Evolutionary Psychology

This course will examine psychological mechanisms, particularly those common to all humans, in the context of evolutionary theory. The focus will be on how human behavior and cognition develop from an interaction of life experiences with inherited interests, tendencies, and abilities that have been shaped by natural selection. Among the topics to be covered are the processes of evolution and genetics, the prehistorical environment in which human evolution played out, survival, mate selection and retention, parenting, kinship, social behavior, conflict, and cooperation.