COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCE

SCHOOL OF APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIAL WORK & POLICY

FIRST SEMESTER SESSION A212

SSYA 1013 (GROUP E)

INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT

ASSIGNMENT TOPIC:

PERSPECTIVES OF EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY

PREPARED BY:

MOHAMAD HARIS BIN ABD GHANI

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PREPARED FOR:

DR. MUNEERA DAIF ALLAH ALI AL-WAHEDI

TOPIC: PERSPECTIVES OF EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY

CONTENTS

NO TITLE PAGE
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Perspectives of Evolutionary Psychology Background 2
1.2 Prominent Figures Psychologists in the Field of Perspectives of Evolutionary 2-3
Psychology
1.3 Career Growth in Perspectives of Evolutionary Psychology 3
2 MAIN CONTENT
2.1 The Contributions of Perspectives of Evolutionary Psychology to the Field of 4
Psychology
2.1.1 Theory Perspectives of Evolutionary Psychology 4
2.1.2 Famous Experiments Perspectives of Evolutionary Psychology 4
2.1.3 Therapy Perspectives of Evolutionary Psychology 5
2.1.4 Relation of Perspectives of Evolutionary Psychology with Other Perspectives 5-6
3 DISCUSSION
3.1 The Importance of Perspectives of Evolutionary Psychology in Our Daily Live 6
3.2 The Implications of Perspectives of Evolutionary Psychology in Our Daily Live 6
4 CONCLUSION 6
5 REFERENCES
6 ATTACHMENT

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TOPIC: PERSPECTIVES OF EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Perspectives of Evolutionary Psychology Background

Evolutionary psychology is one of the new branches in psychology regarding the potential purpose of
genetic factors in aspects of human behavior. It states that human beings are like other living beings on
this earth that have undergone a process of biological evolution during the history of its existence, and
from the results of this process humans now have large number of psychological mechanisms that are the
result of evolution that help humans to survive. Moreover, the perspective of evolutionary psychology is
also a way of thinking about human behavior that incorporates the effects of evolution. This evolutionary
psychology seeks to expose human thoughts and behavior through the lens of natural selection. It is based
on the Theory of Evolution by Charles Darwin through natural selection. The perspective of evolutionary
psychology also means that a culture is transmitted from one generation to the next through the norms of
life. Thus, it is found that the perspective of evolutionary psychology occurs changes in behavior,
processes, time dimensions and life cycles. It is also a combination of the principles of modern
psychology and evolutionary biology that reveals the origin and nature of human psychology as well as
some social statements in an in-depth discussion. That string, the past can be said to be the key to
understanding psychological mechanisms. This psychological mechanism is a very important factor in
explaining human social behavior.

1.2 Prominent Figures Psychologists in the Field of Perspectives of Evolutionary Psychology

Each psychological perspective has a leading figure in its respective field, as well as the evolutionary
psychology perspective which also has its own leading figure. From the perspective of evolutionary
psychology, the leading figure was Charles Darwin. Charles Darwin or real name Charles Robert Darwin
was born on 12 February 1809 and died on 19 April 1882 was an English naturalist and geologist. His
most famous contribution was on the theory of evolution that inspired developmental psychology. He
became a leading figure in the field of evolutionary psychology perspective through the statement that all
species are descended from a common ancestor and evolved over time. He is considered the father of
evolution even though many pre-existing people have put forward different theories of evolution. He is
said to be the father of the theory of evolution because his theory has so far been proven to be the most
complete theory, easy to understand, clear mechanism and related explanations. His theory of evolution
says that humans evolved as separate species. "The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection" is a
book written by Charles Darwin states two important things as the Theory of Evolution that the species

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that live now come from ancestral species that lived in the past and the second is the development of
species influenced by natural selection and variation between populations.

The theory of evolution devised by him argues that living beings evolved from previous living
beings through an evolutionary process provoked by the selection of nature. This goes on continuously
until a modern species is formed as it is now which forms a family tree that continues to branch. The
theory of evolution, which is based on the selection of nature, is indeed the main source of the emergence
of other sciences. Seeing the many preparations of Darwin's theory of evolution, the theory of
developmental psychology becomes very strongly related to the theory of evolution. One more thing,
Darwin himself has made a statement in his book that in the future there will be many fields of knowledge
that are decomposed from the theory of evolution that he has put forward. Darwin's estimate has been
proven correct. Now, the history of developmental psychology becomes a part that also follows in the
footsteps of evolution within it. In fact, psychology seeks to reveal how human behavior today is
influenced by how a person's genes structure. This is what makes the branch of psychology in the form of
evolutionary psychology.

1.3 Career Growth in Perspectives of Evolutionary Psychology

Career growth is very important in the process of human life, especially for modern man. There has
indeed been career growth in the perspective of evolutionary psychology. Career growth and evolutionary
psychology are two interrelated processes. Career growth in the evolutionary psychology perspective
occurs in a variety of settings that include research facilities, private businesses and government agencies,
and universities. There are even some psychologists in the field of evolutionary psychology perspectives
who are self -employed or work in consultation. One more thing, there are several issues that can address
problems in the career field of industrial psychology covering employee training and evaluation, human
and computer interaction, employee productivity, and training program development. In addition, career
growth in this field also creates an ethological career.

The career of ethology is the study of animal behavior that is crucial to the interaction between
the environment and organisms. This ethology has regained an important observational technique in
evolutionary psychology. Next, there are also ecological careers in this field. For example, conduct an
ecological study of human behavior as it occurs in the relationship between behavior and the environment
to produce a detailed description. In fact, the career of anthropology in this field that we can see there is
an increase in the use of ethnographic methods in evolutionary psychology coming from the field of
anthropology. The growth of this anthropological career in the perspective of evolutionary psychology
allows us to penetrate the context in which the phenomena we want to study are developed.

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2.0 MAIN CONTENT

2.1 The Contributions of Perspectives of Evolutionary Psychology to the Field of Psychology

2.1.1 Theory Perspectives of Evolutionary Psychology

The contribution of evolutionary psychology perspective to the field of psychology is in the theory of
evolutionary psychology perspective. More complex theories of evolutionary psychology attempt to
explain more complex behaviors. Sigmund Freud's theory of psychoanalysis was greatly influenced by
Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, that sexual instinct was the biggest impetus in Freud's
psychoanalysis which was in line with Charles Darwin's theory of evolution to survive. In addition, the
theory of experimental psychology by William James was also heavily influenced by Charles Darwin.
According to William James, the circulation of the nerves is inseparable from the results of evolution.
Getting ready has been a response of human instinct. For example, Aina has been afraid of spiders since
she was little. After discovering she had never been bitten by a spider, her nurse explained that according
to evolutionary psychology, Aina’s fears may have been an instinctive response. In short, in this case the
theory of evolutionary psychology perspective is a theory that explains the development of living beings
and their genetic linkages between one living thing and another. Since psychology is a branch of biology,
the theories in evolutionary biology can be used to study psychology.

2.1.2 Famous Experiments Perspectives of Evolutionary Psychology

Each psychological perspective has experiments done to further strengthen the theories that have been
made, as well as the perspective of evolutionary psychology which also has its famous experiments.
Among the well -known experiments of the evolutionary psychology perspective is the Doll Bobo
experiment. This experiment was conducted in the early 1960s, psychologist Albert Bandura studied the
effects of aggression that occurs on children's behavior. Albert Bandura conducted the study by
experimenting with Bobo dolls. The experiment took place with children going to watch a video of an
adult interacting with a Bobo doll. In one situation, the adult model acts passively towards the doll but in
another situation the adult punches, screams and kicks the doll. The results of the experiments showed
that children who watched adult models who behaved aggressively towards dolls were more likely to
imitate aggressive behavior later in life. The results of these experiments conducted have been able to
identify that violence on television influences the behavior of children to continue to be angry today.
Clearly, from these well-known experiments from the perspective of evolutionary psychology that have
been conducted, humans undergo social changes or can be said to evolve slowly from childhood to
adulthood while accepting the influence of the environment.

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2.1.3 Therapy Perspectives of Evolutionary Psychology

There are many theories and approaches that have emerged throughout the history of psychology that aim
to explain how the human mind works, the types of psychology that influence in behavior, how it is
changed, patterns of action and thinking that do not adapt in the form of mental disorders. At the clinical
psychological level, efforts have been made to help those suffering from a disorder known as therapy.
The evolutionary psychology perspective therapy conducted is a type of treatment based on experimental
psychology that assumes that behavior can change with learning as well as the application of behavioral
and thought patterns. If there is a behavior that causes significant discomfort to a person, it is possible to
change this pattern by teaching others who are more useful. In this way of therapy, it is to produce
changes in a person that can improve their adaptation while improving skills in the environment with
changes in individual behavior through the learning process. Evolutionary psychology perspective
therapy is constantly evolving although many therapies as well as techniques have been applied since
behavior modification therapy emerged, this behavioral therapy has not stopped evolving to increase its
effectiveness on the behavioral and mental processes in which it works. In short, it is to avoid discomfort
by all mean to help the subject to change the type of relationship and vision a person has about oneself
and one's problems.

2.1.4 Relation of Perspectives of Evolutionary Psychology with Other Perspectives

Most psychological perspectives have relevance to other psychological perspectives. One more thing, the
more complex perspective theory of evolutionary psychology attempts to explain the more complex
behavior of evolutionary processes that are constantly undergoing changes in the structure of the
organism over time. For example, the relevance of the evolutionary psychology perspective to the
functionalism psychology perspective. The psychological perspective of functionalism takes influence
from Charles Darwin’s theory, that is, behavior that has been adapted will be fixed throughout the
evolutionary process. In fact, the connection that occurs is also that the influence of this theory of
evolution has largely triggered the development of the study of mental processes in animals. Moreover,
another psychological perspective that has to do with the evolutionary psychology perspective is the
biological psychology perspective. One more thing, most of us are unaware of the process of neural
circuits relying on consciousness to guide us which can be confusing. That is, we are unconsciously
aware of conclusions caused by complex neural circuits but not processes. Starting from this point, the
psychology of evolution is a branch of biology and the realization of science in biology is based on the
theory of evolution. Thus, human behavior is the result of evolution. For example, human psychology as a
computer program is a large module that evolves through natural selection to solve number of problems
for adaptive purposes. Next, the cognitive psychology perspective also has relevance to the evolutionary

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psychology perspective. It is a field studied by developmental psychology that is grouped into physical
development like the basis of genetic development, growth physical and motoric development. This
cognitive development is an intellectual process, memory, problem solving and learning.

3.0 DISCUSSION

3.1 The Importance of Perspectives of Evolutionary Psychology in Our Daily Live

Everything has its importance, as does the perspective of evolutionary psychology that has importance in
everyday life. To understand psychology, we need to understand the mechanisms of evolutionary
psychology used to solve problems to adapt to everyday life. For example, human behavior is the result of
evolution, human psychology such as computer programs that evolved through natural selection is to
solve some problems in life for the purpose of adaptation. Thus, the importance of the perspective of
evolutionary psychology in daily life has permeated in every aspect of life is to understand the problems
and solutions faced that affect human thought patterns and behavior.

3.2 The Implications of Perspectives of Evolutionary Psychology in Our Daily Live

The perspective of evolutionary psychology has implications in our daily lives. The implication is that
through the behaviors performed it impacts our greater ability to adapt to changing situations in daily life.
In other words, we able to survive in all situations even in critical situations. Moreover, it has great
implications for the development of the sociological aspect in our daily lives through changes that occur
slowly. In turn, it has implications for the improvement of behavioral processes and learning experiences
due to environmental factors in daily life. This is called the social learning factor. Thus, the important
aspects of social learning that exist in daily life implications from the perspective of evolutionary
psychology need to be mobilized in an integrated manner so that there is positive self-development in
daily life.

4.0 CONCLUSION

In conclusion, through the perspective of evolutionary psychology, it is found that evolution means that
beings on earth undergo social change slowly and change slowly. This perspective of evolutionary
psychology is a branch of biology that studies the history of the origin of living beings and the genetic
interconnectedness of living beings with each other. One more thing, the study of evolutionary
psychology is the study of behavioral changes over time, that is, throughout the human life cycle. In
addition, the evolutionary psychology therapy conducted also applies treatments that follow the
characteristics of the subject that can adapt the therapy in each situation. Indeed, this evolutionary
psychology is viewed as one of the most important new developments in a psychological perspective.

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5.0 REFERENCES

American Psychological Association. (2011). Principles For Quality Undergraduate Education in

Psychology. Washington DC: Author. Retrieved November 9, 2021, from the World Wide Web:
http://www.apa.org/education/undergrad/principles.aspx.

Bjorklund, D.F., & Pelegrini, A.D. (2000). Child Development and Evolutionary Psychology. Child

Development, 71, 6, 1687-1708.

Boyer, P., & Heckhausen, J. (2000). Introductory Note. American Behavioral Scientist, 43, 6, 917-925.

Caporael, L.R. (2001). Evolutionary Psychology: Toward a Unifying Theory and a Hybrid Science.

Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 607-628.

Hergenhahn, B.R., & Olson, M.H. (2001). An Introduction to Theories of Learning. Upper Saddle River,

NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Karandashev, V. (2012). Teaching Psychology: Views from Around the World. Retrieved November 12,

2021, from the http://www.slideserve.com/daniel_millan/teaching-psychology-viewsfrom-

McCarthy, S., Dickson, K.L., Cranney, J., Trapp, A. & Karandashev, V. (Eds.). (2012). Teaching

Psychology Around the World: Volume 3. UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

McLeod, S. (2018) 28 Disember). Solomon Asch- Percubaan Kesesuaian. Retrieved November 10, 2021,

from the World Wide Web: https://www.simplypsychology.org/asch-conformity.html

6.0 ATTACHMENT

Figure 1: Charles Darwin Pictures

Source: Google Images