Evolutionary psychology: Difference between revisions

Browse history interactively ← Previous edit Next edit →Content deleted Content addedVisual WikitextInline

Revision as of 20:41, 19 April 2004 editR Lowry (talk \| contribs)Extended confirmed users2,229 edits formatting← Previous edit		Revision as of 20:48, 19 April 2004 edit undoR Lowry (talk \| contribs)Extended confirmed users2,229 edits new headers to get the TOC nearer the top of the articleNext edit →
Line 1:		Line 1:
	The term '''evolutionary psychology''' was coined in the book ''The Adapted Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and The Generation of Culture.'' (] & ], 1992.) They believe that more scientists and psychologists should study ] ] and ] from the perspective of ]ary theory. Evolutionary psychology is related to the fields of ], ], ], ], ], and ]. It is derived from the concept of ] pioneered by the entemologist ], who was the first to formalize the idea that social behavior could be explained evolutionarily, and coined the term ].		The term '''evolutionary psychology''' was coined in the book ''The Adapted Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and The Generation of Culture.'' (] & ], 1992.) They believe that more scientists and psychologists should study ] ] and ] from the perspective of ]ary theory. Evolutionary psychology is related to the fields of ], ], ], ], ], and ]. It is derived from the concept of ] pioneered by the entemologist ], who was the first to formalize the idea that social behavior could be explained evolutionarily, and coined the term ].

		⚫	Many researchers have published in the field of evolutionary psychology. Evolutionary psychology has been applied to the study of economics, aggression, law, psychiatry, politics, literature, and sex.


			== Theoretical background ==

	Evolutionary psychologists think we should investigate the idea that ] has shaped our minds. They have conducted experiments that appear to indicate that evolution has an influence way beyond perceiving systems like hearing, vision, motor control, and pain: they argue that it also shapes things like cultural interests, values, responses to situations, social dynamics, and sexual attitudes.		Evolutionary psychologists think we should investigate the idea that ] has shaped our minds. They have conducted experiments that appear to indicate that evolution has an influence way beyond perceiving systems like hearing, vision, motor control, and pain: they argue that it also shapes things like cultural interests, values, responses to situations, social dynamics, and sexual attitudes.
Line 10:		Line 15:

	Evolutionary psychologists study both human and non-human minds. They work to show that psychological machinery exists, and to show how it has developed by the process of ]. They want to study the mind in the same way that scientists have studied the development of body parts, like bones and muscles.		Evolutionary psychologists study both human and non-human minds. They work to show that psychological machinery exists, and to show how it has developed by the process of ]. They want to study the mind in the same way that scientists have studied the development of body parts, like bones and muscles.


			== Controversies ==

	Studies of animal behavior have long recognized the role of evolution in the development of complex behaviors in animals; however, the application of evolutionary psychology to human behavior is controversial. There are many families of criticism of the idea.		Studies of animal behavior have long recognized the role of evolution in the development of complex behaviors in animals; however, the application of evolutionary psychology to human behavior is controversial. There are many families of criticism of the idea.
Line 17:		Line 25:
	Some people who do not normally call themselves scientists worry that evolutionary psychology will be used to justify harmful behavior, and have at times tried to suppress its study. They give, as a rationale for their attempts at censorship, the example that a husband may be more likely to cheat on his wife, if he believes his mind is evolved to be that way.		Some people who do not normally call themselves scientists worry that evolutionary psychology will be used to justify harmful behavior, and have at times tried to suppress its study. They give, as a rationale for their attempts at censorship, the example that a husband may be more likely to cheat on his wife, if he believes his mind is evolved to be that way.

⚫	Many researchers have published in the field of evolutionary psychology. Evolutionary psychology has been applied to the study of economics, aggression, law, psychiatry, politics, literature, and sex.

	== Well-known evolutionary psychologists ==		== Well-known evolutionary psychologists ==

Revision as of 20:48, 19 April 2004

The term evolutionary psychology was coined in the book The Adapted Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and The Generation of Culture. (Leda Cosmides & John Tooby, 1992.) They believe that more scientists and psychologists should study human cognition and behavior from the perspective of evolutionary theory. Evolutionary psychology is related to the fields of cognitive psychology, genetics, ethology, anthropology, biology, and zoology. It is derived from the concept of sociobiology pioneered by the entemologist E. O Wilson, who was the first to formalize the idea that social behavior could be explained evolutionarily, and coined the term sociobiology.

Many researchers have published in the field of evolutionary psychology. Evolutionary psychology has been applied to the study of economics, aggression, law, psychiatry, politics, literature, and sex.

Theoretical background

Evolutionary psychologists think we should investigate the idea that evolution has shaped our minds. They have conducted experiments that appear to indicate that evolution has an influence way beyond perceiving systems like hearing, vision, motor control, and pain: they argue that it also shapes things like cultural interests, values, responses to situations, social dynamics, and sexual attitudes.

Evolutionary psychology asks why do humans behave the way they do, and can we do anything to change our behaviors. By bringing into awareness the reasons why we act in certain ways, the theory runs, we are better able to control or change behavior. Using empirical studies, statistical inference and extropolations based on studies of related primates (gorillas, bonobos, chimpanzees etc.), evolutionary psychology attempts to show that we behave as we do because in our ancestral past, specific behaviors prevailed because they solved specific problems; and that these behaviors now come programed in the brain, activated by situational cues.

For example, evolutionary psychologists wonder if people think incest is bad because our minds evolved that way. They propose that the mind has a mechanism, built by the process of evolution, to identify siblings, and then inhibit sexual desire. (See: "Does morality have a biological basis? An empirical test of the factors governing moral sentiments relating to incest." by D Lieberman, J Tooby and L Cosmides.)

As with any new theory, there are controversies. For example, evolutionary psychologists do not always agree on what the mechanisms in the brain are. An evolutionary psychologist might theorise that racism comes from built-in racial categorization. Or they might conjecture that there is a part of the brain that recognizes alliances between groups of people. If people chose to ally by skin color, then the result would be racism. What is common to these two ideas is the idea that psychological machinery exists, and that it evolved.

Evolutionary psychologists study both human and non-human minds. They work to show that psychological machinery exists, and to show how it has developed by the process of evolution. They want to study the mind in the same way that scientists have studied the development of body parts, like bones and muscles.

Controversies

Studies of animal behavior have long recognized the role of evolution in the development of complex behaviors in animals; however, the application of evolutionary psychology to human behavior is controversial. There are many families of criticism of the idea.

Scientists and psychologists, as a whole, do not necessarily believe that the mind is as mechanical as evolutionary psychologists suggest. Evolutionary psychologists point to the structure of Universal Grammar as evidence of machinery. However, the Universal Grammar itself is controversial, and it does not require the existence of machinery.

Some people who do not normally call themselves scientists worry that evolutionary psychology will be used to justify harmful behavior, and have at times tried to suppress its study. They give, as a rationale for their attempts at censorship, the example that a husband may be more likely to cheat on his wife, if he believes his mind is evolved to be that way.

Well-known evolutionary psychologists

In addition to Cosmides and Tooby, some of the best-known authors in the field are:

External Links

Reference

Cosmides, Leda; Tooby, John (1992) The Adapted Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and The Generation of Culture ISBN 0-19-510107-3.

Misplaced Pages