PSYCH 459: EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY
SPRING 2011
Prof.
Michael Beecher (Guthrie 327, 543-6545, beecher@u.washington.edu)
MGH
074 Tues Thurs 12:30-2:20 Evolutionary
Psychology London 1996
Class
website: http://courses.washington.edu/evpsych/
rev 6/02/2011
The new field of evolutionary psychology explores whether
and – if so, how – variation in human behavior can be explained as a result of
biological evolution. This field is
growing rapidly, and has attracted widespread interest from people in many
fields, including psychology, sociology, anthropology, biology and law. The course will cover core issues that are
addressed by evolutionary psychology, including cooperation, communication, aggression,
mating, reproduction and parental and family interactions. The course will
encourage a critical, skeptical examination of research and theory in
evolutionary psychology. For background, a prior course in animal behavior
(e.g., 200 or 300) is strongly recommended.
Reading: Course readings are all from the original
literature of the field, most of it quite new. Should you want a basic text for
grounding, get the one I used last time: David Buss, Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of Mind, Allyn &
Bacon. There is a brand-new 4th edition so you may be able to get a
good online deal on the previous (3rd) edition (which would be
fine)!
Format: The course will be partially in the ‘seminar’
format. About half the classes (a ‘class’ refers a 50-min segment of our
1:50-hour class period) will be led by the instructor and the other half by 2
or (sometimes) 3 students. Instructor-led classes will focus on one or two
papers on a general topic (e.g., parental care and child abuse) and are
intended to provide an overview and theoretical orientation. They should orient
the class to the more specific applications that are covered by the research
papers. The papers selected by the instructor or the student leader will be
posted on the class website.
Student-led seminars: Student seminars will focus on particular
research papers. Many readings and topics are listed in the Potential Topics link and I will
suggest other newer papers as well. The seminar will be led by two (or
three) students, and should be given in PowerPoint (ppt) format. Each student
will participate in two of these group-led seminars. The seminars will
typically focus on one particular research paper but if the paper is short, or if there are two related
papers, two papers can be covered. The
presenters should assume that the audience has read the paper/s and should
therefore concentrate on boiling down and summarizing the main points of the
research. The presenters should leave room for discussion, both during and
after the presentation. A seminar’s effectiveness can be judged (in part) by
the amount of discussion it generates (though the paper itself of course must
get a lot of the credit/blame for this). These research papers are the main
content of the course, and will be the major items covered on the quizzes, so I
will post the ppt presentation after the class (presenters give their ppt to me
before, during, or right after the class). Hints for students in the audience
on how to make the most of these seminars: First, read the paper before the
class. If you are pressed for time, at least skim it for its essence. Ask
questions about the paper in the seminar. Try and relate it to what you’ve
learned to that point in the class, and to your knowledge of psychology
generally.
Note:
I will suggest topics and papers but you can propose one you have found that is
not the list. Generally I approve your suggestions, but will veto a paper if I
am convinced that the paper is a real loser (and would thus waste our time).
There is only additional, important rule: papers that have been covered in
previous offerings of the course are off limits. (Papers from the last time
around are still listed in the schedule below, but they will be removed pretty
soon. I will give you a complete list from previous times I’ve taught the
course.)
Lecture notes: Lecture will be minimized, and provided only
where I feel the need to supply background. In those cases, I will post lecture
notes on the website (follow the links in the Topics column), usually after the
class.
Class Assignments and Grading: You will get
automatically get full credit for a class seminar provided you actually show up
and give it. In addition, there will be 6 quizzes, all based on these seminars, and an optional paper. I
will automatically drop your lowest of the six quizzes. You will also be able
to replace your next-lowest quiz with an optional paper (due on Weds, June 8),
to be based on one the topics that you presented in class. Grade
weights: attendance 15%, seminar presentations 10% each, quizzes 65% total. Attendance scale: figuring 18 class periods 32 points if you make every class, 30 if you
miss just one, –2 for every miss beyond one. Health-related absences are
permitted of course, but must be verified.
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Wt pts |
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Attendance |
30 |
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Seminar 1 |
20 |
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Seminar 2 |
20 |
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Quizzes |
130 |
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SUM |
200 |
Quizzes: Will be based on research papers presented in
class. Questions are similar to questions I had on the two exams Winter 2010,
so you can check them below for an idea of what they will be like.
KEY EXAM
1 WIN 2010 KEY EXAM 2
WIN 2010
Potential Topics and Papers:
List 1
(emphasis on evolutionary psychology approaches)
List
2 (emphasis on human behavioral ecology approach) – from Biological
Anthropology 470 (Eric Smith)
In addition to the papers on these two lists, you can find many more in the first 3 journals listed
at the bottom of this page, and in the textbook reference list. The first two
journals you can reach through the University of Washington electronic library
(so you have to work from your UW account, and log into UW if you’re working
from home or the coffee shop). The third journal is open-source, but it is not
as good in general as the first two.
Schedule (italics
= seminar paper, light
blue background = student presenters)
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Day |
Topic |
Reading |
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1 |
Tu 29 Mar |
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Th 31 Mar |
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2 |
Tu 05Apr |
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Th 07 Apr |
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3 |
Tu 12 Apr |
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Th 14 Apr |
No Class. Groups 1-4 meet with MB in
Guthrie 327 (see email for your groups appt time) |
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4 |
Tu 19 Apr |
No Class. Groups 5-9 meet with MB in Guthrie 327 (see
email for your groups appt time) |
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Th 21 Apr |
1. Adoptive Families
(Taylor & Cindy) |
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2. Human-Pet
Relationship (Mary Alice, Sara & Moira) |
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5 |
Tu 26 Apr |
Mate
Choice |
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3.
Mate
Choice (Michelle M, Kyle P & Ellen) |
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Th
28 Apr |
4.
Homosexuality
(Katelyn, Hana & Bo) |
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5.
Neurobiology
of Lying (Michelle C & Monica)
KEY Quiz #3 |
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6 |
Tu
03 May |
Altruism & Cooperation |
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6.
Altruism,
charity, morality (Bo & Brittany) |
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Th
05 May |
7.
Dominance
& Status (Kyle P & Michael) |
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Personality & Individual Differences |
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7 |
Tu
10 May |
8.
Risky
behavior (Taylor & Spencer) |
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9.
Pride
as an Emotion (Lance & Monica) |
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Th
12 May |
10.
Stress
(Jennifer, Kyle K & Jon) KEY Quiz #4
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Clinical Applications |
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8 |
Tu
17 May |
11.
Autism
(Mary Alice & Jill) |
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12.
Post-Partum
Depression (Michelle C & Shelby) |
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Th
19 May |
13 Psychopathy
(Jennifer, Michelle M & Ellen) |
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A bit more on clinical applications |
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9 |
Tu
24 May |
14.
Drug
Abuse (Spencer & Jon) |
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15.
Schizophrenia
(Katelyn & Hana) KEY Quiz 5 |
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Th
26 May |
16.
Migration
& ADHD (Moira) |
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17.
Self-Deception
& Depression (Cindy & Shelby) |
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10 |
Tu
31 May |
18.
Self-Deception
as Self-Signaling (Kyle K,
Michael, Lance) |
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Th
02 Jun |
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Useful
Links:
Evolution
and Human Behavior (formerly Ethology and Sociobiology)
Evolutionary Psychology: An International Journal
Human Behavior and Evolution Society
Center for Evolutionary
Psychology (Cosmides, Tooby et al)