PSY2001 Evolutionary Psychology for Everyday Life
Dates:
Times:
Credits:
Lecturer:
Prerequisites:
Assessment:
Two weeks, 21 to 31 July
10am to 1pm Monday to Thursday
15
Tom Dickins
None
Coursework (100%)
Aims:
This course will provide a practical introduction to Evolutionary Psychology by addressing central
aspects of life. Just as evolutionary processes have led to key physical traits so our psychology has
been shaped. Our ancestral past has had a great impact on our modern day behaviour and this
course will examine the extent of this influence.
Lecture one: Introduction
This will be a brief lecture about the applications of evolutionary theory to the behavioural sciences,
from comparative psychology through Sociobiology to Evolutionary Psychology, focusing upon key
research questions and classic experiments in evolutionary psychology. The course structure will
also be explained, and the assessment will be discussed.
Lecture two: Diet
This lecture will introduce the concept of adaptation in the context of natural selection, and will
discuss our ancestral past. Especial focus will be made upon diet and exercise. There is much
discussion in the literature presently about Palaeolithic diets and their health benefits. We will cover
this in the context of the current epidemic of Type II diabetes and hypertension, showing how this
relates to specific modern lifestyles.
Lecture three: Mating
In this lecture we will introduce sexual selection, Darwin’s other idea, and talk about mate choice.
We will begin by discussing non-human systems but we will then move on to a focus around
particular issues in human mating behaviour. This will include discussion of key cultural differences
around marriage and partnership.
Lecture four: Parenting
When to become a parent, how many children to have and how much to invest in each child are key
decisions in many lives. We will look at the different strategies available and interpret them in terms
of life history theory, which is an evolutionary framework that looks at lifespan and development
issues. We will use teenage pregnancy in the United Kingdom as a case study.
Lecture five: Cooperation
Cooperation is often regarded as the strength of our species, but also as something that is
vulnerable to cheating and hard to establish. Cooperation has been a focal point of interest for
evolutionary theorists including evolutionary psychologists. We will discuss the various categories
of cooperation and the problems each is susceptible to. We will introduce key concepts from
evolutionary game theory and discuss a number of case studies that capture daily challenges to
cooperation and therefore community living at the local, national and international level. It can be
argued that our ability to cooperate, over the long term, is the biggest challenge of modern life as it
impacts on lasting peace as well as protection of the environment and key resources.
Lecture six: Aggression
Aggressive behaviour is often costly to the perpetrator as well as to the victim. None the less,
aggression persists and its occurrence is patterned. For example, young men, from deprived areas
between the ages of 24 and 35 years are more likely to become involved in serious direct physical
aggression than other sections of society. Thus there are age, sex and economic differences. We
will discuss these issues and show how aggression might have strategic value under limited
circumstances. We will use this information to inform a discussion about gang and terrorist violence.
Workshops
Each lecture will be accompanied by a one-hour workshop in which students will be presented with
scenarios to interpret or graphs and figures to make sense of, all in light of the content of the
lectures. Students will be given key readings from the literature to further their understanding, and
information about key web resources etc.
There will also be a workshop, of three hours on day seven, in which we will discuss the
assessment and students’ progress in preparing for it.
Classes will encourage discussion and debate in order to help students learn about evolutionary
theory and its more practical use.
Trip
Day eight (the second Thursday) will see the class making their way to Down House in Kent to visit
the place where Charles Darwin lived and worked for the most productive part of his life. We will
learn about his history and the history of evolution.
Assessment
Students will be asked to select a human interest story from a broadsheet newspaper (e.g. The
Guardian, The Times) or serious magazine (e.g. The Economist). They will have to summarize the
core issue of the story and then apply an evolutionary analysis to it, suggesting some potential
policy highlights for government to consider. Students will be given guidance on this in the lectures
and also during the workshops.
This essay will be 2500 words, not including references and an abstract.