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9/21/16 - Notes - Biological Beginnings
Evolutionary Perspective
In evolutionary times, humans are relatively newcomers to earth. As our earliest ancestors left the forest to
feed on the savannahs and then to form hunting societies on the open plains, their minds and behaviors
changes, and they eventually established humans as the dominant species on Earth. How did this evolution
come to be?
Evolutionary Psychology
Natural Selection
Evolutionary process by which those individuals of a species that are best adapted are the ones that
survive and reproduce (survival value).
oCharles Darwin travelled the world observing many species in their natural habitat
oOn the Origins of Species (1859)
oInfluenced William James
Observations
1. He noted most organisms reproduce at rated that would cause enormous increases in the population of
most species and yet populations remained relatively constant
2. He reasoned that an intense, constant struggle for resources such as food and water must occur
among many young born each generation, because manty of them do not survive
3. Those that do survive pass on favorable characteristic to the next generation which makes the survivors
better adapted to their world than their non-survivors
Emphasizes the importance of adaption, reproduction, and "survival of the fittest" in shaping behavior:
1. Herbert Spencer
2. Evolve, adapt, and become ins the hallmark Homo Sapiens
3. We will evolve as a species, adapt to the context of our environment, and become something
extraordinary, average, good, or bad
