NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY

Course overview

Course Description: This course is based upon material published in the PLOS Biology and is available as an open access article. ABSTRACT Evolutionary Psychology (EP) views the human mind as organized into many modules, each underpinned by psychological adaptations designed to solve problems faced by our Pleistocene ancestors. We argue that the key tenets of the established EP paradigm require modification in the light of recent findings from a number of disciplines, including human genetics, evolutionary biology, cognitive neuroscience, developmental psychology, and paleoecology. For instance, many human genes have been subject to recent selective sweeps; humans play an active, constructive role in co-directing their own development and evolution; and experimental evidence often favours a general process, rather than a modular account, of cognition. A redefined EP could use the theoretical insights of modern evolutionary biology as a rich source of hypotheses concerning the human mind, and could exploit novel methods from a variety of adjacent research fields. This course on evolutionary psychology is suitable for psychologists, clinical social workers, nurses, and professional counselors who do clinical work. This course is appropriate for beginning, intermediate and advanced level practitioners who wish to develop their understanding of another area of theory and evolutionary psychology. It may also be useful for licensed clinicians who require general continuing education courses for license renewal. The course is based on a journal article and as such contains detailed information. One of the benefits of reading current journal based articles for continuing education is that it allows the practitioner to keep current on the latest developments in their field. Authors: Bolhuis, Brown, Richardson and Laland Learning Objectives: This course will provide the practitioner with detailed information regarding evolutionary psychology. Specifically, a professional will: • Describe the evolutionary psychology perspective. • Identify key tenants of evolutionary psychology that no longer fit within what is known about human behavior. • Identify a newer model of evolutionary psychology that includes the insights of evolutionary biology. Citation: Bolhuis JJ, Brown GR, Richardson RC, Laland KN (2011) Darwin in Mind: New Opportunities for Evolutionary Psychology. PLoS Biol 9(7): e1001109 visit us on the web at www.ce-classes.com