What Is Evolutionary Psychology?

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Evolutionary psychology is the science that strives to explain the behavioral mechanisms behind human actions. In order to study this field evolutionary psychologists recreate problems faced by our primitive ancestors; from these problems Evolutionary Psychology discusses problem-solving adaptations that aim to discover common patterns in human ancestral behaviors. These common behavioral patterns--including mating preferences-- are manifested today throughout a wide variety of cultures on this planet. A fundamental idea of Evolutionary Psychology is Charles Darwin’s concept of natural selection (1859): a) there were ancestral differences among the human species that influenced the survival and reproduction of certain members, and b) individuals …show more content…

This standard model is known as the seual strategies theory ( Buss & Schmitt, 1993). Buss argues that any species in which differences exist, there will be corresponding sex differences in mating behaviors. The biological reality in humans is that males need minimal investment, a single ejaculation, to reproduce their genes. The cost of female reproduction is traditionally years of investment including gestation, lactation and offspring care. In theory, such one sided investment has resulted in sex-specific selection strategies for reproductive success (Beckes et al. 2009). Human males ‘naturally’ track down opportunities to copulate with as many female partners as possible, specifically those who display signs of fertility. By ‘nature’ human females are more sexually cautious and prefer one male partner who can provide resources to be shared with their offspring. Though emphasis is on sex differences, sexual strategies theorists state that mating behavior--under specific circumstances--can be similar between men and women. The inevitable conclusion from their work is the differences between the sexes regarding mating preferences. The main focus of the sexual strategies theory is that all human mating is inherently strategic. Mating behavior is guided by psychological mechanisms that compel both males and females to desire certain qualities in a mate based

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