Evolutionary Psychology

Maria Kyriacou

Describe how evolutionary psychology has contributed to our understanding of social behaviour. Comment on the possible limitations of these explanations of social behaviour.

This essay addresses how evolutionary psychology has contributed to our understanding of social behaviour and attempts to unravel the limitations of these explanations. Evolutionary psychologists are concerned with the behaviour generated in the brain and elsewhere, as to why and how we have developed our distinctive human abilities, separating us from our primate ancestors. Evolutionary psychologists show that humans are similar to animals and that the inherited structure of our mind is the key product of evolutionary process. The theory suggests that environmental conditions have evolved through the biological phenomenon of natural selection and adaptation, as it helps to identify our cognitive abilities and social capacities that have been effective for survival.

Are social and cognitive abilities interrelated? Humphrey (1976) suggested our social behaviour is based upon human intelligence that individuals taught each other. In terms of intelligence, the key property is ‘reverse – engineering’ (Tooby and Cosmides 1992). The Machiavellian Hypothesis suggests that intelligence; an important aspect of social behaviour began in social manipulation, deceit and cunning cooperation (Whiten and Byrne, 1997, p.1). Some research studies have indicated and that cognitive and social pressures may be vital in the understanding of the development of human that individuals can ‘read’ the minds of others and interpret others’ actions. Thus evolutionary psychologists propose that functionally specialized circuits in the brain. (i.e. , ‘ modular mind’) are a result of evolution. Such modular theory of the mind would help in analysing and solving special problems. The initial social behaviour in man is seen from the hunter gatherer theory as hunting behaviour is the first instance of social and cognitive skills and requires the ability to plan and manipulate and reason with the social environment. The cognitive and social skills

develop together and are interlinked and tend to be interdependent so this would be the basis for a deep social mind in individuals (Whiten and Byrne, 1997). Evidence of this comes from Premack and Woodruft (1978) who proposed the concept of ‘theory of mind ‘ to explain the human-like ability possessed by animals like the chimpanzee. (Sarah) for example was able to select the correct photographic solution to a video of an actor suffering various problems.

Tooby and Cosmides (1992) argue that individuals are evolutionarily adapted to be able to detect cheating as a part of engaging ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

Tooby and Cosmides (1992) argue that individuals are evolutionarily adapted to be able to detect cheating as a part of engaging in social contracts. Their experiment is based on sociological reason in which participants were required to work out the bases of a hiker’s behaviour. This experiment demonstrates that one has the ability to detect cheating within a social contract situation. Thus the idea of their experiment is to show the evolutionary development of our learning and actions of our ancestors were vital to the process of survival. They conclude that their results support the “idea that evolved… human mind contains functionally specialized context dependent cognitive adaptations or evolved to solve problems so that our ancestors were better able to survive.

The second section of our debate is to explain our social behaviour and the limitations

it may impose, thus attempting to unravel the cognitive areas and functions within our modular minds that underline our social behaviour. Psychologists have theorized evolutionary explanations for a variety of social behaviour that can contribute to our understanding of our behaviour is the functions of altruism and reciprocity. The aspect of altruism is thought of as being a behaviour that is deliberately exhibited by one individual reproductive level to benefit another, with no direct gain but some cost for that individual. Altruism is the idea that although behaviour may seem fully altruistic (i.e. non-selfish) behaviour there is actually a gain for that individual. Genetically this refers to reproductive fitness value of an individual. Dawkins (1989) in ‘The Selfish Gene’, inspired by Hamilton suggested that altruism has evolved through the propagation of our genes. This determines that the level of one

individual’s fitness that is related to another has the ability to pass on their genes and are likely to survive. This is referred to kin selection.

Another explanation of altruism is reciprocal altruism. In Reciprocal Altruism, altruistic behaviour is shown with the assumption that it would be reciprocated in the future, therefore enhancing the organism's fitness (i.e. ability to reproduce) at some point in the future by returning the favour. This means that although altruistic behaviour is being shown to organisms that are unrelated.

Trivers (1971) proposes that altruism can be counted for natural selection, which favours reciprocal altruism and identification of ‘‘cheaters’’ who fail to reciprocate. An example for reciprocal altruism is where young baboons without mates will work together to steal a dominant male's mate (Packer 1977), one baboon distracting the dominant male while the other mates; the cost to the baboon (the risk of being injured by the dominant male) is far outweighed by the genetic benefit i.e. the passing on of one's gene's through reproduction. When looking at altruistic evidence, the limitations suggest that the situation often determines whether one is motivated by egoism or altruism.

The opinions of social and evolutionary psychologists clash in terms of how we learn certain behaviours and whether we have a number of instinctive behavioural patterns "built in" when we are born. The ideal of the social psychologist suggests that everything we learn is derived from what information we take in from our surroundings. On the other hand, evolutionary psychologists believe that natural selection is the key to how our behaviour is shaped, through adaptation to environmental differences and the specialising of brain circuitry to certain demands, the complexity of which we cannot fully understand. It therefore looks at the shaping of instincts and behaviours on a much longer time scale. However, it can only give a general overview of human behaviour, without looking at

the reasoning behind individual differences, as is often the case with this area of psychology.

The importance of social and cognitive sophistication in analysing social relationships would again show how evolutionary psychology and related perspectives could explain practices of using deception and manipulation in social behaviour.

[Word count 999]

References

Cosmides , L. and Tooby J. (1992) ‘Cognitive adaptations for social exchange’, in Barkow, J.H. et al (eds).

Tooby, John and Leda Cosmides. “The Adapted Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and the Generation of Culture.” Oxford University Press. Oxford. 1992.

Dawkins, R, (1976/1989) The Selfish Gene, New Edition, Oxford, Oxford University Press.

EPoCH CD-rom, 2003, The Open University

Humphrey, N.K. (1976) ‘The Social function of an interlect’, Bateson, P.P.G. and Hinde, R.A. (eds) Growing Points in Ethology, Cambridge, Cambrige University Press.

Premack, D. and Woodruff, G, (1978). ‘ Does the chimpanzee have a theory of mind’, The Behavioural and Brain Sciences, Vol. 94, pp.515-26.

Miell, D., Phoenix, A. and Thomas, K. (2002)

Mapping Psychology 1. Milton Keynes, Open University.

Trivers, R. (1971). ‘The evolution of reciprocial altruism’, Quartely Review of Biology, Vol. 46, pg.35-57

Wilson, E. O. (1978). On human nature. Cambridge, MA: Harvard university press.

Whiten, A. and Byrne, R.W. (1997)

Machiavellian intelligence II: extensions and evaluations. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press,

cited in Miell et al.