Evolutionary Psychology, Determinism, and Social Scientific Reductionism

PsycCRITIQUES ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 61 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Boisvert
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Psychology ◽  
Social Scientific

Tinkering with cognitive gadgets: Cultural evolutionary psychology meets active inference

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Benjamin Badcock ◽  
Axel Constant ◽  
Maxwell James Désormeau Ramstead
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Psychology ◽  
Research Program ◽  
Active Inference ◽  
Innovative Research ◽  
Cognitive Faculties ◽  
Cultural Evolutionary ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Cognitive Gadgets offers a new, convincing perspective on the origins of our distinctive cognitive faculties, coupled with a clear, innovative research program. Although we broadly endorse Heyes’ ideas, we raise some concerns about her characterisation of evolutionary psychology and the relationship between biology and culture, before discussing the potential fruits of examining cognitive gadgets through the lens of active inference.

Beyond Evolutionary Psychology

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Ellis ◽  
Mark Solms
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Psychology

Social-Scientific Research Competency

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 737-750 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Gess ◽  
Christoph Geiger ◽  
Matthias Ziegler
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Research Performance ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Research Education ◽  
Crystallized Intelligence ◽  
Research Competency ◽  
Social Scientific Research ◽  
Social Scientific ◽  
Education Courses

Abstract. Although the development of research competency is an important goal of higher education in social sciences, instruments to measure this outcome often depend on the students’ self-ratings. To provide empirical evidence for the utility of a newly developed instrument for the objective measurement of social-scientific research competency, two validation studies across two independent samples were conducted. Study 1 ( n = 675) provided evidence for unidimensionality, expected differences in test scores between differently advanced groups of students as well as incremental validities over and above self-perceived research self-efficacy. In Study 2 ( n = 82) it was demonstrated that the competency measured indeed is social-scientific and relations to facets of fluid and crystallized intelligence were analyzed. Overall, the results indicate that the test scores reflected a trainable, social-scientific, knowledge-related construct relevant to research performance. These are promising results for the application of the instrument in the evaluation of research education courses in higher education.

Pleasure as a Sign of Efficacy of Mental Activity

1997 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 226-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel Cabanac ◽  
Chantal Pouliot ◽  
James Everett
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Psychology ◽  
Magnitude Estimation ◽  
Mental Activity ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Macintosh Computer ◽  
Science Students ◽  
Cognitive Efficiency ◽  
Sensory Pleasure ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Mental Tasks

Previous work has shown that sensory pleasure is both the motor and the sign of optimal behaviors aimed at physiological ends. From an evolutionary psychology point of view it may be postulated that mental pleasure evolved from sensory pleasure. Accordingly, the present work tested empirically the hypothesis that pleasure signals efficacious mental activity. In Experiment 1, ten subjects played video-golf on a Macintosh computer. After each hole they were invited to rate their pleasure or displeasure on a magnitude estimation scale. Their ratings of pleasure correlated negatively with the difference par minus performance, i.e., the better the performance the greater the pleasure reported. In Experiments 2 and 3, the pleasure of reading poems was correlated with comprehension, both rated by two groups of subjects, science students and arts students. In the majority of science students pleasure was significantly correlated with comprehension. Only one arts student showed this relationship; this result suggests that the proposed relationship between pleasure and cognitive efficiency is not tautological. Globally, the results support the hypothesis that pleasure is aroused by the same mechanisms, and follows the same laws, in physiological and cognitive mental tasks and also leads to the optimization of performance.

One Rendition of Evolutionary Psychology

1995 ◽  
Vol 40 (7) ◽  
pp. 634-636
Author(s):  
Sally P. Mendoza ◽  
Phillip R. Shaver
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Psychology

An Evolutionary Psychology of Religion

PsycCRITIQUES ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 52 (23) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Patton Barone
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Psychology ◽  
Psychology Of Religion
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