Practice question · Put in order
Order the reasoning steps for establishing that a trait is an evolutionary adaptation.
- Hypothesize a mental mechanism that would solve that problem.
- Predict a specific design feature the mechanism should show.
- Identify a recurrent adaptive problem faced by ancestral humans.
- Conclude it is an adaptation only if the evidence supports selection for that function.
- Test whether people actually show that feature.
Hints
- Start from the ancestral problem, then hypothesize and predict before testing.
- The adaptation conclusion is EARNED last, only if the evidence supports it.
Show the answer
- Identify a recurrent adaptive problem faced by ancestral humans.
- Hypothesize a mental mechanism that would solve that problem.
- Predict a specific design feature the mechanism should show.
- Test whether people actually show that feature.
- Conclude it is an adaptation only if the evidence supports selection for that function.
Why
The method runs from an ancestral problem, to a hypothesized mechanism, to a predicted design feature, to a test, and only then to the adaptation conclusion if evidence supports selection for the function. This disciplined chain is what separates evolutionary psychology from 'just-so stories'.
Practise Evolutionary Psychology
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