Mar 28, 2024  
2016-2018 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2016-2018 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

PY 3650 - Evolutionary Psychology


(3)
Evolutionary psychology seeks to understand evolved cognitive, emotional and behavioral adaptations in humans within the context of potential selection pressures present in our evolutionary history. A central tenet of evolutionary psychology is that the human brain is comprised of a large number of specialized mechanisms that have been shaped by natural selection over vast periods of time to solve survival problems faced by our human ancestors. This courses reviews current thinking about hominid evolution and the basic tenets of modern evolutionary theory. In addition a variety of human adaptive problems will be discussed in the context of psychological mechanisms that may have been selected for to solve these adaptive problems (e.g., basic survival, mating strategies, parenting, kinship and problems of group living).

Prerequisite: PY 1000 .