Evolutionary psychology is a field of study, which explores the ways in which information and main beliefs from biology are applied in the understanding of the organization of the brain. However, it does not apply to the study of vision, reasoning, and the social action.
It examines the psychosomatic features, which include the memory, perception, and the use of language. It employs a modern evolutionary approach to establish how human psychological features are adapted (Lloyd, & Feldman, 2002).
In other words, it scrutinizes the way in which practical processes, such as natural selection and sexual assortment, are modified.
Evolutionary psychology is closely related to evolution since it employs the adaptation approach to the understanding of the functioning of the heart, lungs, and the immune system.
For instance, scholars advancing this view observe that the mind has a modular structure, which is equivalent to that of the body.
Based on this, the human mind has a number of modular adaptations that serve several functions. In this regard, human behavior is simply an output of the psychological adaptations that evolve to address problems in the modern societies.
This shows that the human mind is always in the process of evolving to counter the new challenges posed by the modern society. As new things emerge, the human mind develops some mechanisms to counter them.
This view is supported many scholars, even though there are those who are opposed to it. This article opposes the idea that the human mind is ever evolving to resolve issues in the current environment.
The idea that the human mind is just a physical structure is mislaid because the regulations of chemistry and physics cannot manage its operations. This would imply that the outcome of the thinking process is determined by the chemical reactions that take place in the brain.
Evolutionary psychology argues that the results of the chemical processes include an individual hopes, dreams, and feelings. This shows that the brain has a major role of information processing, just as a computer.
The only difference is that the brain is made up of the organic compounds while the computer works with the microchips. The chemical reactions taking place in the brain are facilitated by the cells, which are made up of the neurons and some other supporting structures (Lloyd, & Feldman, 2002).
The neurons are specialized cells whose major function is information transmission. It is clear that evolutionary psychology simply depends on the reifications of behavior. For instance, the theory argues that intelligence or the ability to read is a discrete trait that can easily be inherited.
The assumption of evolutionary psychology is that a genetic component can be inherited yet in the real sense it is not. The idea that the genetic component affects human behavior has not been proved, yet evolutionary psychology supports it.
Studies show that evolutionary psychology simply relies on guesswork regarding a hypothesized theory of adaptation. In reality, little is known about the effects of the environment on the development of the brain.
The proponents of the concept do not point out a specific environment that could affect the functioning of the brain, forcing it to evolve in order to perform well. In the field of psychology, a number of psychological phenomena exist, but evolutionary psychology seems to ignore all of them.
Finally, evolutionary psychology is strongly opposed because it does not give room for falsification.
Reference
Lloyd, E., & Feldman, M. (2002). Evolutionary Psychology: A View from Evolutionary Biology. Psychological Inquiry, 13(2), 150-156