Evolutionary Psychology and the Modular Mind James A. Van Slyke

Evolutionary Psychology (EP) Various physical adaptations evolved to serve some function – Heart = pump blood – Eyes = vision – Sexual Organs = reproduction EP argues that some adaptations are cognitive programs that solved adaptive problems

John Tooby & Leda Cosmides UCSB Both Psychologists Started the EP movement in the early 1990’s The Adopted Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and the Generation of Culture (1992)

Steven Pinker Harvard University The Language Instinct (1994) – Language comes from an innate cognitive module that contains general rules for grammar The Blank Slate (2002) – Mind is composed of several innate cognitive capacities

Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness (EEA) Human cognition primarily evolved during the Pleistocene era (2.5 mil to 12,000 years ago) Adaptive problems faced during this hunter- gatherer age are the primary factors involved in the evolution of human cognition – Reproduction – Survival & Hunting – Living in Groups

Standard Social Science Model (SSSM) Social Science assumes that the human mind is a “blank slate” Culture specifies important values – Gender Roles; Morals; Religion, etc. Most things are learned Human mind is like a sponge

Swiss Army Knife Cognition Rather than a sponge, cognition functions through different adaptive tools or modules – Cognitive programs that solved different adaptive problems – Environmental stimuli triggers different tools Mate selection Group coordination (Hunting) Cheater detection

Modular Mind Human Cognition is composed of different “modules” or “tools” – Domain specific cognitive programs – Work below the level of conscious awareness – Automatically activated in the right context – Human mind is composed of thousands if not millions