DOCSLIB.ORG

Reconceptualizing Evolutionary Psychology

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Reconceptualizing Evolutionary Psychology REVIEW ARTICLE published: 12 August 2014 doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00867 From computers to cultivation: reconceptualizing evolutionary psychology Louise Barrett1*, Thomas V. Pollet 2 and Gert Stulp 3 1 Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada 2 Department of Social and Organizational Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands 3 Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK Edited by: Does evolutionary theorizing have a role in psychology? This is a more contentious issue Danielle Sulikowski, Charles Sturt than one might imagine, given that, as evolved creatures, the answer must surely be University, Australia yes. The contested nature of evolutionary psychology lies not in our status as evolved Reviewed by: beings, but in the extent to which evolutionary ideas add value to studies of human Ben Colagiuri, University of New South Wales, Australia behavior, and the rigor with which these ideas are tested. This, in turn, is linked to the Karola Stotz, Macquarie University, framework in which particular evolutionary ideas are situated. While the framing of the Australia current research topic places the brain-as-computer metaphor in opposition to evolutionary *Correspondence: psychology, the most prominent school of thought in this field (born out of cognitive Louise Barrett, Department of psychology, and often known as the Santa Barbara school) is entirely wedded to the Psychology, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive West, computational theory of mind as an explanatory framework. Its unique aspect is to argue Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4, Canada that the mind consists of a large number of functionally specialized (i.e., domain-specific) e-mail: [email protected] computational mechanisms, or modules (the massive modularity hypothesis). Far from offering an alternative to, or an improvement on, the current perspective, we argue that evolutionary psychology is a mainstream computational theory, and that its arguments for domain-specificity often rest on shaky premises. We then go on to suggest that the various forms of e-cognition (i.e., embodied, embedded, enactive) represent a true alternative to standard computational approaches, with an emphasis on “cognitive integration” or the “extended mind hypothesis” in particular. We feel this offers the most promise for human psychology because it incorporates the social and historical processes that are crucial to human “mind-making” within an evolutionarily informed framework. In addition to linking to other research areas in psychology, this approach is more likely to form productive links to other disciplines within the social sciences, not least by encouraging a healthy pluralism in approach. Keywords: evolutionary psychology, cognition, cognitive integration, modules, extended mind INTRODUCTION however, because certain proponents of the evolutionary approach As evolved beings, it is reasonable to assume that evolutionary the- insist that the incorporation of the social sciences into the natural ory has something to offer the study of human psychology, and sciences is the only means to achieve a coherent understanding the social sciences more generally. The question is: what exactly? of human life. As Tooby and Cosmides (2005) state, evolution- This question has been debated ever since Darwin (1871) pub- ary psychology “in the broad sense, ... includes the project of lished the Descent of Man, and we appear no closer to resolution reformulating and expanding the social sciences (and medical sci- of this issue almost 150 years later. Some maintain that evolution- ences) in light of the progressive mapping of our species’ evolved ary theory can revolutionize the social sciences, and hence our architecture” (Tooby and Cosmides, 2005, p. 6). understanding of human life, by encompassing both the natural So, what is our answer to this question? The first point to and human sciences within a single unifying framework. Wilson’s make clear is that any answer we might offer hinges necessarily (1975) Sociobiology was one of the first, and most emphatic, claims on the definition of evolutionary psychology that is used. If one to this effect. Meanwhile, others have resisted the idea of unifica- settles on a narrow definition, where evolutionary psychology is tion, viewing it as little more than imperialist over-reaching by equated with the views promoted by the “Santa Barbara School”, natural scientists (e.g., Rose, 2000). headed by Donald Symons, John Tooby, Leda Cosmides, David The question posed by this research topic puts a different, Buss, and Steven Pinker (referred to here as Evolutionary Psychol- more specific, spin on this issue, asking whether an evolution- ogy or simply as EP), then the answer is a simple “no” (see also: ary approach within psychology provides a successful alternative Dunbar and Barrett, 2007). If one opts instead to define an evolu- to current information-processing and representational views of tionary approach in the broadest possible terms (i.e., simply as an cognition. The broader issue of unification across the natural evolutionarily informed psychology), then the answer becomes a and social sciences continues to pervade this more narrow debate, cautious and qualified “yes.” www.frontiersin.org August 2014 | Volume 5 | Article 867 | 1 Barrett et al. Computers to cultivation In what follows, we argue that the primary reason why EP fails evolved function is “information processing” and hence that the as a viable alternative to the standard computational approach brain “is a computer that is made of organic (carbon-based) is because, in all the important details, it does not differ from compounds rather than silicon chips” (paragraph 14), whose this approach. We then go on to suggest that the specific evo- circuits have been sculpted by natural selection. More recently, lutionary arguments in favor of EP, which are used to claim its Tooby and Cosmides (2005, p. 16) have stated that “the brain superiority over other approaches, rest on some rather shaky is not just like a computer. It is a computer—that is, a phys- premises, and cannot be used to rule out alternatives in the ical system that was designed to process information.” While way that advocates of EP have supposed. In particular, we deal Pinker (2003, pp. 24–27) argues that: “The computational the- with arguments relating to the reverse engineering of psycho- ory of mind ··· is one of the great ideas of intellectual history, logical adaptations, and the logical necessity of domain-specific for it solves one of the puzzles of the ‘mind-body problem’ ··· processes (specifically, arguments relating to the poverty of the It says that beliefs and desires are information, incarnated as stimulus and combinatorial explosion). We then move onto a configurations of symbols ··· without the computational the- consideration of recent incarnations of the “massive modularity” ory of mind it is impossible to make sense of the evolution of hypothesis showing that, while these are not vulnerable to many mind.” Accordingly, hypotheses within EP are predicated on the of the criticisms made against them, it is not clear whether these assumption that the brain really is a computational device (not can, in fact, be characterized as psychological adaptations to past simply a metaphorical one), and that cognition is, quite liter- environments. We suggest that, taken together, these arguments ally, a form of information processing. In one sense, then, EP weaken the case for EP as the obvious framework for psychology. cannot offer an improvement on the computational theory of Finally, we go onto suggest an alternative view of psychologi- mind because it is premised on exactly this theory. Any improve- cal processes, cognitive integration [or the extended mind (EM) ment on the current state of play must therefore stem from hypothesis], that we feel has the potential to improve on the cur- the way in which evolutionary theory is incorporated into this rent computational approach; one that is relevant to core areas model. of psychological research, will promote integration between psy- chology and other cognate disciplines, but also allow for a healthy THE EVOLVED COMPUTER pluralism both within psychology and across the social sciences The unique spin that EP applies to the computational theory of more generally. mind is that our cognitive architecture is organized into a large number of functionally specialized mechanisms, or “modules,” THE COMPUTATIONAL CORE OF EVOLUTIONARY that each performs a specific task (e.g., Tooby and Cosmides, PSYCHOLOGY 1992; Cosmides and Tooby, 1997; Barrett and Kurzban, 2006). The primary reason why Evolutionary Psychology cannot offer a As these modules are the products of natural selection, they successful alternative to computational-representational theories can be considered as “adaptations”, or organs of special design, of mind is because it is a computational-representational theory of much like the heart or liver. The function of each module is the mind. Evolutionary Psychology (e.g., Cosmides, 1989; Tooby to solve a recurrent problem encountered by our ancestors in and Cosmides, 1992, 2005; Cosmides and Tooby, 1994, 1997) the environment of evolutionary adaptedness (EEA), that is, the is the marriage of “standard” computational cognitive psychol- period over which humans were subject to evolutionary pro- ogy (as exemplified by Chomsky’s computational linguistics, e.g., cesses, including those of natural
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Folk Psychology of Souls
    BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN SCIENCES (2006) 29, 453–498 Printed in the United States of America The folk psychology of souls Jesse M. Bering Institute of Cognition and Culture, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom. [email protected] qub.ac.uk/icc http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/InstituteofCognitionCulture/Staff/ JesseMBering/ Abstract: The present article examines how people’s belief in an afterlife, as well as closely related supernatural beliefs, may open an empirical backdoor to our understanding of the evolution of human social cognition. Recent findings and logic from the cognitive sciences contribute to a novel theory of existential psychology, one that is grounded in the tenets of Darwinian natural selection. Many of the predominant questions of existential psychology strike at the heart of cognitive science. They involve: causal attribution (why is mortal behavior represented as being causally related to one’s afterlife? how are dead agents envisaged as communicating messages to the living?), moral judgment (why are certain social behaviors, i.e., transgressions, believed to have ultimate repercussions after death or to reap the punishment of disgruntled ancestors?), theory of mind (how can we know what it is “like” to be dead? what social-cognitive strategies do people use to reason about the minds of the dead?), concept acquisition (how does a common-sense dualism interact with a formalized socio-religious indoctrination in childhood? how are supernatural properties of the dead conceptualized by young minds?), and teleological reasoning (why do people so often see their lives as being designed for a purpose that must be accomplished before they perish? how do various life events affect people’s interpretation of this purpose?), among others.
    [Show full text]
  • An Adaptationist Framework for Personality Science
    European Journal of Personality, Eur. J. Pers. (2020) Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/per.2292 An Adaptationist Framework for Personality Science AARON W. LUKASZEWSKI1*, DAVID M.G. LEWIS2, PATRICK K. DURKEE3, AARON N. SELL4, DANIEL SZNYCER5 and DAVID M. BUSS3 1Department of Psychology, California State University, Fullerton, CA USA 2School of Psychology and Exercise Science, Murdoch University, Perth, WA Australia 3Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX USA 4Psychology and Criminology Department, Heidelberg University, Tiffin, OH USA 5Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC Canada Abstract: The field of personality psychology aspires to construct an overarching theory of human nature and indi- vidual differences: one that specifies the psychological mechanisms that underpin both universal and variable aspects of thought, emotion, and behaviour. Here, we argue that the adaptationist toolkit of evolutionary psychology provides a powerful meta-theory for characterizing the psychological mechanisms that give rise to within-person, between- person, and cross-cultural variations. We first outline a mechanism-centred adaptationist framework for personality science, which makes a clear ontological distinction between (i) psychological mechanisms designed to generate be- havioural decisions and (ii) heuristic trait concepts that function to perceive, describe, and influence others behaviour and reputation in everyday life. We illustrate the utility
    [Show full text]
  • A Critical Review of Three Theories for Music's Origin a Thesis Presented
    A Critical Review of Three Theories for Music’s Origin A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts Kevin W. Kondik March 2010 © 2010 Kevin W. Kondik. All Rights Reserved. 2 This thesis titled A Critical Review of Three Theories for Music’s Origin by KEVIN W. KONDIK has been approved for the Department of Philosophy and the College of Arts and Sciences by Arthur Zucker Associate Professor of Philosophy Benjamin M. Ogles Dean, College of Arts and Sciences 3 ABSTRACT KONDIK, KEVIN, W.,, M.A., March 2010, Philosophy A Critical Review of Three Theories for Music’s Origin (82 pp.) Director of Thesis: Arthur Zucker This thesis compares three theories which debate whether or not the trait of music is constitutive of a biological adaptation. Steven Pinker advances a view that music cannot be an adaptation because making or responding to music utilizes faculties which evolved for other reasons. On the next view, Geoffrey Miller claims that music is a sexually selected trait which evolved primarily to seduce potential mates. Finally, Ian Cross argues that music can be seen as an extension of juvenile behaviors into adulthood and has efficacy in the consolidation of bonds within a group. I conclude that all three theories are insufficient as an explanation of why music evolved in the hominid lineage. The main reasons why these theories all fail is they all rely upon a speculative historical reconstructions and imprecise definitions of music.
    [Show full text]
  • Evolutionary Psychology and Emotions: a Species-Typical Computational Design
    THEORIA ET HISTORIA SCIENTIARUM, VOL. XVI Ed. Nicolaus Copernicus University 2019 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12775/ths.2019.002 Domenica Bruni Department of Ancient and Modern Civilizations University of Messina [email protected] Evolutionary Psychology and Emotions: A Species-Typical Computational Design Abstract. Evolutionary psychology is a major naturalistic approach to knowledge. It begins from a fundamental observation: the human brain is the product of natural selection trying to solve adaptive problems faced by our hunter-gatherer ancestors. In this paper, I describe this approach and focus on the emotions, an important aspect of mental life. Emotions, I argue, are a superordinate program that evolved to coordinate the activity of other programs in the solution of typical adaptive problems. Keywords: evolutionary psychology; mind; emotions; natural selection; superordinate program; cognition. Introduction The aim of this essay is twofold: to describe evolutionary psychology (EP), one of the main naturalistic approaches to knowledge in today’s cultural panorama, and to examine the emotions as an applicative field of EP. EP is an ambitious research program (Symons, 1987; Cosmides & Tooby, 1992; Tooby & Cosmides, 1992; Buss, 1995; Pinker, 1997; Adenzato & Meini, 2006; Bruni, 2017) aimed at contributing to the naturalization of the human sciences. According to EP, human cognitive architecture can be understood using the principles of evolutionary biology. All our natural capacities— language, vision, sexual attraction, fear, aggression, moral judgments— are possible thanks to a complex information system produced by natural 30 Domenica Bruni selection, that is, the human brain. Identifying natural selection as a unifying empirical and theoretical construct of the human sciences, EP turns its attention to the brain as a biological system responsible for heterogeneous cognitive skills and tries to furnish models for these skills’ functioning and phylogenetic history.
    [Show full text]
  • States in Mind Anthony C. Lopez, Rose Mcdermott, and Michael
    States in Mind States in Mind Anthony C. Lopez, Rose McDermott, and Evolution, Coalitional Psychology, and Michael Bang International Politics Petersen One of the most com- monly studied puzzles in international politics is the recurrence of coalitional competition and aggression between political groups such as states. Indeed, this pattern constitutes an enduring and central feature of all politics. Yet de- spite the tragic endurance of this leitmotif throughout history, its manifestation varies through time and space. Some wars are fought for honor or revenge, whereas others are ignited for mere opportunism or as a consequence of vari- ous misperceptions, whatever their source. We argue that evolutionary theory provides a theoretical framework that can explain both the stubborn endur- ance and dynamic diversity of coalitional behavior. Debate on the relevance of “human nature” and biological factors for explaining political behavior is not new.1 Yet the comprehensive value of evo- lutionary theory for explaining important aspects of international politics has not been adequately explicated. As we discuss below, this has in part been a consequence of general skepticism about the validity and scope of evolution- ary theory for explaining political behavior. We argue, however, that evolu- tionary psychology can generate falsiªable ex ante predictions that are of central interest to the study of international politics, and we offer several hy- potheses derived from this model to illustrate the depth of this approach. Evo- lutionary psychologists have already generated a large body of work that suggests that the human brain contains webs of psychological mechanisms, or adaptations, each designed to operate in domains relevant to modern politics, and which emerged as a product of natural selection.
    [Show full text]
  • Psychological Adaptation to Human Sperm Competition
    Evolution and Human Behavior 23 (2002) 123–138 Psychological adaptation to human sperm competition Todd K. Shackelforda,*, Gregory J. LeBlanca, Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelforda, April L. Bleske-Rechekb, Harald A. Eulerc, Sabine Hoierc aDivision of Psychology, Florida Atlantic University, 2912 College Avenue, Davie, FL 33314, USA bVanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA cUniversity of Kassel, Kassel, Germany Received 21 December 1999; received in revised form 23 February 2000; accepted 6 September 2001 Abstract Sperm competition occurs when the sperm of two or more males simultaneously occupy the reproductive tract of a female and compete to fertilize an egg. We used a questionnaire to investigate psychological responses to the risk of sperm competition for 194 men in committed, sexual relationships in the United States and in Germany. As predicted, a man who spends a greater (relative to a man who spends a lesser) proportion of time apart from his partner since the couple’s last copulation reported (a) that his partner is more attractive, (b) that other men find his partner more attractive, (c) greater interest in copulating with his partner, and (d) that his partner is more sexually interested in him. All effects were independent of total time since the couple’s last copulation and the man’s relationship satisfaction. Discussion addresses two failed predictions and directions for future work. D 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Sperm competition; Evolutionary psychology; Human sexuality 1. Introduction Sperm competition occurs when the sperm of two or more males simultaneously occupy the reproductive tract of a female and compete to fertilize an egg (Baker & Bellis, 1995; * Corresponding author.
    [Show full text]
  • The Psychological Foundations of Culture Generation -Of Culture
    From: The Adapted Mind: Evolutionary psychology The Psychological Foundations of Culture generation -of culture J. Barkow, L. Cosmides, JOHNTOOBY AND LEDA COSMIDES 1992. New York: Oxford INTRODUCTION: THE UNITY OF SCIENCE One of the strengths of scientific inquiry is that it can progress with any mixture of empiri- cism, intuition, and formal theory that suits the convenience of the investigator. Many sci- ences develop for a time as exercises in description and empirical generalization. Only later do they acquire reasoned connectionswithin themselves and with other branches of knowl- edge. Many things were scientifically known of human anatomy and the motions ofthe plan- ets before they were scientifically explained. -GEORGE WILLIAMS, Adaptation and Natural Selection Disciplines such as astronomy, chemistry, physics, geology, and biology have devel- oped a robust combination of logical coherence, causal description, explanatory power, and testability, and have become examples of how reliable and deeply satisfy- ing human knowledge can become. Their extraordinary florescence throughout this century has resulted in far more than just individual progress within each field. These disciplines are becoming integrated into an increasingly seamless system of intercon- nected knowledge and remain nominally separated more out of educational conve- nience and institutional inertia than because of any genuine ruptures in the underlying unity of the achieved knowledge. In fact, this development is only an acceleration of the process of conceptual unification that has been building in science since the Renaissance. For example, Galileo and Newton broke down the then rigid (and now forgotten) division between the celestial and the terrestrial-two domains that for- merly had been considered metaphysically separate-showing that the same processes and principles applied to both.
    [Show full text]
  • The Spandrels of Santa Barbara? a New Perspective on the Peri-Ovulation Paradigm
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Stirling Online Research Repository The spandrels of Santa Barbara? A new perspective on the peri-ovulation paradigm Running title: Evolution of menstrual cycle-related perception Jan Havlíček1,2*, Kelly D. Cobey3,4, Louise Barrett5, Kateřina Klapilová1,2, and S. Craig Roberts3 1Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic 2National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic 3School of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, UK 4Laboratory of Experimental and Comparative Ethology (LEEC), University of Paris 13, France 5University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada *Author for correspondence: Jan Havlíček, Faculty of Science, Charles University; Viničná 7, 128 44 Prague 2, Czech Republic. Phone: +420 221 95 1853; E-mail [email protected] Abstract Numerous recent studies document peri-ovulatory increases in women’s physical attractiveness and in their preferences for certain male traits, which appear to be linked to cyclical fluctuation in levels of ovarian hormones. Changes in physical traits are subtle, leading to the widespread conclusion that cues of ovulation are adaptively concealed. It has been argued that concealment enables women to pursue a mixed-mating strategy characterized by pair-bonding with opportunistic extra-pair copulation with high quality mates when conception is possible. Men’s preferences for peri-ovulatory cues and women’s cyclical preference shifts are thus also argued to reflect distinct psychological adaptations. Here, we re-interpret the evidence for each of these putative adaptations and argue that cyclic changes need not result from incomplete concealment of ovulatory status. We also emphasize that ovarian hormone levels underpin between-individual differences in both women’s attractiveness and their mate preferences, which influence the sexes’ mate choice decisions.
    [Show full text]
  • The Role of Evolutionary Explanations in Psychology
    A Natural History of Mind The role of Evolutionary explanations in psychology By Russi! Durrant A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in psychology. Department ofPsychology The University of Canterbury 1998 Acknowledgements I should like to thank firstly my two supervisors Brian Haig and Jim Pollard, for their relaxed supervisory styles and their encouraging and thoughtful comments on my work. I should also like to thank all those who contributed in various ways to the completion of this project. My especial thanks to Jo, Alice, Chris, Simon, Jonnyand James. Finally, my thanks to Sco and Pat for putting everything in perspective. Contents Introduction 1 (1) Explanation, theory appraisal and the growth of science: A realist perspective 7 The aims ofscience 8 A Realist approach to science 12 Anti-realism 14 The challenge from empiricism 15 The challenge from relativism 16 The challenge from the history ofscience 18 Realism defended 19 The status of non-observables 19 The role ofsuper-empirical values 20 A closer look at the theory dependence ofobservation 22 Rescuing truth: an optimistic reappraisal of the history ofscience 25 Theory appraisal and the role of global research programmes in science 27 Scientific research programmes 29 Features ofglobal research programmes in science 35 Internal characteristics 35 External characteristics 39 Theory appraisal in science 42 Relationships between theories 50 The nature of scientific explanation 51 The received view 51 Problems with the received
    [Show full text]
  • The Concept of Adaptation : Interdisciplinary Scope and Involvement in Climate Change
    S.A.P.I.EN.S Surveys and Perspectives Integrating Environment and Society 3.1 | 2010 Vol.3 / n°1 The concept of adaptation : interdisciplinary scope and involvement in climate change Guillaume Simonet Eric Duchemin (éd.) Édition électronique URL : http://journals.openedition.org/sapiens/997 ISSN : 1993-3819 Éditeur Institut Veolia Référence électronique Guillaume Simonet, « The concept of adaptation : interdisciplinary scope and involvement in climate change », S.A.P.I.EN.S [En ligne], 3.1 | 2010, mis en ligne le 19 juillet 2010, consulté le 23 octobre 2020. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/sapiens/997 Licence Creative Commons S . EN 10 . I 20 . 1 P . ISSUE Disambiguation A . 3 The concept of adaptation: S interdisciplinary scope and VOLUME involvement in climate change Guillaume Simonet Chaire d’études sur les écosystèmes urbains, Institut des sciences de l’environnement, Université du Québec à Montréal, C.P. 8888, Succ. Centre-ville – Montréal (Qc) Canada H3C 3P8; Laboratoire dynamiques sociales et recomposition des espaces, Paris Ouest-Nanterre, LADYSS, Bat K, 200 av. de la République, 92001 Nanterre Cedex. Ouranos, 550 Sherbrooke Ouest, 19e étage, Tour Ouest, Montréal (Québec) - Canada, H3A1B9 This paper is a revised version of an article originally published in French by Natures, Sciences, Sociétés (Simonet, 2009). Correspondence to: [email protected] Adaptation refers to both a process and its outcome, leading to many interpretations and much debate. The origin of this semantic duality is related to the epistemological rupture that occurred during the 19 th century when it collided with the emerging Theory of Evolution and established Creationism. The temporal scale of Evolution is an abstract concept that is outside the realm of immediate human perception, which makes the adaptation debate all the more complex.
    [Show full text]
  • Elements of Change 1. Evolutionary Psychology
    ELEMENTS OF CHANGE 1. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY 1.1. Scope Evolutionary Psychology (EP) is an approach in the social and natural sciences that examines psychological traits such as memory, perception, and language 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. 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 mind has a modular structure similar to that of the body, with different modular adaptations serving different functions. Evolutionary psychologists argue that much of human behavior is the output of psychological adaptations that evolved to solve recurrent problems in human ancestral environments. The adaptationist approach is steadily increasing as an influence in the general field of psychology. Evolutionary psychologists suggest that EP is not simply a subdiscipline of psychology, but that evolutionary theory can provide a foundational, metatheoretical framework that integrates the entire field of psychology, in the same way it has for biology. Evolutionary psychologists hold that behaviors or traits that occur universally in all cultures are good candidates for evolutionary adaptations. The theories and findings of EP have applications in many fields, including economics, environment, health, law, management, psychiatry, politics, and literature. Controversies concerning EP involve questions of testability, cognitive and evolutionary assumptions (such as modular functioning of the brain, and large uncertainty about the ancestral environment), importance of non-genetic and non-adaptive explanations, as well as political and ethical issues due to interpretations of research results.
    [Show full text]
  • Distinguishing Byproducts from Non-Adaptive Effects of Algorithmic Adaptations Park, Justin H
    University of Groningen Distinguishing byproducts from non-adaptive effects of algorithmic adaptations Park, Justin H. Published in: Evolutionary Psychology DOI: 10.1177/147470490700500105 IMPORTANT NOTE: You are advised to consult the publisher's version (publisher's PDF) if you wish to cite from it. Please check the document version below. Document Version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Publication date: 2007 Link to publication in University of Groningen/UMCG research database Citation for published version (APA): Park, J. H. (2007). Distinguishing byproducts from non-adaptive effects of algorithmic adaptations. Evolutionary Psychology, 5(1), 47 - 51. https://doi.org/10.1177/147470490700500105 Copyright Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Take-down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Downloaded from the University of Groningen/UMCG research database (Pure): http://www.rug.nl/research/portal. For technical reasons the number of authors shown on this cover page is limited to 10 maximum. Download date: 26-09-2021 Evolutionary Psychology www.epjournal.net – 2007. 5(1): 47-51 ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Original Article Distinguishing Byproducts from Non-Adaptive Effects of Algorithmic Adaptations Justin H. Park, Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands. Email: [email protected] Abstract: I evaluate the use of the byproduct concept in psychology, particularly the adaptation–byproduct distinction that is commonly invoked in discussions of psychological phenomena.
    [Show full text]