Evolutionary Psychology

Instructor: Steven Platek

Phone: 442-4786

Office Hours:

Course Description:

This course is going to be an overview of psychology describing the ways in which Charles Darwin's theory of natural and sexual selection can be applied to human behavior. We will cover some of the major disciplines in psychological science (e.g., learning, cognition, abnormal psychology, etc.) by comparing evolutionary theories with standard social science theories.

Course requirements:

Attendance is NOT required. However, you will probably need to attend in order to get a respectable grade in the course. There will be several un-announced pop-quizzes throughout the term. You will also be asked to read some primary scientific literature on evolutionary psychology. There might be one small project (to be determined). Most important to your grade is class participation. Class participation requires 1) you to be in class, 2) for you to ask intriguing and thoughtful questions (asking "Is this going to be on a pop quiz?" does NOT qualify as class participation!), and 3) becoming an active participant in class discussions.

There is no text assigned. There will be readings assigned from the primary literature; i.e., scientific journals!

There will be four sections of course each broken down in to smaller more digestable parts. The first section of the course will be broken down into three subsection that will deal with the 'ins and outs' of applying evolutionary theory to the science of psychology. Part 1 will discuss what psychology is like when not taking an evolutionary perspective. Part 2 will lay down some of the principle components of evolutionary theory and its genetic basis. Part 3 will discuss some of the implications of applying evolutionary theory to psychology.

The second section of the course will delve into the principle area of research that started the evolutionary psychology revolution: human mating strategies. Part 4 will discuss the differences between the sexes and their respective mating preferences. Part 5 will discuss how the sexes are at "battle" with one another, the types of conflicts they engage in and the way they try to resolve these conflicts.

The third section of the course will examine a relatively new movement in evolutioanry psychology, the application of evolutionary explanations to human cognitive functiong. Part 6 will cover learning, part 7 will cover cognition, part 8 will cover consciousness, and part 9 will cover intelligence and personality.

The fourth and final section of the course will cover other important psychological disciplines by applying an evolutionary perspective. Part 10, will examine sensation and perception, part 11 will examine abnormal psychology, and part 12 will apply evolutionary theory to motivation and emotion and social psychological processes.