1. Describe how evolutionary psychologists use Darwin’s principles of natural selection and genetic mutations to explain human behavior.…
Evolutionary Psychology is an approach to psychology, in which knowledge and principles from evolutionary biology are put to use in research on the structure of the human mind. This field really examines natural selection and how it favors behaviors that help keep a species going from one generation to the next. Psychologists studying the behavior of Amy Winehouse using the evolutionary perspective may explain why her children could be good singers or could also become addicted to drugs.…
As the evolutionary approach is a biological one, it suggests that aspects of human behaviour have been coded by our genes because they were or are adaptive. However, a debate of this approach is the nature vs. nurture approach, nature supporting the evolutionary approach being that we have evolved through survival value and its ability to increase an individuals opportunities to pass on their genes, an example showing this was Bowlby’s theory of attachment – concerning the role of evolution is the explanation of stress as an adaptive response to environmental pressures. Animals born without such responses die quickly. Nurture, on the other hand, is a view proposed by the social approach suggesting behaviour is affected by experience and environment.…
References: Clark, K., & Clark, M. (1939). Classics in history of Psychology. The development of…
Emotion promotes survival of the species, emotional responses are instinctive and universal, rather than learned and culture-specific…
1. One way evolutionary psychology can answer Dylan’s promiscuity is that it has become a learned behavior that he has never had to correct/change. The study states that he has been promiscuous since high school and he sees no reason to change his ways.…
15. Evolutionary psychology is about the application of Darwinian theory of natural selection to understanding behavior.…
Evolution is a “process over time which enables us to adapt to our changing environments”. Charles Darwin was one of the founders of this theory whereby he identified that rather that a species being fixed at creation they gradually evolve from that of their common ancestors (Darwin cited in Clegg 2007) with characteristics and behaviours, that best suit the ever changing environment we live in, being passed down the generations in order to support survival.…
Emotions seem to rule our every day life. We make all of our decisions based on whether we feel happy, sad, scared, angry or disgusted. An emotion is a complex psychological state that involves three distinct components: a subjective experience, a psychological response, and a behavioural or expressive response (Hockenbury & Hockenbury, 2007). Charles Darwin (1809-1882) is the father of emotion; he published the first ever book about the study of biopsychology of emotion - “The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals” (Darwin, 1872). In his book he made two major contributions, one, that animal emotions are similar to human emotions, and the other, that there are fundamental and basic emotions present across all species. For him, emotion…
It is complementary to the behavioral perspective because some behaviors may enhance the chance to survival.…
Although the biological perspective has accumulated a lot of information about behavior, there are a number of concepts that it cannot yet fully explain (Hecht, 2013). The main concepts are memory, stress, learning, and emotions. All of these aspects need input from other approaches to provide a more complex explanation (Hecht, 2013). Most biological explanations are reductionist and don’t provide enough information to fully explain human behavior. Individuals may be predisposed to certain behaviors, but these behaviors may not be displayed unless they are triggered by factors in the environment. This is known as the ‘Diathesis Stress Model’ of human behavior (Hecht, 2013). Also, this perspective is too deterministic when…
A new idea is never accepted easily; when an idea first comes into existence many questions are raised before the notion convinces anyone. Along with a new theory comes many new controversies and critiques which go against the bright new idea. An example of a brilliant idea which still has many controversies surrounding it is the notion of evolutionary psychology. As this field progresses into the world, many brilliant scientists from around the world reason why they think it’s false. Both supporters and adversaries not only helped shed light for each other, but also helped shed light in helping me decide whether I wanted to stand behind this new field, or be among the many that decline it.…
Evolutionary psychology is an approach in the social and natural sciences that studies the psychological behaviours and adaptations of humans to the changing physical and social environment. It’s basically a combination of evolutionary biology and cognitive psychology. In 1859, Charles Darwin set out his theory of evolution by natural selection as an explanation for adaptation and speciation. He believed that all plants and animals had evolved from a few common ancestors by means of natural selection. The theory is based on the assumption that living organisms face environmental challenges. This means that those who adapt best to the environment will have a greater chance of surviving, having children, and passing on their genes to the next…
The article, written by Nigel Nicholson, is a very interesting read. The author talked about evolutionary psychology and how it affects the thinking and feeling as well the social living of human beings. It says that evolutionary psychology "offers a theory of how the human mind came to be constructed and that mind is hardwired in ways that govern most human behavior to this day". Human behavior is the way it is today according to evolutionary psychology because the same survival mentality of man's Stone Age ancestors have been genetically passed on throughout the generations. And since there has been no catastrophic incidents in the world that would stimulate further human evolution, evolutionary psychologists contend that human brains are still ingrained with that Stone Age "hunter-gatherers" behavior even in this present day. The author further writes that studying this psychology is useful to managers in today's world as it provides them with an understanding of why people act the way they do in organizational settings.…
(Note: in this paper, adaptation is interpreted as simply “change”, including both proactive & reactive behavior)…