Evolutionary Psychology

by Lance Workman

Written for undergraduate psychology students, and assuming little knowledge of evolutionary science, the third edition of this classic textbook provides an essential introduction to evolutionary psychology. Fully updated with the latest research and new learning features, it provides a thought-provoking overview of evolution and illuminates the evolutionary foundation of many of the broader topics taught in psychology departments. The text retains its balanced and critical evaluation of hypotheses and full coverage of the fundamental topics required for undergraduates. This new edition includes more material on the social and reproductive behaviour of non-human primates, morality, cognition, development and culture as well as new photos, illustrations, text boxes and thought questions to support student learning. Some 280 online multiple choice questions complete the student questioning package. This new material complements the classic features of this text, which include suggestions for further reading, chapter summaries, a glossary, and two-colour figures throughout.

Genres: Psychology, Evolution, Science, Nonfiction, Biology, Textbooks

566 pages, Paperback

First published May 20, 2004

Reviews

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this textbook for the Evolutionary Psychology class I'm teaching next semester. It's very different from other evolutionary psychology texts, which tend to focus too heavily on one topic (e.g., Buss) or to not have enough detail or coverage of important concepts (e.g., Gaulin). I chose this book because I liked its broader coverage and it really does seem to represent evolutionary psychology, not just evolutionary [insert subfield here] psychology. At the same time, however, some of the chapters were weak (especially the "cognitive development and the innateness issue" and "evolution, thought, and cognition" chapters). I loved the chapter on individual differences and I learned a lot from it myself. There are concepts and research that I think are missing, but my lectures can make up for those gaps.

At this point, I'm not sure how accessible it will be to students. I think it's written at a level they can understand, but the chapters are clearly meant to be read in order and you can't skip from section to section like you would in other textbooks where the sections are self-contained. That was fine for me because I read the book in order from beginning to end, but I could see it being a problem for students who often only touch the textbook to look something up (but those students are likely to have problems anyway). Otherwise, as a reader you can get a lot out of this book if you read it carefully (as it's meant to be read). I think it will work well for my class. We'll see how it goes.

[Tilda · Rating 5 out of 5]

till skillnad från andra kursböcker är den här mer populärvetenskapligt skrivet, vilket jag gillar. innehållsrik men ändå inte så träig och tung som faktaböcker lätt blir

hur mycket av våra beteenden, personligheter, känslor och kognitiva tänkande är genetiskt och hur mycket kommer från miljön?

ser och upplever vi världen så som den är eller så som vi behöver att den ska vara?

varför sorterades inte psykiska sjukdomar som depression och olika ångestsyndrom ut av naturligt urval? hade de en evolutionär fördel? kan svårare diagnoser som bipolär sjukdom och schizofreni också förklaras så?

kan vissa personlighetsstörningar, som antisociala personlighetsstörningar (ex. psykopati), vara till fördel i ett samhälle där de flesta samarbetar?

vad är intelligens och hur mäter man det?

[Charly · Rating 1 out of 5]

aUtIsM iS pEaK mAsCuLiNiTy aNd WiLLiAm'S sYnDrOmE iS pEaK FeMiNiNiTy

Really? The authors whine about feminists and social scientists critisising them while writing crap like that with no scientific argument or referencing to back it up.

[Daniel Correia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Normally you can't read textbooks like a normal book, they're written to be read that way, but this one you can. The writing is even less formal than normal, making more enjoyable. Even though it's filled with details, it's easy to read, and not only tells you the information but it also tries to make sure you understand it. A must-have for anyone interested in Evolutionary Psychology, and interesting for those interested in psychology or biology.

[Gerrit · Rating 5 out of 5]

'If „Nothing in Biology makes sense except in the light of evolution“ (Dobzhansky, 1973) and, assuming that the mind is an (evolutionary) emergent property of brain function (and it is), than nothing in Psychology makes sense except in the light of evolution either.'

[Rashad Raoufi]

this is an excting textbook which is full of very engaging and thoughful ideas, in terms of language its probably one of the most accessible textbooks there are for students, its very well structured with helpful summary points at the end of each chapter. the authors have done an amazing job of making very complex thoeries and different ideas fit into a text that can be understood by any student or anyone interested in human sciences or even social sciences.

[Peym]

3.5
Not that comprehensive. I expected more on sexual strategies.

Sometimes you must endure the speculations.

Last chapter about relationship of culture and EP was not clear.

The cardinal goal was to engender thinking with EP perspective.