Psychology 369 - Evolution & Human Behavior
Winter, 2007

TEXTS:

Evolutionary Psychology: The Science of Human Behavior and Evolution (Rossano, 2003)

Mother Nature (Hrdy, 1999)

Multiple Outside Readings (OR) are on Reserve in the SMC Library

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Frank McAndrew, E-131 SMC, Ext. 7525

e-mail: fmcandre@knox.edu.

Psychology Department Web Page

Evolution and Human Behavior: An Introduction to the Course
This course will be about "Human Nature." The primary assumption of the course is that the human mind and human behavioral predispositions have been shaped by the process of natural selection throughout our evolutionary past. Thus, we will be making some different assumptions about human nature than you may have encountered in most of the other courses in the social sciences that you have taken at Knox. We will explicitly be taking the position that people do NOT come into the world as blank slates waiting to be shaped by their environment and experiences, but rather that we are born with a relatively well developed arsenal of strategies, preferences, and passions that enabled our ancestors to survive in our ancestral environments. This is not to say that experience and environment are not important, but only that we come into the world more prepared to deal with some types of experiences and environments than others. This field has been a strong research interest of mine for quite some time, and I hope that this course entices you to want to learn more about it as well. Click on the link to find out more about my research interests in evolutionary psychology and to see links to other evolutionary psychology web sites. Also follow the links to get more background on human evolution and to see a Timeline of Human Evolution.
Grading

In this course, you will take a mid-term exam, a final exam, and write one term paper. You will also take a series of short quizzes based upon the outside readings you will be doing in the course.  Each test will be an essay test, and each test will be worth 25% of your final grade. The paper will also be worth 25% of your grade, with the first draft of the paper counting for 5% and the final draft counting for 20%. Collectively, the quizzes will also be worth 25% of your final grade.  The final exam will be given during final examination week, but it is NOT a comprehensive final exam. No makeup tests will be given without prior permission and a very good excuse.

GRADING SCALE:
93% - 100% = A
90% - 92% = A-
88% - 89% = B+
83% - 87% = B
80% - 82% = B-
78% - 79% = C+
73% - 77% = C
70% - 72% = C-
68% - 69% = D+
63% - 67% = D
60% - 62% = D-
<60% = F

THE TERM PAPER:

You will write a paper in which you demonstrate your ability to view the world through the lens provided by evolutionary psychology. The paper will take one of the following three forms:

1. A Research Proposal

2. An Analysis of Observations of Behavior from the Real World

3. An Evolutionary Analysis of Art, Literature, or Popular Media

UNITS & READING ASSIGNMENTS
[Major Sub-topics are Listed in Brackets Under Each Unit Heading]

Thursday, January 4: Introduction to the Course
- Rossano, pp. 24-25
 [THE EEA (Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness)]
[Ethology and the Link between Evolution & Behavior]

Tuesday, January 9: Basic Principles of Evolution and Intro to Evolutionary Psychology
- Rossano, pp. 53-61; pp. 74-76; Chapters 1 & 2; OR# 1
[Adaptation by Natural Selection]
[Sexual Selection]
QUIZ: The Levels of Selection Debate
 
Thursday, January 11: Basic Principles Continued
- Rossano, pp. 70-73; pp. 227-241 Chapter 3
[Evolutionary Psychology vs. the SSSM]
[Human Genetic Diversity]
[Primate Ecology & Behavior]

Tuesday, January 16: Human Prehistory and Modern Human Behavior
- Rossano, pp. 62-69; Chapters 5 & 6; OR #2
[Bipedalism]
[History of the Human Lineage]
Atlas of Early Human Migration
Lost World of the Little People

Thursday, January 18: Evolution of the Human Mind
- Rossano, pp. 401-415; Chapters 7, 8, 15, & 16; OR# 3 & 4
[Evolution of Emotion] - QUIZ
[The Modular Mind: Evolved Psychological Mechanisms and Domain-Specific Cognition]
[The Development of Cognition in Children: The Importance of a "Theory of Mind"]
DISCUSSION: Sex Differences in Cognition

Tuesday, January 23: Evolution and Language
- Rossano, Chapter 17
[Language as an Adaptation]
[Patterns of language Development in Children]
[Why Did Language Evolve?]
[The Evolutionary Psychology of Gossip]

Thursday, January 25: Sex Differences in Cognition
- OR#5 & 6 - QUIZ

Tuesday, January 30: MID-TERM EXAM

Thursday, February 1: Evolution and Human Development: Children, Parents, & Families
- Rossano, Chapter 13; OR# 7
[Life History Theory]
[Human Development Across the Life Span]
[Attachment]
[Sex Differences in Development]

Tuesday, February 6: Children, Parents, & Families Continued
- Rossano, Chapter 14; OR# 8 & 9
[Parental Investment]
[Sibling Relationships & Birth Order]
[Parent-Offspring Conflict]
[The Trivers-Willard Effect]
QUIZ

Thursday, February 8: Maternal Instincts 
- Hrdy, Chapters 5-21

Tuesday, February 13: Continue Discussion of Hrdy, Chapters 5-21

Thursday, February 15: Human Mate Choice
- Rossano, Chapter 11; OR# 10, 11, 12, 13
[Sexual Selection Revisited]
[Short-term vs. Long-term Mating Strategies]
[The Aesthetics of Sexual Attractiveness]
[Human Pheromones]
QUIZ

Friday, February 16: FIRST DRAFT OF TERM PAPER DUE

Tuesday, February 20: Human Mating Strategies (cont'd)
- Rossano, Chapter 12; OR# 14
[Jealousy, Mate Guarding, & Sexual Violence]

Thursday, February 22: Inclusive Fitness and Kin Selection
[Hamilton's Rule]

Tuesday, February 27: Evolutionary Social Psychology
- Rossano, pp. 415-422; Chapter 9; OR# 15 & 16
[Social Cognition, Person Perception, & Prejudice]
[Altruism & Morality]

Thursday, March 1: Evolutionary Social Psychology 
- Rossano, Chapter 9; OR# 17
[Aggression]
[Remote Killing and Human Nature]
QUIZ

Monday, March 5: FINAL DRAFT OF TERM PAPER IS DUE

Tuesday, March 6: Evolutionary Social Psychology
- OR# 18 & 19
[Gender, Culture, & Violence]
QUIZ

FINAL EXAM - DURING SCHEDULED TIME

OUTSIDE READINGS ON RESERVE IN THE SMC LIBRARY 

 1. Altruism and Organism: Disentangling the Themes of Multilevel Selection Theory (D.S. Wilson, 1997)

2. The People Time Forgot (Morwood, Sutikna, & Roberts, 2005)

3. My Baby Doesn't Smell as Bad as Yours: The Plasticity of Disgust
(Case, Repacholi, & Stevenson, 2006)

4. Mental Leap: What Apes can Teach us about the Human Mind (Jaffe, 2006)

5. Preschool Children Recognize the Utility of Differently Shaped Trees: A Cross-Cultural Evaluation of Aesthetics and Risk Perception. (Coss & Moore, 1994)

6. Sex Differences in Spatial Abilities: Evolutionary Theory and Data.(Silverman & Eals, 1992)

7. Sex Differences in response to Children's Toys in Nonhuman Primates (Alexander & Hines, 2002)

8. Parent-Offspring Conflict.(Trivers, 1974)

9. Variation in Offspring Sex Ratio in Women of Differeing Social Status. (Mealey & Mackey, 1990)

10. Production and Appreciation of Humor as Sexually Selected Traits (Bressler, Martin, & Balshine, 2006)

11. Vocal and Visual Attractiveness are Related in Women (Collins & Missing, 2003)

12. Facial Attractiveness Predicts Longevity (Henderson & Anglin, 2003)

13. The Scent of Symmetry: A Human Sex Hormone that Signals Fitness? (Thornhill & Gangestad, 1999)

14. Male Sexual Proprietariness and Violence Against Wives (Wilson & Daly, 1996)

15. New Evolutionary Perspectives on Altruism: Multilevel-Selection and Costly-Signaling Theories. (McAndrew, 2002)

16.  The Evolution of Reciprocal Altruism (Trivers, 1972)

17. Human Evolution and Human Hisotry: A Complete Theory (Bingham, 2000)

18. Competitiveness, Risk Taking, and Violence: The Young Male Syndrome (Wilson & Daly, 1985)

19. Culture, Social Organization, and patterns of Violence (Coehn, 1998).

To see the powerpoint slides for this course, click on the picture of the gorilla below