16 - Evolutionary Psychology

Summary

Evolutionary psychology and human behavioral ecology are two complementary approaches to understanding human behavior within the evolutionary social sciences. This chapter reviews the shared histories and current states of these approaches, with an eye toward the futures of both. The chapter explore the many ways in which the theoretical and empirical approaches of evolutionary psychology and human behavioral ecology overlap and complement each other, highlighting the synergies that lie at the intersection of these approaches. The chapter also addresses the ways in which these approaches diverge in their theoretical assumptions and the phenomena that they have been used to study. Understanding these divergences can help to identify gaps in the understanding of human behavior, and it can point to ways to bridge those gaps through broadening the visions of each approach. The chapter reviews directions in which evolutionary psychology and human behavioral ecology might evolve in the coming years, including expanding the range of phenomena under study, looking to new sources of theory, and increasing diversity and representation of researchers and communities involved in research.