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Evolutionary psychology relies on adaptationist reasoning to explain human traits as adaptations that solved ancestral problems, as evidenced by [1] and [2]. Furthermore, the field explicitly defines and studies these adaptations to understand the mind, as noted in [3], [4], and [5].
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Evolutionary psychology - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org 4 facts
claimEvolutionary psychology posits that self-deception is an adaptation that can improve an individual's outcomes in social exchanges.
referenceIn evolutionary psychology, an adaptation is defined as an organismic trait designed to solve an ancestral problem, characterized by complexity, special design, and functionality, with bones and the umbilical cord serving as physiological examples and toddlers' ability to learn to talk with minimal instruction serving as a psychological example.
referenceIn evolutionary psychology, random variation is defined as random variations in an adaptation or byproduct, with bumps on the skull and convex or concave belly button shapes serving as physiological examples and variations in verbal intelligence serving as a psychological example.
claimSteven Pinker describes evolutionary psychology not as a single theory, but as a large set of hypotheses and a specific way of applying evolutionary theory to the mind, emphasizing adaptation, gene-level selection, and modularity.
Evolutionary Psychology | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy iep.utm.edu 3 facts
referenceMargie Profet published 'Pregnancy Sickness as Adaptation: A Deterrent to Maternal Ingestion of Teratogens' in the 1992 book 'The Adapted Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and the Generation of Culture', edited by Jerome Barkow, Leda Cosmides, and John Tooby.
claimEvolutionary psychologists distinguish between whether a trait is an adaptation and whether it is currently adaptive, separating their approach from 'Darwinian anthropology' which focuses on the current adaptiveness of behavior.
claimEvolutionary psychologists utilize adaptationist reasoning, a method derived from evolutionary biology that explains the presence of a trait by asserting it is an adaptation that enhanced the fitness of an organism's ancestors.