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You Are What You Eat
Published in Emily Crews Splane, Neil E. Rowland, Anaya Mitra, Psychology of Eating, 2019
Emily Crews Splane, Neil E. Rowland, Anaya Mitra
Evolutionary psychology is a sub-discipline that considers how psychological traits may have been molded by evolutionary forces in play at the time of the emergence of modern humans. Fossil records show that the earliest hominids appeared about 4.5 million years ago; they were hunter-gatherers – food acquisition was central to their survival. In the next 4–5 million years of hominids’ existence, prior to the emergence about 200,000 years ago of modern humans (Homo sapiens), species of Australopithecus and Homo evolved only to suffer extinction. A common theme of hominid evolution is the progressive alteration of body shape or size, including erect stature, altered jaw and tooth structure (adapting to different foods), and the development of bigger brains (e.g., http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species). This large brain has allowed communication and cooperation for food resources, culture, agriculture, and technology.
Human mate selection theory
Published in John Ravenscroft, The Routledge Handbook of Visual Impairment, 2019
Gaylen Kapperman, Stacy M. Kelly
We approach the topic of judging the suitability of an individual from the perspective of the gender of the pursuer. Thus, the information supplied below regarding the characteristics of potential female partners has been developed by Gaylen Kapperman, a male, and the information developed regarding the female’s point of view has been developed by Stacy Kelly, a female. We address the issues involved from an evolutionary psychology point of view.
Neonaticide in Theory and in History: Who Are the Perpetrators?
Published in Lita Linzer Schwartz, Natalie K. Isser, Endangered Children, 2011
Lita Linzer Schwartz, Natalie K. Isser
Evolutionary psychology developed from the works of sociobiology as psychologists began to explore the mind in the same way that biologists were examining genetic human behavior (Buss, 1999). According to these thinkers, the brain must have evolved according to the same evolutionary processes as other organs. Pinker (1997a) claimed that the mind resembles the computer modules designed to perform certain tasks. Therefore, these modules are pushed by their genetic instincts to love, cherish, and take care of children and parents.
Normal lark, deviant owl: The relationship between chronotype and compliance with COVID-19 mitigation measures
Published in Chronobiology International, 2022
Second, the present research contributes to the evolutionary psychology literature. According to the niche-specialization hypothesis, any traits should promote the active exploitation of specialized niches generated by the environment (Montiglio et al. 2013). For example, Jonason et al. (2013) found that individuals who have a night-time chronotype tend to have constellations of dark personality traits, such as Machiavellianism, secondary psychopathy, and exploitive narcissism. This is possibly because immoral transgressions might be easier at night with impaired vision, inactive cognitive performance, and fewer awakened people (Mealey 1995; Zhong et al. 2010). Preventative measures surrounding COVID-19 (e.g., mask wearing) may bring inconvenience to people and harm personal autonomy. However, breaching the regulations can also incur a penalty. One way that people can successfully resolve the conflict between personal (or self-serving) and public interests is to exploit the night-time niche and become the creatures of the night by outthinking those set on catching, controlling, and punishing them. Thus, the present research provided a direct behavioral evidence for the niche-specialization hypothesis that individuals with darker personalities and more noncompliance with safety guidelines occupy the night-time niche for their adaptive goals.
Conceptualizing Abortion as Adaptive: Throwing the Baby Out With the Bathwater?
Published in Women's Reproductive Health, 2022
Some of the commentary writers questioned whether evolutionary psychology perspectives are truly appropriate given their history of being misused to justify and reinforce systems of oppression. However, modern evolutionary science takes an integrated approach to understanding the forces that shape human behavior and cognition and recognizes the complex interactions between, and interdependence of, ultimate and proximate mechanisms of change. Hrdy (2013, p. xvi) described this integrated “nature” + “nurture” approach as a “wider angled evolutionary lens” that can accommodate a more nuanced account of human behavior, including representations of women as agentic, active strategists rather than passive observers of male–male competition for mates and power. Evolutionary psychology is an appropriate lens to view, and re-story, abortion given modern scholars’ willingness to approach human behavior as “… a matter of social and cultural negotiation as well as embedded in our physical bodies, ecological affiliations, and phylogenic histories” (Davis, 2020, p. 2). If evolutionary theory is dismissed as inappropriate in its application to abortion research, we “throw the baby out with the bathwater.” Are the unique insights and methodological tools in the evolutionary sciences destined for the rubbish bin, even though more recent applications of evolutionary theory do not fall prey to the evolutionary generalizations of our predecessors?
Adaptive Choice: Psychological Perspectives on Abortion and Reproductive Freedom
Published in Women's Reproductive Health, 2022
We call for future research that applies perspectives from multiple disciplines and subfields, such as the evolutionary psychology, clinical psychology, and social psychological perspectives we highlighted. Such research could take advantage of the strengths of each specific domain, including their theories, methodologies, and assumptions. Evolutionary psychological perspectives on abortion can assist in clarifying how our reproductive psychologies interact with our environments, clinical psychological perspectives can provide useful pathways to impact both individuals’ experiences and abortion legislation, and social psychological perspectives can provide unique insights regarding intersecting identities and relevant stereotypes in reproductive experiences and decision making. Future psychological research on reproductive decision-making should be guided by several underdeveloped areas of investigation that we have identified. For example, very little is known about abortion decision-making processes in countries without (or with only lifesaving) legal abortion services. The practical implications of such research could be significant, as unsafe abortion procedures are particularly common in these societies. A better understanding of abortion decision-making processes when people must pursue high-risk abortion options without medical support could provide a foundation for lifesaving interventions.