From computers to civilization: reconceptualizing evolutionary psychology

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dc.contributor.authorBarrett, Louise
dc.contributor.authorPollet, Thomas V.
dc.contributor.authorStulp, Gert
dc.date.accessioned2016-11-02T21:01:16Z
dc.date.available2016-11-02T21:01:16Z
dc.date.issued2014
dc.descriptionSherpa Romeo green journal: open accessen_US
dc.description.abstractDoes evolutionary theorizing have a rold in psychology? This is a more contentious issue than one might imagine, given that, as evolved creatures, the answer must surely be yes. The contested nature of evolutionary psychology lies not in our status as evolved beings, but in the extent to which evolutionary ideas add value to studies of human behavior, and the rigor with which these ideas are tested. This, in turn, is linked to the framework in which particular evolutionary ideas are situated. While the framing of the current research topics places the brain-as-computer metaphor in opposition to evolutionary psychology, the most prominent school of thought in this field (born out of cognitive psychology, and often known as the Santa Barbara school) is entirely wedded to the computational theory of mind as an explanatory framework. Its unique aspect is to argue that the mind consists of a large number of functionally specialized (i.e., domain-specific) computational mechanisms, or modules (the massive modularity hypothesis). Far from offering an alternative to, or an improvement on, the current perspective, we argue that evolutionary psychology is a mainstream computational theory, and that its arguments for domain-specificity often rest on shaky premises. We then go on to suggest that the various forms of e-cognition (i.e. embodied, embedded, enactive) represent a true alternative to standard computational approaches, with an emphasis on "cognitive integration" or the "extended mind hypothesis" in particular. We feel this offers the most promise for human psychology because it incorporates the social and historical processes that are crucial to human "mind-making" within an evolutionary informed framework. In addition to linking to other research areas in psychology, this approach nis more likely to form productive links to other disciplines within the social sciences, not least by encouraging a healthy pluralism in approach,en_US
dc.description.peer-reviewYesen_US
dc.identifier.citationBarrett, L., Pollet, T. V., & Stulp, G. (2014). From computers to cultivation: reconceptualizing evolutionary psychology. Frontiers in Psychology, 5:867. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00867en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10133/4647
dc.language.isoen_CAen_US
dc.publisherFrontiers Mediaen_US
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Psychologyen_US
dc.publisher.facultyArts and Scienceen_US
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Lethbridgeen_US
dc.publisher.institutionVrije Universiteit Amsterdamen_US
dc.publisher.institutionLondon School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicineen_US
dc.subjectEvolutionary psychologyen_US
dc.subjectCognitionen_US
dc.subjectCognitive integrationen_US
dc.subjectModulesen_US
dc.subjectExtended minden_US
dc.titleFrom computers to civilization: reconceptualizing evolutionary psychologyen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
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