Evolutionary Psychology and Sociobiology The Fine Line Between
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Evolutionary psychology and sociobiology are often confused and even thought to be interchangeable. In fact, if one were to try an Internet search on either of the terms, one would find that most academic websites combine them and do use them as transposable. Evolutionary psychology is most classically dated back to William James, but the current work is most associated with John Tooby and Leda Cosmides.
Evolutionary psychology is based on the Darwinian theory of natural selection. Because natural selection is so widely accepted, there is now little debate regarding it and biology is firmly rooted in it. Evolutionary psychology uses the work of evolutionary biology. Rather than studying the way in which the human mind works, as most biologists and psychologists do, evolutionary psychologists use the theory as an approach to understanding.
A key assumption in evolutionary psychology is that behavior is adaptive. It is believed that certain mechanisms evolved because they have behavioral consequences. Darwin's theory of evolution says that over time, a species will develop physical adaptations to insure survival...