthropology,marchaeology,mbiology,mand mzoology.mItmismclosely mlinked mto msociobiology,[5]m b
utmtheremaremkey mdifferencesmbetween mthem mincludingmthememphasismon mdomain-specificmrathermthan mdomain-
general mmechanisms,mthemrelevancemof mmeasuresmof mcurrentfitness,mthemimportancemof mmismatch mtheory,mand mpsychology mrathermth
an mbehavior.mMost mof mwhat mismnowmlabeled masmsociobiologicalmresearch mismnowmconfined mto mthemfield mof mbehavioralmecolog.y
NikolaasmTinbergen'smfourmcategoriesmof mquestionsmcan mhelp mto mclarify mthemdistinctionsmbetween mseveralmdifferent,mbut mcompleme
ntary,mtypesmof mexplanations.[13]mEvolutionary mpsychology mfocusesmprimarily mon mthem"why?"mquestions,mwh ilemtraditionalmpsychol
ogy mfocusesmon mthem"how?"mquestions.[14]
Sequential mvs. mStaticmPerspective
Historical/Developmental mE CurrentmForm
xplanationmof mcurrent mformmin Explanationmofmthemcurrent mformmofmspec
mterms mof mamhistorical msequen ies
ce
Proximate Ontogeny
Mechanism
Howmanmindividualmo Developmentalmexplanations mf orm
Mechanistic mexplanations mf ormhowmanmor
rganism's mstructures m changes minmindividuals,mf rommDN
Howmvs.m ganism's mstructures mwork
f unction Amto mtheirmcurrent mf orm
WhymQue
stions Evolutionary Phylogeny Adaptation
Whymamspecies mevolv Themhistory mof mthemevolutionmof mse Amspecies mtrait mthat mevolved mto msolvemam
ed mthemstructures m(ad quentialmchanges minmaspeciesmove reproductivemormsurvivalmproblemminmthem
aptations)mitmhas rmmany mgenerations ancestralmenvironment
Premises
Evolutionary mpsychology mismfounded mon mseveralmcorempremises.
1. Thembrainmis manminf ormationmprocessing mdevice, mand mitmproduces mbehaviorminmresponsemto mexternalmand mint
ernalminputs. [2][15]
2. Thembrain's madaptivemmechanisms mweremshaped mby mnaturalmand msexualmselectio [n2. ][15]
3. Dif f erent mneuralmmechanisms maremspecializedf ormsolving mproblems minmhumanity's mevolutionary mpas [t2.m][15]
4. Thembrainmhas mevolved mspecialized mneuralmmechanisms mthat mweremdesigned mf ormsolvingmproblems mthat mrecurred m
overmdeep mevolutionary mtime, [15]m giving mmodernmhumans mstone-agemminds [.2][16]
5. Most mcontents mand mprocesses mofmthembrainmaremunconscious; mand mmostmmentalmproblems mthat mseemmeasy mto msolv
emaremactually mextremely mdif icult mproblems mthat maresolved munconsciously mby mcomplicated mneuralmmechanisms [2.]
6. Humanmpsychology mconsistsmof mmany mspecialized mmechanisms, meachmsensitivemto mdfeifrent mclasses mof minf ormati
onmorminputs. mThesemmechanisms mcombinemto mproducemmanif est mbehavio. [r15]
History
