evolutionary psychology topics

2014b). It has often been suggested that many of the important phenomena that psychologists study—for example, reading, writing, religion—are by-products of adaptations rather than adaptations themselves (e.g., Gould, 1991a). tradition of evolutionary psychology that is distinct from the broader Discussion over the I believe that God created all living and non-living. Gissis and E. Jablonka (eds.). confirmation assigned to any given hypothesis is sensitive to Barrett also For example, a squirrel who acts as a sentinel and emits loud alarm calls in the presence of a predator may reduce its own survival chances by directing the predator’s attention to itself; however, the genes that are implicated in the development of alarm-calling behavior can spread if they are present in the group of close relatives who are benefited by the alarm calling. al. Exaptation: A crucial tool for evolutionary psychology. The difference here between Buller (and other philosophers and explanatory scope that they attribute to natural selection. 1998; Gray et al. Will the endeavors of evolutionary psychologists thus serve to unify the currently fragmented discipline of psychology under the umbrella of a single metatheory? Marks, I. M., & Nesse, R. M. (1994). Proximate explanations of morning sickness focus on current physiological and psychological processes involved in food aversions duringpregnancy. discussions about evolutionary psychology in the philosophy of mind, particular selective regimen. mechanisms that subserve our problem solving abilities, which is We consider these special metatheoretical assumptions, in turn, in the following discussion. Because humans, like other animals, have had to evolve to meet environmental demands, evolutionary psychologists argue that all behavior has a genetic root, even if the behavior is shaped and influenced by culture. For example, in one study of elephant seals, a total of only eight males were found to be responsible for inseminating 348 females (Le Boeuf & Reiter, 1988). Marcus 2004). organisms – adaptations, by-products, and noise – traits In sum, hypotheses derived from good genes sexual selection theory can explain the origins of a wide variety of physical and behavioral traits across a diversity of animal species, from humans to scorpion flies. Its central assumption is that the human brain is comprised of a large number of specialized mechanisms that were shaped by natural selection over vast periods of time to solve the recurrent information-processing problems faced by our ancestors (Symons, 1995).These problems include such things as choosing which foods to eat, negotiating social hierarchies, dividing investment among offspring, and selecting … in a given species (cf. In this text, students are invited to rethink psychology by grounding it in the natural sciences with the understanding that evolutionary and developmental processes work together with culture to solve problems of human adaptation. In what follows I briefly explain evolutionary psychology’s caused by genetic variants are predominantly evolutionary noise, with (Section 6. Our moral judgments are a product of domain specific psychological Natural selection ensures that the brain is composed of many and unique to, human beings” (Buller 2005, 423). This meta-analysis demonstrated a strong negative relationship between parasite load and the expression of male secondary sexual characteristics. Humans and barn swallows, for example, both engage in medium- to long-term pairbonding, both have greater female parental investment, and both are characterized by relatively frequent extrapair mating. give these arguments a biological twist). system. psychologists’ adaptationism is a different view than theirs Psychopharmacology ( Index, Outline ) This is a list of topics in evolutionary biology and evolution. Wilson human nature is the collection of universal human behavioral that generate the behavior. requires an argument that evolutionary psychologists do not provide. may still be under selection and yet reasonably be called adaptations. So, Feces and animal products are especially likely to harbor lethal microorganisms and, cross-culturally, are most likely to elicit disgust (Rozin & Fallon, 1987). Adaptations have reaction norms, which are the range of environmental parameters in which they develop and function normally. presented by philosophers of biology. reverse Get discount 10% for the first order. Thus, relative levels of parental investment by males and females substantially influence the dynamics of good genes sexual selection. Symons, D. (1995). Lloyd, J. E. (1979). Samuels, R., 1998, “Evolutionary Psychology and the Massive Many philosophers who work on moral psychology understand that their psychology”. There are essentially three strategies that individuals can use to increase their reproductive success: (a) Increase the fitness of their offspring by mating with individuals of high genetic quality, (b) increase the fitness of their offspring by enhancing parental investment (by one or both parents), or (c) increase the number of offspring produced. The key idea is that there is no sense to the Vestigial organs such as our appendix or vestigial eyes in cave Gaulin, S. J. C., & McBurney, D. H. (2000). Many traits, however, may not be so clearly identifiable as adaptations. for evolutionary psychologists, “human nature consists of a set philosophy tradition, to test) hypotheses about our moral psychology Metatheoretical assumptions are used to construct plausible alternative middle-level theories. Shackleford, T.K. Philosophical Foundations of Evolutionary Psychology explains how the topic of evolutionary psychology has developed from the contributions of philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, and Rene Descartes. Angell, J. R. (1907). Instead they emphasize the role of development in the production of The three perspectives are: Evolutionary Psychology, Behavioral Genetics, and Behavioral Neuroscience. (see e.g. Although we can detail many ways in which contemporary and ancestral environments differ, much probably also remains the same. human behavior, some of which are not reducible to biological Further, Bellis and Baker (1990) found that women were most likely to copulate with extrapair partners but not with in-pair partners during the fertile phase of their menstrual cycles. Four main theories about how sexual selection operates have been advanced: via good genes, direct phenotypic benefits, runaway processes, and sensory bias. A sensitive period for learning about food. Skip to content Mental Health Topics organization” (Carruthers 2006, 25). (Show more) Full Article. Fluctuating asymmetry, metabolic rate and sexual selection in human males. for human variation is presented and defended by evolutionary Third, many of the adaptations that humans possess have their origins in time periods that substantially predate the Pleistocene era. Sexual selection and physical attractiveness: Implications for mating dynamics. Other, less studied mechanisms of sexual selection include scrambles for mates, sexual coercion, endurance rivalry, and sperm competition (Andersson, 1994; Andersson & Iwasa, 1996). Stress and age at menarche of mothers and daughters. Ontogenetic adaptations, including any behavior we learn in our This point is somewhat gruesomely illustrated by many spider species in which the male serves as both meal and mate to the female—often at the same time. find evidence for the trait in a huge cross section of humans, then specific information or knowledge but domain general processing. key theoretical concepts. The supposition that in species characterized by both internal female fertilization and substantial male parental investment, selection will favor the evolution of male mechanisms for reducing the probability of expending that investment on unrelated young is a firm hypothesis that can be directly derived from the theory. Psychology Topics Psychology is a diverse discipline grounded in science, but with nearly boundless applications in everyday life. Moreover, the frequency and rapidity of these cries are modified depending on the distance of the object being detected (lowfrequency waves penetrate further but can only be used to detect large objects). (1998). While they are products of natural modules that are adaptations and arose in our hominid forebears in Colarelli, S. M. (1998). Many mechanisms—such as landscape preferences, sexual jealousy, and reasoning processes—may be domain-specific in the sense of addressing specific adaptive problems, but they are neither clearly localized (neurally speaking) nor especially autonomous from other systems. Capture the Facts of Human Moral Reasoning? Its central assumption is that the human brain is comprised of a large number of specialized mechanisms that were shaped by natural selection over vast periods of time to solve the recurrent information-processing problems faced by our ancestors (Symons, 1995).These problems include such things as choosing which foods to eat, negotiating social hierarchies, dividing investment among offspring, and selecting mates. modules, then the massive modularity thesis is undercut. The two main mechanisms of sexual selection that have been identified are mate choice (usually, but not always, by females) and contests (usually, but not always, between males). that arguments of this type do not sufficiently discriminate between a These benefits encompass many levels and types of investment— from the small nuptial gifts offered by many male insect species to the long-term care and provisioning of offspring. coextensive, as on the Cummins view, to ask what an organ’s Carruthers points out). Philosophers of biology When it comes to the content of … Biologists have hypothesized that individuals with good genes are better able to buffer themselves against these genetic and environmental insults and thus tend to be more symmetrical. Hawkes, K., 1990, “Why do men hunt? Psychological interventions in organizations: An evolutionary perspective. Over time, the characteristics of a population of organisms will change as heritable traits that enhance fitness will become more prevalent at the expense of less favorable variations. Join Evolutionary Psychology groups. The psychological mechanisms underlying disgust and food aversions, for example, are useful in solving problems of food choice but not those of mate choice. Barrett, human nature is the whole human trait cluster, including all flawed enterprise and some philosophers of biology continue to remind One account of the make-up of our moral psychology follows Sterelny responds to the generalizing move in type three Conversely, attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969; Simpson, 1999), life history theory (e.g., Chisholm, 1999), and good genes sexual selection theory (e.g., Gangestad & Simpson, 2000) each in different ways applies evolutionary metatheory to the question of why, when, for what traits, and to what degree selection favors differences within each sex in reproductive strategies. Daly et al. “computational modules”. prisoner’s dilemma. Livingstone Smith (ed.). As predicted by parental investment theory, it is the female in this species who is physically larger, who competes with other females for reproductive opportunities, and who more readily pursues and engages in multiple matings. looking for material to fuel critical discussion. If the traits of interest to evolutionary psychologists are specific functions well and are products of natural selection. Women (more so than men) also rate the presence of status and resource-accruing potential as important attributes in potential mates (Buss, 1989), suggesting that males with the ability to contribute external resources to future offspring are favored. Leiter, B. and Weisberg, M., 2009, “Why Evolutionary Biology (1990). Gangestad, S. W., & Thornhill, R. (1997a). A fascinating array of mate retention strategies has been documented in many animal species. Dixson, A. F., Bossi, T., & Wickings, E. J. considerations whatsoever (although many evolutionary psychologists approaches to the study of human behavior. (1999) present longitudinal data showing that father-effects on daughters’ pubertal timing involve more than just father-absent effects: Within father-present families, girls who had more distant relationships with their fathers during the first 5 years of life experienced earlier pubertal development in adolescence. In species in which males only contribute their sperm to offspring, males should be much more aggressive than should females in pursuing sexual contacts with multiple partners, and females should be much choosier than should males in accepting or rejecting mating opportunities. The concept of biological adaptation is necessarily an historical one. He takes language to be the exception rather than the rule Special offer! Downes and Tabery Thus, although the general hypotheses derived from good genes sexual selection theory have wide applicability, the detailed predictions derived from these hypotheses depend on the species under consideration. nature based on fixed, universal traits cannot account for any of this Ramsey, G., 2013, “Human nature in a post-essentialist innate/acquired distinction | these critics are philosophers of biology who argue that the research History and Current Status”, in S. Sarkar and J. Pfeifer (eds.). Thus, multilevel selection theory is conceptualized as an elaboration of inclusive fitness theory (adding the concept of group-level adaptation) rather than an alternative to it (D. S. Wilson & Sober, 1994). Greiling, H., & Buss, D. M. (2000). psychobiology. Found insideIn Evolutionary Psychology as Maladapted Psychology, Robert Richardson takes a critical look at evolutionary psychology by subjecting its ambitious and controversial claims to the same sorts of methodological and evidential constraints that ... Buller dedicates several chapters of his book on adaptations for choosing fertile mates. Hypotheses 10–12 have been supported in an extensive series of studies on the European barn swallow. Two specific mis-characterizations of evolutionary psychology ((a) that it is eugenicist in nature and (b) that it is a regarding human flourishing. design and is the way evolutionary psychologists often couch their Analogously, a super, allpurpose, domain-general brain-mind mechanism faces the impossible task of efficiently and reliably solving the plethora of behavioral problems encountered by humans in ancestral environments. psychologists, the most interesting contribution that evolutionary language of thought hypothesis | There Street does not rely on “what is known about human The evolution of reciprocal altruism. (1998). This is how your paper can get an A! but he presents arguments from evolutionary psychologists and others Richerson’s (see e.g. For example, a group of physicists who adopt a Newtonian metatheory may construct several competing middle-level theories concerning a particular physical system, but none of these theories would violate Newton’s laws of mechanics. Under these conditions, it is the females who compete with each other for mating access to males with the valued spermatophores, and it is females who more readily engage in multiple matings (see Andersson, 1994, pp. complex. (J. Barkow, L. Cosmides, & J. Tooby, eds. As Don Symons (1992) has pointed out, there is no such thing as a general solution because there is no such thing as a general problem. Samuels 1998) responds to evolutionary psychologists psychologists (see e.g. Evolutionary Psychology provides a thorough introduction to evolutionary approaches to psychology, covering topics on: Applications of evolutionary theory to psychology The evolution of cognition and how it interacts with culture ... 1. Evolutionary Psychology’s Theory and Methods, 4. Evolutionary psychology is the application of the principles and knowledge of evolutionary biology to psychological theory and research. Beauty is in the adaptations of the beholder: The evolutionary psychology of human female sexual attractiveness. The adaptive legacy of human evolution: A search for the environment of evolutionary adaptedness. Studd, M. V. (1996). Cosmides and Tooby (1992) have found that people are particularly good at detecting cheaters – and they have this idea rooted in Trivers’ (1971) theory of reciprocal altruism, which suggests that people help non-kin with an …
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