Evolutionary Theory

Where the theory stands currently

In the past, arguments supporting the idea that evolution impacted on behaviour were very abstract and had little secondary evidence. Sociobiology was viewed as an assumption rather than a real science as many people found the ideas to be untestable. However in the past few years these views have drastically changed as more specific thoughts were established about the consequences of evolutionary theory which led to a surge of research being conducted. Furthermore evolutionary psychology is now an area of vital research offering several hypotheses for researchers. However it is unclear whether the hypothesis being examined rest on evolutionary theory or if it is just consistent with it. Some critics claim that

The model replaced the Social Standard Model as it allowed for further developments in evolutionary theory by accepting and taking advantage of the networks that are present in all fields of science. The model acknowledges that the human mind has information-processing mechanisms that have progressed over time. These mechanisms are known as adaptions and are displayed in the nervous system. Thus this model contrasts with the Social Standard Models belief that evolutionary theory is irrelevant because behaviour is variable as the mind is a blank slate and ones mechanisms are externally programmed. Furthermore the Integrated Causal Model recognises that these adaptions were formed by natural selection in ancestral surroundings. These mechanisms have specialised functions that shapes behaviour to allow one to solve specific adaptive challenges like mate selection or language acquisition. However for the mechanisms to be specialised they have to be organised in a content specific manner. Content-specific information processing devices send out specific content related to human culture such as behaviour or objects. This cultural content is then displayed so it can be approved or updated by psychological mechanisms which are located in other humans. This results in the establishment of epidemiological and historical population –level procedures which are situated in specific ecological, demographic, economic and social environments. Thus the Integrated Causal Model recognises that psychological mechanisms or adaptions produce culture as culture and behaviour are produced by a reliant set of functional sequencers that use and store information that is displayed by humans both on purpose and