2.12: Ethology/Evolutionary Psychology
- Page ID
- 180192
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Evolutionary psychology emphasizes the importance of natural selection; that is, those genes that allow one to survive and reproduce will be more likely to be transmitted to offspring. This viewpoint is also called ethology. The idea is that those traits that serve a purpose in development are more likely to persist through generations. Ethologists like Lorenz and Tinbergen attempted to explain behavior in terms of its adaptive value for the organism.
Main Points about Ethology/Evolutionary theory
Evolutionary theorists/Ethologists focus on
- Darwinian principles of evolution
- just like you can ask how and why birds have wings, we can ask how and why human behaviors and characteristics have evolved the way they have.
Attributions:
Child Growth and Development by Jennifer Paris, Antoinette Ricardo, and Dawn Rymond, 2019, is licensed under CC BY 4.0
Lifespan Development: A Psychological Perspective by Martha Lally and Suzanne Valentine-French is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 (modified by Jennifer Paris)