Evolutionary developmental psychology

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Evolutionary developmental psychology, (or EDP), is the application of the basic principles of Darwinian evolution, particularly natural selection, to explain contemporary human development. It involves the study of the genetic and environmental mechanisms that underlie the universal development of social and cognitive competencies and the evolved epigenetic (gene-environment interactions) processes that adapt these competencies to local conditions; it assumes that not only are behaviors and cognitions that characterize adults the product of natural selection pressures operating over the course of evolution, but so also are characteristics of children's behaviors and minds.

Some basic assumptions of EDP

• 1. All evolutionarily-influenced characteristics develop, and this requires examining not only the functioning of these characteristics in adults but also their ontogeny.

• 2. All evolved characteristics develop via continuous and bidirectional gene-environment interactions that emerge dynamically over time.

• 3. Development is constrained by both genetic and environmental factors.

• 4. An extended childhood is needed in which to learn the complexities of human social communities.

• 5. Many aspects of childhood serve as preparations for adulthood and were selected over the course of evolution (deferred adaptations).

• 6. Some characteristics of infants and children were selected to serve an adaptive function at specific times in development and not as preparations for adulthood (ontogenetic adaptations).

• 7. Children show a high degree of plasticity, or flexibility, and the ability to adapt to different contexts.

See also

• Developmental psychology
• Dual inheritance theory
• Evolutionary educational psychology
• Evolutionary psychology
• Human behavioral ecology
• Life-history theory
• List of publications on evolution and human behavior
• Nature versus nurture

Further reading

• Barrett, H. C. (2004). Cognitive development and the understanding of animal behavior. In Ellis, B., & Bjorklund, D. (Eds.) Origins of the social mind. New York: Guilford. Full text

• Bjorklund, D.F., & Pellegrini, A.D. (2002). The Origins of Human Nature: Evolutionary Developmental Psychology. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association

• Bjorklund, D.F., & Pellegrini, A.D. (2000).Child Development and Evolutionary Psychology.Child Development, 71, 1687-1708.

• Boyce, W. T., & Ellis, B. J. (2005). Biological sensitivity to context: I. An evolutionary-developmental theory of the origins and functions of stress reactivity. Development & Psychopathology, 17, 271-301.

• Burgess, R. L. & MacDonald (Eds.) (2004). Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Development, 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

• Ellis, B.J., & Bjorklund, D.F. (Eds.) (2005). Origins of the social mind: Evolutionary psychology and child development . New York: Guilford Press.

• Ellis, B.J., Essex, M.J., & Boyce, W.T. (2005). Biological sensitivity to context: II. Empirical explorations of an evolutionary-developmental theory. Development & Psychopathology 17, 303-328.

• Ellis, B.J. (2004). Timing of pubertal maturation in girls: An integrated life history approach. Psychological Bulletin, 130 , 920-958.

• Flinn MV. (2004). Culture and developmental plasticity: Evolution of the social brain. In: Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Development. K. MacDonald and R. L. Burgess (eds.), chapter 3, pp. 73-98. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

• Flinn, M.V. & Ward, C.V. (2004). Ontogeny and Evolution of the Social Child. In: Origins of the social mind: Evolutionary psychology and child development, B. Ellis & D. Bjorklund (Eds.), chapter 2, pp. 19-44. London: Guilford Press.

• Geary, D. C. (2005). Folk knowledge and academic learning. In B. J. Ellis & D. F. Bjorklund (Eds.), Origins of the social mind (pp. 493-519). New York: Guilford Publications.

• Geary, D. C. (2004). Evolution and cognitive development. In R. Burgess & K. MacDonald (Eds.), Evolutionary perspectives on human development (pp. 99-133). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

• Geary, D. C., Byrd-Craven, J., Hoard, M. K., Vigil, J., & Numtee, C. (2003). Evolution and development of boys’ social behavior. Developmental Review, 23, 444-470.

• Geary, D.C., & Bjorklund, D.F.(2000).Evolutionary Developmental Psychology.Child Development, 71, 57-65.

• MacDonald, K. (2005). Personality, Evolution, and Development. In R. Burgess and K. MacDonald (Eds.), Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Development, 2nd edition, pp. 207–242. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

• MacDonald, K., & Hershberger, S. (2005). Theoretical Issues in the Study of Evolution and Development. In R. Burgess and K. MacDonald (Eds.), Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Development, 2nd edition, pp. 21–72. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

• Maestripieri, D. & Roney, J.R. (2006). Evolutionary developmental psychology: Contributions from comparative research with nonhuman primates. Developmental Review, 26, 120-137. Full text

• Vigil, J. M., Geary, D. C., & Byrd-Craven, J. (2005). A life history assessment of early childhood sexual abuse in women. Developmental Psychology, 41, 553-561.