PSYC365

Why does jealousy occur? The evolutionary explanation calls it an adaptation, a heritable mating strategy that arose by accident in our remote ancestors and spread into later generations because it fostered success in reproduction by motivating the guarding of one's mate against rivals. This course will critically examine such evolutionary thinking in contemporary psychology as it is being applied to the whole gamut of human behavior, including child development, perception, cognition, consciousness, emotion, motivation, learning, gender, intelligence, personality, psychopathology, group dynamics, courtship, and parenting. We will devote special attention to the psychological foundations of culture, including religion, and the controversies sparked by evolutionary psychology. Fulfills Elective requirement. (Formerly Category 5)