Evolutionary Social Psychology: From Selfish Genes to Collective Selves

Publication Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

1-2005

Abstract

Social psychological findings and methods can provide valuable tools for evolutionary theorists. Social psychologists have developed useful methods for understanding ongoing motivational and cognitive processes, as well as useful ways of thinking about and studying organism environment interactions. Social and cognitive psychologists have focused predominantly on the flaws and limitations of human information processing. Evolutionary psychologists presume that many errors and biases ultimately manifest underlying decision rules that, on average, were adaptive throughout much of human evolutionary history. This chapter discusses six key domains of social life, including coalition formation, status, self‐protection, mate choice, mate retention, and parental care. A truly comprehensive model of behavior must include insights from evolutionary psychology along with the insights of dynamical systems theory. An integration of evolutionary and dynamic models may be key to understanding the emergence of cultural norms.

Keywords

Evolutionary psychology

Discipline

Applied Behavior Analysis | Social Psychology

Research Areas

Psychology

Publication

Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology

Editor

David M. Buss

First Page

803

Last Page

827

ISBN

9780471264033

Identifier

10.1002/9780470939376.ch28

Publisher

Wiley

City or Country

Hoboken, NJ

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470939376.ch28

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