Examine how the theory of evolution has made an impact on the biological level of analysis. Consider either cultural or historical conditions.
Evolution is a theory first suggested by Charles Darwin. Charles Darwin believed that the environment presented challenges to the individual, needed to adapt in order to survive. He stated that the traits and characteristics that allowed an individual survive in his ever-changing environment were the ones that were passed on to offspring over generations. Charles Darwin called this state the "theory of natural selection", and the act of a species changing in concordance to its environment "adaptation".
Charles Darwin first thought of these theories when he was visited the Galapagos Islands. He noticed that the finches on each island had slightly different beak shapes from finches on other islands. Darwin concluded that this was an adaptation on behalf of the finches, where they had the most advantageous beaks that helped them acquire food in their respective environments. However, Charles Darwin was unaware of how exactly the genes and traits of the finches were passed on to their offspring.
Charles Darwin heavily influenced the biological perspective in psychology with his theories of evolution, natural selection and adaptation. A branch of psychology, known as 'evolutionary psychology' was directly influenced by Darwin's suggested theories of evolution.
Evolutionary psychology is a branch of psychology believes that particular advantageous traits that allow organisms to survive in their ever-changing environments are passed on to offspring, and eventually are passed down on to us. (The theory of natural selection is widely accepted as a basis in evolutionary psychology) Therefore, evolutionary psychology views that there are mechanisms and factors that affect our behavior - and these mechanisms are those that we acquired from our ancestors over a course of hundreds of years.
Evolutionary psychology often focuses on the biological factors and mechanisms of behavior, which is something Darwin was not able to do. Fessler et al (2006) studied the evolutionary level of behavior. Fessler predicted that women in first trimester pregnancy would have higher disgust sensitivity levels than women in other periods of pregnancy. Fessler believed that women in early pregnancy experienced nausea and vomiting as a defense mechanism - in order to protect themselves from eating dangerous foods, which are the roots of food-borne diseases. He predicted that this food-rejection was a result of adaptation - our ancestors needed to avoid food-borne diseases to live long enough to create offspring and passed their traits down to their offspring. The trait of food-rejection in order to prevent food-borne diseases was one characteristic that was passed down onto humans today.
Fessler created an online-based survey with the purpose of studying the levels of disgust sensitivity in pregnant women. 691 women were recruited off pregnancy-related websites, and 496 of these women's survey answers were used. The first part of the survey had the women rate their nausea levels on a scale of 1 - 16. The second part was a questionnaire-survey that studied the women's disgust sensitivity on 8 different levels. (8 levels: involved photos of food, hygiene, animals, etc.)
As a result, Fessler found that women in the first trimester of their pregnancy had overall higher disgust sensitivity levels compared to other pregnant women. Particularly, these first trimester pregnant women had high disgust responses with photos of food. Fessler concluded that this was a result of an adapted behavior in order to protect the mother from dangerous foods that could be causes of food-borne diseases. He suggested that the trait was first developed by our ancestors in order to protect themselves and their offspring, and that it was passed on to us. This study is a remarkable representation of evolutionary psychology and adaptive tendencies. Like this, evolution as a concept helped psychologists understand the mechanisms and origins of some behaviors such as disgust. Psychologists, who are inclined in nature to focus on environmental and cultural conditions to analyze behavior had their eyes opened by the theories of evolutionary psychology. Behaviors not only had biological origins, but are also results of natural selection.
Evolutionary psychology has contributed to the biological level of analysis because it allows researchers test whether there are biological origins to behavior, and how animals could have similar behavioral tendencies as humans. These are the two major principles in the biological level of analysis: 1) There are biological correlates to behavior, 2) Animal researches can help us understand human behavior. One negative aspect of evolutionary psychology is the fact that it tends to underestimate cultural conditions in the analysis of behavior. However, it helps us understand the roots of some mechanisms of behavior and gain insight to human behavior.
Evolutionary psychology has contributed to the biological level of analysis because it allows researchers test whether there are biological origins to behavior, and how animals could have similar behavioral tendencies as humans. These are the two major principles in the biological level of analysis: 1) There are biological correlates to behavior, 2) Animal researches can help us understand human behavior. One negative aspect of evolutionary psychology is the fact that it tends to underestimate cultural conditions in the analysis of behavior. However, it helps us understand the roots of some mechanisms of behavior and gain insight to human behavior.
