Course Description:
Evolutionary Psychology is a relative newcomer to the social sciences. It claims to present a new and different way of understanding things like the family and family conflict, relationships between the two sexes, group cooperation, crime, xenophobia and racism. For example, have you ever wondered why women as a general practice continue to play a high disproportionate role in raising children despite (allegedly) living in an era of social equality? Evolutionary psychology claims to know, though the answer has not been to everyone's liking. Are people predisposed to dislike those who look least like them through evolutionary pressures? What is the origin of human aggression and why is that young men especially engage in risky behavior? Evolutionary Psychology opposes itself to what it terms the Standard Social Science Model (SSSM); that is, that culture, learning, socialization, explains human behavior. Not entirely. "Nature keeps culture on a leash". This area of the human sciences is increasingly influential and continues to generate a great deal of debate.
Prerequisites: Completion of Introduction to Psychology. Completion of or currently taking a course in Social Psychology or Cultural Psychology is highly recommended.
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