PSYC 3420 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Reductionism, Steven Pinker, Sociobiology
21 Jan 2016
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Evolutionary psychology: applies principles of modern evolutionary theory to the study of the mind and behaviour. Fundamental assumption = our human species is a product of evolutionary forces. Darwin anticipated his idea of natural selection would be relevant to the behavioural sciences. Initially didn"t have anything to do with psychology. Sociobiology: biological-evolutionary basis of social behaviours; altruism and. One way to understand social behaviours that darwinism couldn"t explain: to understand evolution as a process that selects for genes, not individuals or groups! Guided by idea that human behaviour and the human mind cannot be fully understood without detailed knowledge of evolution and processes that shaped us. Evolutionary approach to understanding human behaviour is necessary. Everything is an adaptation; it"s misunderstood that evolutionary. Psychologists see everything as an adaptation when that"s not the case. Pinker stated not everything is an adaptation, but a byproduct of other adaptations.
