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Evolutionary Social Psychology

Adaptive Predispositions and Human Culture

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Handbook of Social Psychology

Part of the book series: Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research ((HSSR))

Conclusion

We have argued that the evolutionary perspective to social psychology is not untestable, not reductionist, not a theory about rigid genetic determinism, not a justification for the status quo, and not incompatible with sociocultural or cognitive analyses. What it is, instead, is a set of ideas that have proved quite useful in generating novel hypotheses, and parsimoniously connecting findings from very different domains ranging from mate choice and family relationships to aggression and intergroup relations. Adopting an evolutionary perspective can help us appreciate not only the common threads that bind the people in our culture to those in other cultures, but also, beyond that, to the other species with which we share the earth. Taking this broad perspective, however, also makes us aware of the vast reaches of our own ignorance. As yet, we know very little about how evolved psychological mechanisnis inside individuals develop, or how they influence, and are influenced by, the complex cultures that humans construct. Bringing light to these questions will require a fuller integration of all the different theoretical perspectives on human social behavior.

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  1. Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, 85287

    Douglas Kenrick, Josh Ackerman & Susan Ledlow

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  1. Douglas Kenrick
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  1. University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA

    John Delamater

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Kenrick, D., Ackerman, J., Ledlow, S. (2006). Evolutionary Social Psychology. In: Delamater, J. (eds) Handbook of Social Psychology. Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. Springer, Boston, MA . https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-36921-X_5

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