Adaptive Origins : Evolution and Human Development

In this text, students are invited to rethink psychology by grounding it in the natural sciences with the understanding that evolutionary and developmental processes work together with culture to solve problems of human adaptation. These processes are cast as interdependent: Development cannot be understood except in the light of evolutionary theory, and the best proof of evolution is the fact of development. For students of evolutionary psychology, all the central topics -- such as evolved mental modules for theory of mind or language -- require an understanding of the developmental processes that lead to their expression. Genes, as important as they are, are never the whole story. The role of biological factors is explored in chapters outlining evolution, development, genetics, human origins, hormones and the brain. Then, the integrative value of this evolutionary/developmental vision in understanding key topics in psychology is illustrated by applying it to traditional area of inquiry including infancy and attachment, emotions and their expression, social relations with peers, cognitive and language development, sex differences, courtship and mating, violence and aggression, and cooperation and competition. BOOK COVER 1 TITLE 4 COPYRIGHT 5 CONTENTS 6 PREFACE 12 CHAPTER 1 Evolutionary Theory 16 CHAPTER 2 Contemporary Evolutionary Perspectives 48 CHAPTER 3 The Genetic Basis of Evolution and Behavior 66 CHAPTER 4 Human Origins 88 CHAPTER 5 Brain Evolution and Development 114 CHAPTER 6 Hormones and Behavior 142 CHAPTER 7 Facial Expressions and Basic Emotions in Infancy 168 CHAPTER 8 Attachment in Infancy 198 CHAPTER 9 Theory of Mind and Language 228 CHAPTER 10 Sex Differences 248 CHAPTER 11 Mate Choice and Reproductive Strategies 272 CHAPTER 12 Darwinian Medicine and Evolutionary Psychiatry 290 CHAPTER 13 Altruism, Cooperation, and Competition 314 REFERENCES 336 GLOSSARY 376 INDEX 396 Behavioral Sciences