Evolutionary psychology

General data

Course ID:	WF-PS-EVOP
Erasmus code / ISCED:	14.4 Kod klasyfikacyjny przedmiotu składa się z trzech do pięciu cyfr, przy czym trzy pierwsze oznaczają klasyfikację dziedziny wg. Listy kodów dziedzin obowiązującej w programie Socrates/Erasmus, czwarta (dotąd na ogół 0) – ewentualne uszczegółowienie informacji o dyscyplinie, piąta – stopień zaawansowania przedmiotu ustalony na podstawie roku studiów, dla którego przedmiot jest przeznaczony. / (unknown)
Course title:	Evolutionary psychology
Name in Polish:	Evolutionary psychology
Organizational unit:	Institute of Psychology
Course groups:
ECTS credit allocation (and other scores):	(not available) Basic information on ECTS credits allocation principles: the annual hourly workload of the student’s work required to achieve the expected learning outcomes for a given stage is 1500-1800h, corresponding to 60 ECTS; the student’s weekly hourly workload is 45 h; 1 ECTS point corresponds to 25-30 hours of student work needed to achieve the assumed learning outcomes; weekly student workload necessary to achieve the assumed learning outcomes allows to obtain 1.5 ECTS; work required to pass the course, which has been assigned 3 ECTS, constitutes 10% of the semester student load. view allocation of credits
Language:	English
Subject level:	advanced
Learning outcome code/codes:	PS_W02 PS_W03 PS_K03
Full description:	What is Evolutionary Psychology? All research in biology relies on the theory of evolution. If we reject mind-body dualism, then much of psychology research should be based on evolutionary principles as well. Evolutionary psychology is a theoretical paradigm that draws assumptions from evolutionary biology to understand how the mind works, why it is designed one way and not another, and what are the causes and consequents of those ancestral design features. It is not a genetically deterministic model of psychology, but instead, an active interactionist paradigm that can synthesize work from various disciplines to understand people in a more holistic fashion and to do so within the context of the larger animal kingdom. In this course, you will begin to develop your understanding of evolutionary theory within and without of psychology, learn how recurrent conflicts have lead to different design features in the species, in the sexes, and more, and learn how to apply evolutionary thinking to evaluate your work and others’ work. The course is designed around scientific psychology more than counseling psychology, with an emphasis on asking sometimes uncomfortable questions in a dispassionate way. Given our busy schedules and individual differences in English skills, this is a self-directed unit. You have been provided with access to PowerPoint files with voiceover lecture content. You are free to go at your own pace, but I suggest you try to at least keep up with the workload per week.
Bibliography:	Textbook Buss, D.M. Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind. ISBN-13: 978-0205015627 (get the most up-to-date version you can afford) Suggested readings Al-Shawaf, L., Zreik, K. A., & Buss, D.M. (2018). Thirteen misunderstandings about natural selection. In T.K. Shackelford and V.A. Weekes-Shackelford (Eds.). Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. New York: Springer. Bleske, A.L., & Buss, D.M. (2001). Opposite sex friendship: Sex differences and similarities in initiation, selection, and dissolution. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 1310-1323. Cheng, J. T., Tracy, J. L., Foulsham, T., Kingstone, A., & Henrich, J. (2013). Two ways to the top: Evidence that dominance and prestige are distinct yet viable avenues to social rank and influence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104, 103–125. Duntley, J.D. & Buss, D.M. (2011). Homicide adaptations. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 16, 399-410. Jonason, P.K., Li, N.P., & Madson, L. (2012). It’s not all about the Benjamins: Understanding preferences for mates with resources. Personality and Individual Differences, 52, 306-310. Miner, E.J., Shackelford, T.K., Block, C.R., Starratt, V.G., & Weekes-Shackelford, V.A. (2012). Risk of Death or Life-Threatening Injury for Women with Children Not Sired by the Abuser. Human Nature, 23, 89-97. Tybur, J.M., Lieberman, D.L., & Griskevicius, V. (2009). Microbes, mating, and morality: Individual differences in three functional domains of disgust. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 29, 103-122. Webster, G.D. (2004). Human kin investment as a function of genetic relatedness and lineage. Evolutionary Psychology, 2, 129-141.
Assessment methods and assessment criteria:	Assessments While you might be taking this course, you might not be (1) interested in a research career, (2) your schedule is too full, or (3) not all that interested in taking an evolutionary perspective in your research. Therefore, there are two assessment options that you can choose from. Option 1: A 75-question multiple test option on Mar-16th at 11am-1pm. These questions will be drawn from all of the unit and potentially from the auxiliary readings as well. Option 2: A 2000-word proposal for a research study testing one or more hypotheses based in evolutionary psychology. This document must be in APA format and contain a literature review, proposed methods (including issues of power and measurement), expected results, and references. It will be evaluated on a scale of 1-5 for (1) feasibility, (2) clarity of statistical plan, (3) clarity of methods, (4) contemporary nature of the question, and (5) quality of hypotheses in relation to evolutionary psychology. This is due March 16th by 11am in a provided dropbox folder. Uploads are timestamped and you will lose 10 point for every 30 minutes it is late.

This course is not currently offered.

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