Evolutionary Perspective
Published on Nov 18, 2015
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PRESENTATION OUTLINE
EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE
BY: SARAH THOMAS
Evolutionary Perspective:
A perspective that looks at the effect that psychological adaptation and natural selection has on human behavior
MAKING CONNECTIONS:
Just as scientists study physical adaptations and changes in groups of people over time, evolutionary psychologists study changes in emotion and cognition in groups of people over time. Scientists look at more physical changes while evolutionary psychologists look at psychological changes and adaptations.
History
The Idea of evolutionary psychology was inspired by Charles Darwin and his beliefs about evolution of the physical body. Later psychologist like William James began more research on the topic.
Charles Darwin
- Developed the Evolutionary Theory
-In terms of the Evolutionary Perspective, he stated that the social instincts that humans possess evolved by natural selection.
-His theory of natural selection is the foundation to the evolutionary theory.
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William James
His theory is all about instincts. According to James, Humans have instincts, a lot more than animals do, but experience can overpower instinct in terms of reaction.
- Founded functionalism
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Nikolaas Tinbergen
A behavior expert who developed Tinbergen's Four Questions.
Tinbergen's Four Questions
The Four Questions are used to analyze behavior.
The Questions are broken down into two subgroups: the proximate view (how) and the ultimate view (why) ?
The four ideas in question are:
1. Ontogeny
2. Phylogeny
3. Mechanism
4. Adaptation
TINBERGENS FOUR QUESTIONS ANALYSIS
Key Terms
1. Natural Selection- the process by which living things adapt to specific changes if the outcome is favorable, the trait is perpetuated in succeeding generations.
2. Functionalism- the doctrine that emphasizes the adaptiveness of the mental or behavioral processes.
3. Ontogeny- the development or developmental history of an individual organism.
Key terms continued
4. Phylogeny- the evolutionary history of a group of organisms, especially as depicted in a family tree.
5. Mechanism- the habitual operation and interaction of psychological forces within an individual that assist in interpreting or dealing with the physical or psychological environment .
6. Adaptation- the ability of a species to survive in a particular environment because of behavior through natural selection.
JOB FIELDS
- Teaching ( graduate or doctoral level)
- Research (Universities)
- Private practice- specifically for "correcting unwanted behavior" (Smith 1)
- Mental Health counseling
- Research (Clinical)
