Psychology is the study of the mind and how it processes things

Psychology helps us answer the question of why people are the way they are

What makes them act and speak and live the way they do

of human psychological adaptation to physical and social changes such as changes in the brain structure, cognitive mechanisms, and behavioral differences among individuals.

The process by which psychological adaptations are identified

A type of reverse engineering

Attempts to figure out how the mind evolved to solve certain problems

An evolutionary psychologist proposes that internal mechanisms are adaptations that helped our ancestors survive and reproduce

A psychological adaptation is the solving of a particular reproductive problem using a functional component of the nervous system.

Psychological adaptations are thought to operate using the highly abstract domain of information processing.

Two basic perspectives have dominated psychological research on romantic attraction1) people perceive attributes in

others that inherently induce attraction

2) People are attracted to people with whom an exchange of resources would be possible

the ability of a population to maintain or increase its numbers in succeeding generations

By choosing partners who offer genetic benefits or resources the human females can enhance their Darwinian fitness

Study by Buss, Shackelford, Kirkpatrick, and Larson looked at mate preferences from 1939 to 1996.

Found increased importance in:Physical attractivenessGood financial prospects

Found decreased importance in:Domestic skills (in women)Chastity

Sexual Selection- the evolution of characteristics that enable individuals to gain advantage over same-sex competitors in order to attract a mate

He theorized that:› males to compete amongst

themselves for mates› Females tend to be more selective in

choosing a mate than males

Competition between members of the same sex cause selection of certain traits

Selected characteristics (adaptations) should be those that enable winning in combat

(either direct or non-direct)

Non-direct characteristics more prevalent in humans: Skill at locating mates Producing effective mate-attracting behaviors Acquiring desirable resources Altering appearance

Preferential choice exerted by members of one sex for members of the opposite sex

Called the “Female Choice”

Male choice is possible in monogamous mating systems

Parental Investment affects reproductive strategies› Males- maximize copulatory opportunities› Females- impose maximum choice, wait for

the best male

Main reproductive constraint for men is gaining access to reproductively valuable females

Female value is indicated by youth and health› Physical appearance› Attractiveness

Male Value is indicated by their ability and willingness to invest parentally, and good genes

Indicators includeMasculinePhysically attractiveSex appealPhysically fitIntelligence

Physically attractive women express stronger preferences for all of these traits except intelligence

One is that there are consensually desired and sought after characteristics.

Two is that sex differences and three are individual differences.

Only a few people find a mate that has all the consensually desired attributes.

And if anyone is excluded from mating, it is someone who lacks consensually desired attributes.

-People’s dancing ability is associated with body symmetry, a measure of developmental stability and hence disease resistance.

In ecologies with many parasites, both sexes increase the importance of physical attractiveness because it is an indicator of health.

Attractive and feminine women show stronger preferences for masculinized male voices than do less attractive and less feminine women.

Answers.com. Web. <http://www.answers.com/topic/evolutionary-psychology>.   Buss, D.M., & Barnes, M. (1986). Preferences in human mate selection. Journal of Personality and

Social Psychology,   Buss, D.M., Shackelford, T.K., Kirkpatrick, L.A., & Larsen, R.J. (2001). A Half Century of Mate

Preferences: The Cultural Evolution of Values. Journal of Marriage & Family,   Buss, D.M. (1988). The evolution of human intrasexual competition: Tactics of mate attraction.

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,   Dictionary.com. Web. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/darwinian+fitness>.   The Evolutionary Psychology FAQ. Edward H. Hagen Web. <http://www.anth.ucsb.edu/projects/human/epfaq/psychadaptation.html>.   Evolutionary Psychology. 2008. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

Http://plato.stanford.edu/entried/evolutionary-psychology.html.   Medicin Net. Web. <http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=38858>.   Schulte-Hostedde, A.I., Eys, M.A., & Johnson, K. (2008). Female Mate Choice is Influenced by

Male Sport Participation. Evolutionary Psychology Journal, www.epjournal.net