Evolutionary psychology is a branch of psychology which investigates behaviour which has evolved. Hundreds of books have been published with the goals of helping us understand and. Researchers provide evolutionary explanation of crime. What are the best books about evolutionary psychology. The 100 best evolutionary psychology books recommended by bill gates, mark. Some people think that evolutionary psychology claims to have discovered that human nature is selfish and wicked. And since evolutionary psychology is so central to human behavior, it also deals with evolutionary psychology. The journal aspires to attract as readers faculty, students, and researchers from across the social, behavioral, and life sciences who have an interest in applying evolutionary perspectives to psychology and behavior. The history of evolutionary psychology began with charles darwin, who said that humans have. It seeks to identify which human psychological traits are evolved adaptations, that is, functional products of natural selection or sexual selection. The evolutionary biology of altruism in 1975, harvard biologist e.
Evolutionary psychology is an approach that views human nature as the product of a universal set of evolved psychological adaptations to recurring problems in the ancestral environment. It applies principles of evolutionary biology darwin, 1859, in particular the logic of adaptationism williams, 1966, to derive and test hypotheses about the design and operation of the human mind. Evolutionary psychology is a scientific discipline that approaches human behavior through a lens that incorporates the effects of evolution. See evolutionary psychology and books such as the happiness hypothesis and the tangled wing that apply the perspective of evolutionary psychology to understanding the human condition. The evolutionary psychology of emotions and behavior martie g. The book aimed to examine evolved behavior of animals, and the field was later expanded to cover human behavior and given its current name of evolutionary psychology. Evolutionary psychology and charles darwins origin of species in an extension of theory about evolution towards what charles darwin, in the final pages.
Evolutionary psychology is a theoretical approach in the social and natural sciences that examines psychological structure from a modern evolutionary perspective. The ne w science of the mind, 5e provides students with the conceptual tools of evolutionary psychology, and applies them to empirical research on the human mind. Evolutionary psychology is fortunate to claim many scientists heralded for their clear. What we will try to do is provide some high level context.
The top 10 things to know to become an evolutionary psychologist. List of books and articles about evolutionary psychology. What are the best books on evolutionary psychology. Evolution and human development by peter lafreniere hove. I have used several competitors of busss textbook in the past, and. Evolutionary psychology seeks to reconstruct problems that our ancestors faced in their primitive environments, and the problemsolving behaviors they created to meet those. Information on books about judaism from an evolutionary perspective and papers in evolutionary psychology, by kevin macdonald.
The basic idea of evolutionary psychology is that psychological characteristics, like biological characteristics, may be passed on from one generation to another through hereditary material. It is similar in this respect to ethology, which has always used ideas from evolutionary biology. This second edition offers a logical progression of topics by discussing adaptive problems that humans face. It includes stories, media and cultural examples and illustrations, and applications to the personal lives of students. Evolutionary psychology definition of evolutionary. Evolutionary psychology stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. Buss department of psychology, the university of texas at austin, usa abstract evolutionary approaches to the emotions have traditionally focused on a subset of emotions that are shared with other species. Kevin macdonald, publications in evolution and psychology csulb, department of psychology. Evolutionary psychology simple english wikipedia, the free. That is why organisms do things other than having sex.
Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Evolutionary psychology is a relatively new area of psychology and its applications are still becoming established. It combines the science of psychology with the study of biology. The evolutionary biology of altruism psychology today. Books about evolutionary psychology written for a general audience. But neither can your apparent claim be taken seriously that human psychology has no cultural independent basis as implied by evolutionary psychology is neither. Toward an evolutionary psychology of the family oxford handbooks. Evolutionary psychology publishes original, empirical research addressing human psychology guided by an evolutionary perspective. Evolutionary psychology, the study of behaviour, thought, and feeling as viewed through the lens of evolutionary biology. In this target article, i outline the fundamental premises of evolutionary psychology. Affective influences on social cognition and behavior. Evolutionary psychology is a theoretical approach to psychology that attempts to explain useful mental and psychological traitssuch as memory, perception, or languageas adaptations, i. Philosophers are interested in evolutionary psychology for a number of reasons.
By taking aim at such questions, the science of evolutionary psychology has emerged as a vibrant new discipline producing groundbreaking insights. Score a books total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. Until we can come up with a convincing, credible alternative explanation, the suspicion that racist genetic. Towards a comprehensive explanation of crime, dr russil durrant from the institute of criminology and professor tony ward from the school of. An evolutionary psychological perspective laith alshawaf daniel conroybeam kelly asao david m. At the base of evolutionary psychology is darwins theory of evolution by natural selection. Evolutionary explanations of human behaviour is an introductory level book covering evolutionary psychology, this new and controversial field. Evolutionary psychology is neither the evolution institute. In the first edition, evolutionary psychology was the premier and original text for the burgeoning field of evolutionary psychology.
It integrates material on cognition and language throughout the text. Evolutionary psychology is a large and rapidly growing field, and we wont attempt to summarize it here. This conflict over maternal resources provides an explanation for some puzzling aspects of. Many evolutionary psychologists are in involved in research, trying to progress the field.
There are two novels that can transform a bookish 14yearklds life. Discover the best evolutionary psychology in best sellers. Steven pinker, johnstone professor of psychology, harvard university, usa the 6 th edition of david busss evolutionary psychology. Feb 02, 2010 evolutionary psychology is an approach to studying psychology. For this reason, many evolutionary psychologists work in academia or research. Explanation of human behaviour in terms of genetic and cultural evolution. Evolutionary,psychology, the,new,science,of,the,mind. The publishers blurb says the book goes behond inclusive fitness.
The human body evolved over eons, slowly calibrating to the african savanna on which 98 percent of human ancestry lived and died. The handbook of evolutionary psychology 9780471264033. It is suitable for senior undergraduates, first year graduate students, or professionals who wish to become conversant with the major issues currently shaping the emergence of this dynamic new field. On the origin of an evolutionary psychologist psychology today. Evolutionary psychology definition, the branch of psychology that studies the mental adaptations of humans to a changing environment, especially differences in behavior, cognition, and. Evolutionary psychologist careers psychology school guide. Here is a list of books on evolutionary psychology published 20072010, based on a search of worldcat. The handbook of evolutionary psychology, 2 volume set buss, david m. Evolutionary psychologists study what people look for in a partner, and how these preferences may have been shaped by evolutionary pressures.
David buss, one of the foremost researchers in the field, has thoroughly revised his already successful text with nearly 400 new references to provide an even more comprehensive overview of this dynamic field. In the handbook of evolutionary psychology, leading contributors discuss the foundations of the field as well as recent discoveries currently shaping this burgeoning area of psychology. Evolutionary psychology, which emerged in the late 1980s, is a synthesis of developments in several different fields, including ethology, cognitive psychology, evolutionary biology, anthropology, and social psychology. Jan 17, 2020 evolutionary psychology is a scientific discipline that approaches human behavior through a lens that incorporates the effects of evolution. The handbook of evolutionary psychology, 2 volume set. The new science of the mind, provides students with a thoroughly updated version of the best evolutionary psychology textbook on the market. In the introduction to his classic 1966 book on adaptation, g.
So it can be a great text to put evolutionary psychology into the greater perspective of brain structure, genes, and biology. Evolutionary psychologists seek to explain peoples emotions, thoughts, and responses based on charles darwins theory of evolution through. Arguments against evolutionary psychology in the first chapter, dorothy nelkin investigates the connection between genetics and religion. Evolutionary psychology is a revolutionary new science, a true synthesis of modern principles of psychology and evolutionary biology. Content topics are logically arrayed, starting with. Foundations of evolutionary psychology 2nd edition. The moral animal is one of many fine popscience books that explore the implications of evolutionary psychology for human behaviour. This book examines human psychology and behavior through the lens of modern evolutionary psychology.
Events like violent behaviour need explanation in evolutionary terms. Jerome barkow, leda cosmides and john tooby popularized the term evolutionary psychology in their 1992 book the adapted mind. Presentday psychological traits may be analyzed in terms of their evolutionary advantage for our ancestors. Having said that, my problem with evolutionary psychology isnt so much with the theory itself, but with how it has been used to justify a particular view of human nature. Based on observations of other species in their natural environments, the evolutionary psychology of human mating tends to lean toward the idea that females are more selective in their partners than males.
Whats wrong with evolutionary psychologys explanation of mens and. Wilson published sociobiology, which was viewed by most people at the time to be the most important evolutionary theory since. Designed to set the standard for handbooks in the field,the handbook of evolutionary psychology is an indispensablereference tool for every evolutionary psychologist and student. This is very different from maximizing health or longevity. Evolutionary psychology this is a wikipedia book, a collection of wikipedia articles that can be easily saved, imported by an external electronic rendering service, and ordered as a printed book. And when it comes to quality, behave is one of the best sources you can find. Selection shapes brains that maximize the number of offspring who survive to reproduce themselves. Evolutionary psychologists presume all human behaviours reflect the influence of physical and psychological predispositions that helped human ancestors survive and reproduce. This is a list of the best psychology books ever written. The book at hand is a critique of such explanations, written by a.
The third edition, containing a major update involving nearly 400 new references, continues this legacy. Evolutionary psychology and the challenge of adaptive explanation. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. Jul 15, 2005 an afterword by richard dawkins provides some finalthoughts from the renowned writer and exponent of evolutionarytheory. It seeks to identify which human psychological traits are evolved adaptations that is, the functional products of natural selection or sexual selection in human evolution. But they are flattering the researchers and anyone who would claim to have discovered the opposite. Mar 22, 2015 jonathan, yes, like all good science, evolutionary psychology must endure high degrees of scrutiny to be taken seriously. Psychologists study processes of sense perception, thinking, learning, cognition, emotions and motivations, personality, abnormal behavior, interactions between individuals, and interactions with the environment. The oxford handbook of evolutionary family psychology. One is a childish daydream that can lead to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood in which large chunks of the day are spent inventing ways to make real life more like a. Its a very good popular introduction to ev psych and ill always have a fondness for it since it was my first introduction to evolutionary psychology as an academic discipline, after reading the mostly. Evolutionary explanations of human behaviour routledge. The evolutionary psychology of emotions and behavior. Since the publication of the awardwinning first edition of evolutionary psychology, there has been an explosion of research within the field.
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