Evolutionary Psychology - An Approach in Psychology

Evolutionary psychology (or EP) proposes that human and primate cognition and behavior can be better understood in light of human and primate evolutionary history. Specifically, EP proposes the primate brain comprises many functional mechanisms, called psychological adaptations or evolved psychological mechanisms (EPMs), that evolved by natural selection to benefit the survival and reproduction of the organism. These mechanisms are universal in the species, excepting those specific to sex or age. Uncontroversial EPMs include vision, hearing, memory, and motor control. More controversial examples include differences in male and female mating preferences and strategies, temperaments and cognitive abilities, incest avoidance mechanisms, cheater detection mechanisms and capture-bonding.
The main sources of evolutionary psychology are cognitive psychology, genetics, ethology, anthropology, biology, and zoology. The term evolutionary psychology was probably coined by Ghiselin in his 1973 article in Science. Leda Cosmides and John Tooby popularized the term in their highly influential 1992 book The Adapted Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and The Generation of Culture (ISBN 0195101073).
Evolutionary psychology has been applied to the study of many fields, including economics, aggression, law, psychiatry, politics, literature, and sex. Evolutionary psychology is closely linked to the field of sociobiology, but there are key differences between them including the emphasis on domain-specific rather than domain-general faculties, the relevance of measures of current fitness, the importance of mismatch theory, and psychology rather than behaviour.
Theoretical background: William Paley, drawing upon the work of many others, argued that organisms are machines designed to function in particular environments. This idea is the foundation of modern medicine and biology. Prior to Darwin and Wallace, it was thought that the design evident in organisms was evidence for God. Darwin and Wallace's theory of evolution by natural selection provided a scientific account of the origins of function.
Evolutionary psychology is based on the presumption that, just like hearts, lungs, livers, kidneys, and immune systems, cognition has functional structure that has a genetic basis, and therefore has evolved by natural selection. Like other organs and tissues, this functional structure should be universally shared amongst humans and should solve important problems of survival and reproduction. Evolutionary psychologists seek to understand cognitive processes by understanding the survival and reproductive functions they might serve.
Controversies:
Animal behavior studies have long recognized the role of evolution; the application of evolutionary theory to human psychology, however, is controversial. There are many families of criticism of the idea.
Evolutionary psychologists respond by saying that like any other branch of science, evolutionary psychologists only claim to state what is, and not what ought to be. In fact, knowing how something works is the first step in fixing it if its broke (e.g. all of medical science), or changing how it works if we decide that is the right thing to do (e.g. if the system that 'makes' men promiscous is understood, and men understand why it exists- not for their happiness, not because it is right or moral, but because of the blind causal process of natural selection, men can become better consumers of their own consciousness, or we may even decide as a world community to offer interventions). Understanding how cancer works in no way condones its existence.

Philip Psyche is a Copywriter of PsycheGames. He had written many articles in various topics. For more information visit: PsycheGames. Contact him at Philip Psyche.