Title: Evolutionary psychology - Wikipedia
Headings: Evolutionary psychology
Evolutionary psychology
Contents
Scope
Principles
Premises
History
Theoretical foundations
Evolved psychological mechanisms
Historical topics
Products of evolution: adaptations, exaptations, byproducts, and random variation
Obligate and facultative adaptations
Cultural universals
Environment of evolutionary adaptedness
Mismatches
Research methods
Main areas of research
Survival and individual-level psychological adaptations
Consciousness
Sensation and perception
Learning and facultative adaptations
Emotion and motivation
Cognition
Personality
Language
Mating
Parenting
Family and kin
Interactions with non-kin / reciprocity
Strong reciprocity (or "tribal reciprocity")
Evolutionary psychology and culture
In psychology sub-fields
Developmental psychology
Social psychology
Abnormal psychology
Antisocial and criminal behavior
Psychology of religion
Coalitional psychology
Reception and criticism
Ethical implications
Contradictions in models
Standard social science model
Reductionism and determinism
Testability of hypotheses
Modularity of mind
Cultural rather than genetic development of cognitive tools
Response by evolutionary psychologists
See also
Notes
References
Further reading
External links
Academic societies
Journals
Videos

Content: Evolutionary psychology - Wikipedia
Evolutionary psychology
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Application of evolutionary theory to identify which human psychological traits are evolved adaptations
For the academic journal, see Evolutionary Psychology (journal). Part of a series on
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Part of a series on
Evolutionary biology
Darwin's finches by John Gould
Key topics
Introduction to evolution
Common descent
Evidence
Processes and outcomes
Population genetics
Variation
Diversity
Mutation
Natural selection
Adaptation
Polymorphism
Genetic drift
Gene flow
Speciation
Adaptive radiation
Co-operation
Coevolution
Coextinction
Divergence
Convergence
Parallel evolution
Extinction
Natural history
Origin of life
History of life
Timeline of evolution
Human evolution
Phylogeny
Biodiversity
Biogeography
Classification
Evolutionary taxonomy
Cladistics
Transitional fossil
Extinction event
History of evolutionary theory
Overview
Renaissance
Before Darwin
Darwin
Origin of Species
Before synthesis
Modern synthesis
Molecular evolution
Evo-devo
Current research
History of speciation
History of paleontology ( timeline)
Fields and applications
Applications of evolution
Biosocial criminology
Ecological genetics
Evolutionary aesthetics
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Evolutionary ethics
Evolutionary game theory
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Evolutionary psychology is a theoretical approach in the social and natural sciences that examines psychological structure from a modern evolutionary perspective. 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. Adaptationist thinking about physiological mechanisms, such as the heart, lungs, and immune system, is common in evolutionary biology. Some evolutionary psychologists apply the same thinking to psychology, arguing that the modularity of mind is similar to that of the body and with different modular adaptations serving different functions. These evolutionary psychologists argue that much of human behavior is the output of psychological adaptations that evolved to solve recurrent problems in human ancestral environments. Evolutionary psychology is not simply a subdiscipline of psychology—its evolutionary theory can provide a foundational, metatheoretical framework that integrates the entire field of psychology in the same way evolutionary biology has for biology. Evolutionary psychologists hold that behaviors or traits that occur universally in all cultures are good candidates for evolutionary adaptations including the abilities to infer others' emotions, discern kin from non-kin, identify and prefer healthier mates, and cooperate with others. Findings have been made regarding human social behaviour related to infanticide, intelligence, marriage patterns, promiscuity, perception of beauty, bride price, and parental investment. The theories and findings of evolutionary psychology have applications in many fields, including economics, environment, health, law, management, psychiatry, politics, and literature.