1. Teaching Evolutionary Psychology
David M. Buss

2. “In the distant future psychology will be based on a new foundation, that of the necessary acquirement of each mental power and capacity by gradation.” --Charles Darwin, 1859

3. Teaching Tool #1
Convey to students a sense of “deep time”

4. Origins of Modern Humans
Homo Erectus
Migrated from Africa to Asia (1.8 MYA)

5. Increases in brain size during evolution
ardipithecus
brain size: 300 ccs
Australopithe-cus
brain size:
ccs
homo habilis
brain size: ccs
homo erectus
brain size: ccs
Neandertal
brain size: ccs
modern human
brain size: 1350 ccs

6. Milestones in the Origins of Modern Humans

7. Milestones in the Origins of Modern Humans

8. Teaching Tool #2
Teach students that there are multiple levels of causation and explanation.

9. Turtles

11. Teaching Tool #3
Explain the three theories of the origins of complex adaptive mechanisms

12. 1. Creationism

13. 2. Seeding theory

14. 3. Evolution by natural selection

15. Teaching Tool #4
Explain the logic of evolution by natural selection

16. Evolution Before Darwin
Change over time in organic structures: evolution
Characteristics seemed to have a purpose (porcupines, turtles, skunks)

17. Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection
The explanatory challenge:
1. why change takes place
2. how new species emerge
3. what the functions are of parts

18. The answer--natural selection: Variation, inheritance, differential reproduction

19. The key to natural selection: Differential reproductive success because of heritable variants; everyone has ancestors, but not everyone leaves descendants

20. Natural selection provided 3 key answers
Explained change over time: descent with modification
Explained the apparent purposive quality of component parts: adaptive function
United all species into one grand tree of descent: including humans

21. Darwin Was Deeply Troubled by Facts that Could not Be Explained by Natural Selection

22. Teaching Tool #5
Hence, need to explain the tremendous importance of the theory of sexual selection

23. Sexual Selection

24. Intersexual Selection: Preferential Mate Choice

25. Sexual Selection Components
Intrasexual Competition

26. Teaching Tool #6
Explain the core tenets of evolutionary psychology

27. Core Tenets of Evolutionary Psychology
1. All behavior is a function of psychological mechanisms + input to those mechanisms

28. Core Tenets of Evolutionary Psychology
2. All psychological mechanisms, at some basic level, originate from evolutionary processes

29. Core Tenets of Evolutionary Psychology
3. Natural and sexual selection are the most important evolutionary processes responsible for creating psychological mechanisms

30. Core Tenets of Evolutionary Psychology
4. Evolved psychological mechanisms can be described as information processing devices.
Inputs
Decision Rules
Outputs

31. Core Tenets of Evolutionary Psychology
5. Evolved psychological mechanisms are instantiated in the brain.

32. Core Tenets of Evolutionary Psychology
6. Evolved psychological mechanisms are functional: Designed to solve statistically recurrent adaptive problems

33. Teaching Tool #7
Teach the critical distinction between ultimate and proximate causation

34. Proximate and Ultimate Causation
Proximate causation: Immediate causal forces—development, input, mechanism
Ultimate causation: Why? [example: Why are men taller than women, on average?]

35. The “Long Bones” Explanation

36. Teaching Tool #8
Explain that humans were not “designed” to understand the causal processes that created their own psychology

38. What Was the Human Mind Designed to Comprehend?

40. Teaching Tool #9
Use examples from the human body

41. Teaching Tool #10
Use animal examples

42. All Species have a Nature

43. Sexual Conflict
Dampwood termites: Antennating males

44. Animals Mating and Fighting

45. tremendously important.
Teaching Tool #11
Use examples that relate to what’s important in the lives of students*:
Mating
Cooperation
Aggression
Common clinical problems: depression, eating disorders, etc.
Social conflict
*Coincidentally, these are precisely the topics that evolutionary theory suggests
tremendously important.

46. Topics Students Care About

47. Teaching Tool #12
Use thought experiments

48. Illustrative Thought Experiment: Mission Impossible
What would you do if you were a gene?
Your Mission: to increase your replicative success

49. Inclusive Fitness Revolution
What would you do if you were a gene?
Ensure the survival of your “vehicle” (body)
Making copies of yourself: influence your “vehicle” to reproduce (find fertile mates, etc.)
Aid in the survival and reproduction of other “vehicles” that contain copies of you (help genetic relatives)

50. Thought Experiment
List all of the qualities women want in a long-term mate.
List all of the qualities men want in a long-term mate.

51. Thought Experiment
List all the things that men you know have done to irritate, anger, annoy, or upset women.

52. Teaching Tool #13
Deal with controversial topics head on: Issue “surgeon general’s warnings”

53. Surgeon General’s Warning #1: There are Dark Sides to Human Nature

54. Warning # 2: Sexual Conflict is Prevalent
Same-Sex Friendships
Mateships
Opposite-Sex Friendships
Hierarchical
Relationships
Sexual Conflict
Same-sex friendship: sexual rivalry
OSF: conflict over sexual access
Coalitions: Sexual rivalry
Parent-offspring: parents run interference with daughter’s mating.
Mateships: conflict over EPC’s and within-pair copulations,
commitment, etc.
Hierarchical: conflict over privileged sexual access, and intrasexual
competition over mates
Step-relationships: Sexual abuse of stepdaughters
Coalitions
Step-Relationships
Parent-Offspring Relationships

55. Warning #3: Evolved Sex Differences Exist
Men and Women Differ in Domains Where they Have Recurrently Faced Different Adaptive Problems Over Human Evolutionary History

56. Recurrently Different Adaptive Problems of the Sexes
Internal female fertilization
Obligatory parental investment
Metabolic demands of breast feeding
Genetic cuckoldry
Potential for misdirected parental investment
Cryptic ovulation
Cyclic ovulation

57. Likelihood of Agreeing to Have Sex With Someone You Find Attractive as a Function of Time Known

58. Teaching Tool #14
Emphasize that well constructed evolutionary psychological hypotheses are testable and hence falsifiable.
Strongly Supported: Sex differences in mate preferences for cues to resources and cues to fertility
Apparently Falsified: “Loser male” design feature of rape hypothesis

59. Teaching Tool #15 Lighten up: show a sense of humor
E.g., One cartoonist’s rendition of male and females brains

62. Teaching Tool #16
Explain heuristic value of evolutionary psychology: Guides researchers to important domains such as . . .
Mating
Kinship
Aggression
Cooperation
Social conflict
Status hierarchies
Morality

63. Teaching Tool #17
Consilience

64. Evolutionary Psychology is Consilient
1. Organizes known facts parsimoniously
2. Provides guidance to important domains
3. Leads to new predictions
4. Unifies psychology with the life sciences

65. Teaching Tool #18
Show humility and honesty: What we know is minute compared to what we do not know

66. Final Teaching Tool #19: Excitement, Awe, Appreciation
It is a rare and special privilege to be living in the exciting time of what I believe is the most important scientific revolution in the history of psychology

67. Thank you!