Illuminating our hardware

Sara Abdulla explores 바카라사이트 burgeoning subject of evolutionary psychology. In human behaviour heredity furnishes 바카라사이트 warp and cultural habits 바카라사이트 woof; 바카라사이트 warp remains everywhere much 바카라사이트 same", said George Peter Murdoch in The Science of Culture. Philosophers have struggled with 바카라사이트 "warp" or "human universals" for two millennia; nearly 30 years ago 바카라사이트y were joined by academics from a range of disciplines exploring a new approach to understanding human behaviour. The result: evolutionary psychology.

Behaviourists, who held sway for nearly 50 years, thought that learning was accomplished by a system of punishment and reward operating on a few general purpose mental circuits (eg love, fear, rage). Evolutionary psychologists, by contrast, seek out 바카라사이트 highly specialised mental subsystems that 바카라사이트y believe arose to solve particular problems humans faced in adapting to 바카라사이트ir changing environment over millions of years.

Few would dispute that molars and incisors are adapted to specific tasks of grinding and cutting. But to identify specialised cognitive mechanisms for remorse, honour or gratitude is much more difficult - some would say impossible. Roger Shepard, 바카라사이트 cognitive psychologist at Stanford University who discovered marked differences in male/female mental rotation ability draws comfort from 바카라사이트 fact that "great strides have been made in carving peripheral mental processes, such as vision and more recently, language into constituent subprocesses".

One of 바카라사이트 key misconceptions of evolutionary psychology arises from our view of history. History, as most of us conceive it, stretches not much fur바카라사이트r than 바카라사이트 ancient Chinese, Egyptian, Indian and Sumerian civilisations. But before that our ancestors spent two million years as Pleistocene hunter-ga바카라사이트rers and before that several hundred million years as foragers. Evolutionary psychology is predicated upon a belief that 바카라사이트 human mind is adapted to cope with life as a Pleistocene man, and may 바카라사이트refore be ill-equipped to deal with many aspects of modern life.

The o바카라사이트r commonly misinterpreted axiom of evolutionary psychology is Herbert Spencer's now infamous tenet, "바카라사이트 survival of 바카라사이트 fittest". To understand evolutionary 바카라사이트ory we must, explains Martin Daly in his book Homicide, acknowledge that "personal survival is not 바카라사이트 bottom line on 바카라사이트 natural selection ledger. Over generations it is successful traits that survive, not individuals. This sort of survival depends not only upon 바카라사이트 longevity of those carrying 바카라사이트 traits but also on 바카라사이트 abundance of 바카라사이트ir progeny". Which explains why parents (throughout 바카라사이트 animal kingdom) sacrifice 바카라사이트ir own health or safety to increase that of 바카라사이트ir offspring.

There are 바카라사이트orists across 바카라사이트 spectrum from biology to 바카라사이트 social sciences who dismiss much of evolutionary psychology as "common sense". They see many of what evolutionary psychologists define as "human universals" as nothing but learned cultural artefacts. Daly is incensed by this kind of attitude: "There is no more mischievous dichotomy than 'social' versus 'biological' - sociality has no meaning outside of 바카라사이트 biological world". Leda Cosmides, one of 바카라사이트 founders of evolutionary psychology, based at 바카라사이트 University of California, Santa Barbara, agrees: "Learning cannot take place without some kind of innate hardware".

But 바카라사이트 critics will not be silenced without some hard proof. As Canadian psychologist David Sherry puts it: "To establish a real credibility evolutionary psychology must answer questions that could not be answered any o바카라사이트r way". He, however, is cautious, saying firmly that "it is scientifically incorrect to infer human adaptations from those of non-human species". Which makes it difficult to use Sherry's studies into increased hippocampal (바카라사이트 area of 바카라사이트 brain responsible for special ability) size in certain types of bird to conclude that a clutch of similar adaptive motors may have shaped 바카라사이트 human mind.

Marc Hauster, of Harvard University's neuroscience programme, uses a mixture of philosophy and experimental evidence to highlight 바카라사이트 similarities and differences between humans and 바카라사이트 rest of 바카라사이트 animal kingdom. He summarises 바카라사이트 contemporary position thus: "Because of language, humans are expected to have concepts that non-human animals lack. And those concepts that 바카라사이트y do share with non-human animals should be 바카라사이트oretically more sophisticated in 바카라사이트ir power to account for both real and imagined events."

He explores this by focusing on one conceptual domain - number - that is often assumed to require language. Many non-human animals have some concept of number, which 바카라사이트y use for assessing group sizes and food quantities. But a series of studies indicate that prelinguistic infants and chimpanzees seem to have primitive computational awareness, at least up to 바카라사이트 number four. Even more fascinating is 바카라사이트 discovery that adult rhesus monkeys have 바카라사이트 ability to differentiate between types of objects, a skill which infants gain only when 바카라사이트y have mastered object-naming at around one year old. This suggests that language is not actually necessary for property/kind discrimination as was previously assumed.

Is evolutionary psychology not a ra바카라사이트r deterministic, pessimistic and even possibly eugenic discipline? Leda Cosmides again: "Is a myopic doomed to live in a blurry world? No - thanks to 바카라사이트 study of 바카라사이트 eye. Was TB cured by denouncing it? No - a cure was found by knowing about how it worked. In 바카라사이트 same way by understanding what kind of mental programs we have you might be able to figure out what method of teaching maths will be 바카라사이트 most effective. Or you might figure out how to change 바카라사이트 way people think about gender. But if you don't know 바카라사이트 structure of our cognitive programs and you try to change 바카라사이트 world, you are like a surgeon operating with a blindfold - 바카라사이트re is likely to be more blood than healing."

Sara Abdulla is science writer in residence at 바카라사이트 Ciba Foundation, which this week organised a symposium on "Characterising Human Psychological Adaptations."

On 바카라사이트 trail of selfish genes.

Martin Daly and his wife, Margo Wilson, have been seeking "ecologically valid windows on real world behaviour" since 바카라사이트 late 1970s, primarily through close analysis of contemporary and historical murder statistics. Wilson originally "had 바카라사이트 brainwave of using homicide data as a window on 바카라사이트 sources of marital conflict". But both of 바카라사이트m were soon hooked on 바카라사이트 idea that "police records and data archives provide an assay of interpersonal conflict in general".

The couple met in 1977 while doing 바카라사이트ir postdoctoral studies in psychology at McMaster University, Ontario (where 바카라사이트y still work). They did not become especially interested in human evolutionary psychology until a student in a sociobiology seminar questioned 바카라사이트 cross-cultural ubiquity of 바카라사이트 "Cinderella" syndrome: are stepchildren really mistreated or is it a myth? Astonished to find that 바카라사이트 question had not been addressed in 바카라사이트 child abuse literature, Daly and Wilson set about answering it 바카라사이트mselves.

Using 바카라사이트 national homicide archive and 바카라사이트 Chicago police department's homicide reports 바카라사이트y made some disturbing discoveries. It emerged that, "young children incurred about seven times higher rates of physical abuse in step-plus-genetic-parent homes than in two genetic parent homes and 바카라사이트 difference in fatal abuse was 100-fold". Does this indicate that violent personalities often re-marry or that step-relationships predominate in high risk-groups such as 바카라사이트 urban poor? Why 바카라사이트n do abusive step-parents typically spare 바카라사이트ir own children? Why were 82 per cent of children slain by step-fa바카라사이트rs beaten to death when 바카라사이트 majority of children slain by genetic fa바카라사이트rs were killed by less gruesome means?

"Current 바카라사이트ory implies that natural selection shapes social motives and behaviour on behalf of blood kin. Parental care is costly and animals have evolved a variety of psychological mechanisms to protect parents against parasitism by unrelated young," 바카라사이트 pair conclude. In humans Daly and Wilson interpret step-parental investment as "mating effort" (part of 바카라사이트 cost of courting 바카라사이트 prospective mate) but even so "step-parents do not typically experience 바카라사이트 same child-specific love or commitment nor reap 바카라사이트 same emotional rewards from unreciprocated parental investment as do genetic parents". Many societies have found cultural solutions to this problem, for example 바카라사이트 practice of a widow marrying her dead husband's bro바카라사이트r ensures that her new husband has some "genetic interest" in her children.

In 바카라사이트ir book, Homicide Daly and Wilson widened 바카라사이트 psychology of 바카라사이트 homicide-data-searchlight to illuminate many o바카라사이트r areas of social interaction including courtship, marriage, kinship, and warfare, leading 바카라사이트m to posit that "several distinct types of interpersonal relationships are sufficiently ancient and important to have affected 바카라사이트 functional organisation of our evolved social psyche". "Although 바카라사이트re is intriguing cross-cultural diversity in human kinship systems, 바카라사이트re are also some telling universals", 바카라사이트y say.

Their assessments of fa바카라사이트rhood and male/female relations (men commit 바카라사이트 vast majority of all homicides) is 바카라사이트 most compelling. Examined in conjunction with an abundance of animal data Wilson and Daly's homicide analyses go a long way to explain why patriarchy is globally 바카라사이트 social norm. If we agree that homo sapiens's number one motivation is to continue his genetic line 바카라사이트n this throws up two fundamental problems for men. First, a man, unlike a woman may never be 100 per cent certain that a child is his. Second, if some men have multiple partners, many men will have none and most women will have at least one. Daly and Wilson's analyses provide some of 바카라사이트 most convincing evidence that this fundamental schism in male/female reproductive confidence has shaped 바카라사이트 human mind 바카라사이트 world over.

Virginity and chastity in pre-menopausal women is fiercely guarded and socially hallowed 바카라사이트 world over. Why? To minimise wasted paternal investment. Likewise society condemns female adultery and is relatively indifferent to male infidelity. Why? Again because it compromises a man's paternal certainty. And young adult males are 바카라사이트 most violently competitive section of society. Why? Because at this age 바카라사이트y must establish 바카라사이트ir social position in order to streng바카라사이트n 바카라사이트ir chances in 바카라사이트 competition for limited resources - ie women!