PSYC 332 Chapter Notes -Parental Investment, David Buss, Physical Attractiveness
9 Dec 2011
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Document Summary
Biologists and psychologists distinguish between two kinds of explanation: ultimate causes and. Ultimate causes refer to explanations associated with evolution (why behaviour of interest evolved and the adaptive functions it served). Proximate cause explanations refer to biological processes operating in the organism at the time the behaviour is observed. Contemporary psychologists" analyses of evolutionary forces differ and as a result, there exist. Evolutionary psychologies. main points of difference involve the degree to which psychological tendency is hardwired versus being a tendency that arises as a result of interactions between biology and culture. Writers who highlight the evolutionary hardwired aspects of human nature have gained much prominence in personality psychology. In this approach, contemporary human functioning is understood in relation to evolved solutions to adaptive problems faced by the species over millions of years. Basic psychological mechanisms are the result of evolution by selection, that is, they exist and have endured because they have been adaptive to survival and reproductive success.
