Evolutionary Psychology

PSYC 358

Calendar of Events

 

Introduction to the course

 

 Tuesday, Sept. 3: CLASS IS CANCELLED (UBC “Imagine” day)

 

[For information about “Imagine” events in Psychology, go here]

 

 Thursday, Sept. 5: Introduction to “Evolutionary Psychology”

 

Reading: Course syllabus (which you’ll find on the course website)

 

 Tuesday, Sept. 10: Logical principles underlying evolutionary psychology

 

Reading: Cosmides, L., & Tooby, J. (1997). Evolutionary psychology: A primer.  Center for Evolutionary Psychology; University of California, Santa Barbara.

 

Reading: Confer, J. C., Easton, J. A., Fleischman, D. S., Goetz, C. D., Lewis, D. G. M., Perilloux, C., & Buss, D. M. (2010). Evolutionary psychology: Controversies, questions, prospects, and limitations. American Psychologist, 65, 110–126.

 

Part 1: Gene’s-eye view of human cognition and behavior

 

 Thursday, Sept. 12: The gene’s-eye view of life

 

Reading: Dawkins, Chapters 1 and 2

 

 Tuesday, Sept. 17: Good genes

 

Reading: Dawkins, Chapter 3

 

Reading: Gangestad, S. W., Thornhill, R. & Garver-Apgar, C. E. (2005). Adaptations to ovulation: Implications for sexual and social behavior. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14, 312-316.

 

 Thursday, Sept. 19: Adapted cognition

 

Reading: Dawkins, Chapter 4

 

Reading: Nairne, J. S., & Pandeirada, J. N. S. (2008). Adaptive memory: Remembering with a stone-age brain. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17, 239-243.

 

 Tuesday, Sept. 24: The social context of adapted cognition

 

Reading: Dawkins, Chapter 5

 

Reading: Dunbar, R. I. M. (2014). The social brain: Psychological underpinnings and implications for the structure of organizations. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23, 109–114.

 

 Thursday, Sept. 26: Inclusive fitness and its implications

 

Reading: Dawkins, Chapter 6

 

 Tuesday, Oct. 1:  MIDTERM EXAM 1

 

 

Part 2: Psychological adaptations pertaining to survival and sexual reproduction

 

 Thursday, Oct. 3: Looking back

 

[No new readings assigned]

 

 Tuesday, Oct. 8: Looking forward (Evolution and motivation)

 

Reading: Schaller, M., Kenrick, D.T., Neel, R., & Neuberg, S.L. (2017). Evolution and human motivation: A fundamental motives framework. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 11, e12319.

 

Reading: Kenrick (2016). Rate yourself on the new motivational pyramid:

A new scale of fundamental evolved motives [blog post]. www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/sex-murder-and-the-meaning-life/201604/rate-yourself-the-new-motivational-pyramid

 

 Thursday, Oct. 10: Better safe than sorry (Error management)

 

Reading: Öhman, A., & Mineka, S. (2003). The malicious serpent: Snakes as a prototypical stimulus for an evolved module of fear. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 12, 5-9.

 

Reading: Zebrowitz, L. A. (2017). First impressions from faces. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 26, 237-242.

 

 Tuesday, Oct. 15: The behavioral immune system

 

Reading: Schaller, M., & Park, J. H. (2011). The behavioral immune system (and why it matters). Current Directions in Psychological Science, 20, 99-103.

 

 Thursday, Oct. 17: Parental (and grandparental) investment

 

Reading: Dawkins, Chapters 7 and 8

 

 Tuesday, Oct. 22: Parental investment and sex differences in sexual behavior

 

Reading: Dawkins, Chapter 9

 

Reading: Schmitt, D. P., Jonason, P. K., Byerley, G. J., Flores, S. D., Illbeck, B. E., O’Leary, K. N., & Qudrat, A. (2012). A reexamination of sex differences in sexuality: New studies reveal old truths. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 21, 135-139.

 

 Thursday, Oct. 24: Mate preferences

 

Reading: Bjorklund, D. F. & Shackelford, T. K. (1999). Differences in parental investment contribute to important differences between men and women. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 8, 86-89.

 

Reading: Fink, B. & Penton-Voak, I. (2002). Evolutionary psychology of facial attractiveness. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 11, 154-158.

 

 Tuesday, Oct. 29: Choosy women, show-off-y men

 

Reading: Buss, D. M. (2001). Cognitive biases and emotional wisdom in the evolution of conflict between the sexes. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 10, 219-223.

 

Reading: Buss, D. M. (2017). Sexual conflict in human mating. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 26, 307–313.

 

 Thursday, Oct. 31: Beyond sexual stereotypes (Focus on female short-term mating)

 

Reading: Haselton, M. G., & Gildersleeve, K. (2011). Can men detect ovulation? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 20, 87-91.

 

 Tuesday, Nov. 5: MIDTERM EXAM 2

 

 

Part 3: Other challenges, other adaptations, other implications

 

 Thursday, Nov. 7: More kinship (Focus on kin-recognition cues)

 

Reading: Daly, M. & Wilson, M. I. (1996). Violence against stepchildren. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 5, 77-81.

 

Reading: Lieberman, D., & Smith, A. (2012). It’s all relative: Sexual aversions and moral judgments regarding sex among siblings. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 21, 243–247.

 

 Tuesday, Nov. 12: More parental investment (Focus on psychological mechanisms)

 

Reading: Schaller, M. (2018). The parental care motivational system and why it matters (for everyone). Current Directions in Psychological Science, 27, 295-301.

 

 Thursday, Nov. 14: Reciprocity and cooperation

 

Reading: Dawkins, Chapter 10

 

Reading: Delton, A. W., & Robertson, T. E. (2016). How the mind makes welfare tradeoffs: Evolution, computation, and emotion. Current Opinion in Psychology, 7, 12-16.

 

 Tuesday, Nov. 19: Emotions and emotional expressions

 

Reading: McCullough, M. E., Kimeldorf, M. B. &, Cohen, A. D. (2008). An adaptation for altruism? The social causes, social effects, and social evolution of gratitude. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17, 281-285.

 

Reading: Shariff, A. F., & Tracy, J. L. (2011). What are emotion expressions for? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 20, 395-399.

 

 Thursday, Nov. 21: Intergroup conflict

 

ESSAY ASSIGNMENT IS DUE

 

[No new readings assigned]

 

 Tuesday, Nov. 26: Evolution and culture

 

Reading: Dawkins, Chapter 11

 

Reading: Li, N. P., van Vugt, M., & Colarelli, S. M. (2018). The evolutionary mismatch hypothesis: Implications for psychological science. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 27, 38-44.

 

 Thursday, Nov. 28: The perils and prospects of evolutionary psychology

 

Reading: Schmalor, A., & Heine, S. J. (2019). In genes we trust: On the consequences of genetic essentialism. In B. T. Rutjens & M. J. Brandt (Eds.), Belief systems and the perception of reality (pp. 138-152). London: Routledge.

 

Optional Reading: Lewis, D. G. M., Al-Shawaf, L., Conroy-Beam, D., Asao, K., & Buss, D. M. (2017). Evolutionary psychology: A how-to guide. American Psychologist, 72, 353–373.

 

 

FINAL EXAM:  SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 3:30 p.m. 

   (Buchanan A101 and A103)