Psychology
Attitude Change and Persuasion
What is evolutionary psychology? How does it explain mate selection?
Evolutionary psychology (EP) is an advance that looks at psychological traits such as memory, perception and language for a contemporary evolutionary perspective in regards to social and natural sciences. It attempts to categorize which human psychological traits are alterations that have evolved (Confer, Easton, Fleischman, Goetz, Lewis, Perilloux & Buss, 2010). In other words, which functional products of natural selection or sexual selection are evolved adaptations. Adaptationist thinking in regards to physiological mechanisms, such as the heart, lungs, and immune system, is frequent in evolutionary biology. Evolutionary psychology relates the same thinking to psychology, arguing that the mind has a modular makeup similar to that of the body, with dissimilar modular adaptations serving different functions (Confer et al., 2010).
Evolutionary psychologists dispute that a lot of human behavior is the output of psychological adaptations that evolved to resolve recurring problems in human ancestral surroundings
Evolutionary psychologists hold that behaviors or traits that happen universally in all cultures are good contenders for evolutionary adaptations including the capabilities to deduce others' emotions, distinguish kin from non-kin, recognize and favor healthier mates, and work together with others. "They report successful tests of theoretical prediction related to such topics as infanticide, intelligence, marriage patterns, promiscuity, perception of beauty, bride price and parental investment" (Confer et al., 2010).
Evolution is an adaptive process whereby organisms transform directionally over time, evolving progressively more sophisticated organism abilities. The essential premise of evolutionary psychology, with regard to mate selection, is that humans will select mates that make the most of their chance of reproductive success. Reproductive success will be influenced by numerous factors. Three of these factors include parental investment, reproductive characteristics, and environmental concerns (Sommer, n.d.).
Parental investment refers to the differential caretaking tasks each parent incurs as a consequence of producing offspring. This theory suggests that the sex who will have the smallest amount of investment in offspring will contend with the same sex for mating rights with the...
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