Evolutionary psychology, as the name suggests, is the application of the principles of evolutionary theory to psychology. Before you can understand how an evolutionary perspective can be applied to human behavior, you first need to have a firm grasp on the theory of evolution itself.
Theory of evolution
It’s the year 2500 A.D. and mankind is on the verge of extinction, thanks to the destruction of the environment and persistent global warfare. There are only about a hundred humans left on the planet.
Fortunately, due to the advancement of space travel, humans have successfully found an earth-like planet with earth-like conditions that are conducive to life in a nearby galaxy. This planet- named Earthy, is their only hope for the continuation of their species.
A spacecraft takes these last remaining humans and lands them safely on Earthy. These last remaining humans consist of an equal number of males and females who look pretty much like you and me, although the laziness induced by hundreds of years of technology has sort of weakened their muscles.
Other than that, the first human inhabitants on Earthy look pretty similar as far as their physical features are concerned…
Now the conditions on Earthy, though conducive to life, weren’t exactly similar to the now dying earth. For instance, only one tree grew on Earthy- a 12 ft tall tree that bore triangular, pink fruits only at its top. This was the only edible food for humans on this new planet. There was no sign of any small animals that they could hunt.
Now the conditions on Earthy, though conducive to life, weren’t exactly similar to the now dying earth. For instance, only one tree grew on Earthy- a 12 ft tall tree that bore triangular, pink fruits only at its top. This was the only edible food for humans on this new planet. There was no sign of any small animals that they could hunt.
Over time, as expected, the number of individuals having physical features that aided their ability to procure food and thus reproduce increased in the population. The ones who were ill-suited to procure food and reproduce kept on decreased in number till they were totally wiped out from the population.
After a few thousand years, Earthy was home to only humans who were tall, athletic and endowed with really long limbs- very well suited to attain food from the tall tree.
Anyone who visits Earthy today won’t have a clue that a few thousand years ago, the first humans that landed on this planet were not as diverse as they are today and looked pretty much the same physically.
This is evolution. This is how complex life forms evolve from simple life forms. Of course, the example that I just gave you is in many ways oversimplified and silly but it lucidly explains how evolution works.
Our earth is a thousand times more complex than Earthy. There are thousands of factors that have shaped the evolution of the millions of species that live on earth today.
All the complex organisms that you see around you are the ones that possess advantageous mutations that enabled them to survive and reproduce in their respective environment. Those who couldn’t were wiped out.
On Earthy, it took a few thousand years to achieve a significant degree of complexity. On Earth, what you see around you took millions and millions of years to get that way. Hence the incredible complexity and variety of the many species that inhabit the earth today.
Evolutionary adaptations
The physical manifestation of a genetic mutation that aids survival and reproduction is called adaptation. An adaptation is simply a property of an organism that aids its survival and reproduction. For example, the ability of an animal to camouflage with its environment and protect itself from predation is an adaptation.
If an adaptation aids survival, it is said to be the result of natural selection. Properties that have survival value will be passed on to the next generation. For example, the sharp vision of an eagle is an adaptation that enables it to locate prey from afar.
If an adaptation helps with reproductive success, it is said to be the result of sexual selection. When choosing a mate, an organism will select only that individual who has desirable traits. For example, male peacocks with large, beautiful feathers are preferred by females even though such a feature has little or no survival value.
Natural and sexual selection can sometimes overlap. If an adaptation has both survival value and makes an organism a desirable mate, it will be selected by both natural and sexual selection, to be passed on to future generations.
Where does psychology fit in all this?
Now the cool thing about adaptations is that they can not only be physical but also psychological!
The psychological mechanisms that aid an organism’s survival and reproduction are genetically transmitted adaptations that manifest not as physical features, but as behavioural mechanisms.
In other words, your mind contains behavioural programs that are designed by evolution to ensure your survival and reproductive success.
Evolutionary psychology focuses on these evolved psychological mechanisms and is the most fascinating, all-encompassing field of psychology. It explains almost all of our behaviors.