Evolutionary Psychology of Charles Darwin - Essay Example

 Evolutionary Psychology of Charles Darwin Scholars define evolution as the varying in the inherited characteristics of a species over time. Evolutionary psychology occurs at the natural stage of analysis. The field deals with matters surrounding all types of behavior through evolutionary means. The theory of evolution is the brainchild of Charles Darwin and professionals in the discipline of evolutionary psychology refers to him as the father of evolutionary psychology. According to him, species that adapt to environmental challenges in the best way possible have the ability to reproduce, survive, as well as pass the genetic characteristics to their subsequent generations. Darwin defines natural selection concept, as members of a species that breed and survive constitute features that make them survive in the environment in a better way. They have more qualities to pass genetic characteristics to subsequent generations compared to those that do not (Sidanius, 2000). It leads to subsequent generations of species showing features that give them competitive advantage of surviving in the environment. The field refers to such situation as adaptation. Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection and that of dominant and recessive genes proposed by Mendel in the twentieth century contributed a lot to the comprehension of evolutionary principles. Evolutionary behavior develops on the standards that, over time, species with the higher ability to survive go down from one generation to another through natural selection. The emotion of disgust bases on evolutionary behavior. A two thousand and six study by Fessler supports the evolutionary explanation of behavior (Schaller, 2003). The research by Fessler focused on the first trimester of evolutionary explanation of behavior. Accordingly, hormones lower the immune system of a woman during pregnancy to block any means of fighting the development of a child appearing as a foreign matter in the body. One hypothesis of the situation is that, the morning sickness situation is a response from the suppressed immune system (Symons, 1979). Fessler took the initiative of relating the occurrence of morning sickness among pregnant women to evolutionary characteristics. Conducting research among four hundred and ninety-six women carrying pregnancy and falling in the ages from eighteen and fifty, researchers asked them to put into perspective the likely disgusting circumstances. Such situations include among others hanging a fishhook through fingers, standing on an earthworm with bare feet, sticking a maggot on a portion of meat in an open-air crash. Results in the first trimester found situations entailing food disgust having the highest disgust scores in most contexts compared to others. Fessler and other scholars held that food borne diseases constitute some of the dangerous diseases in the world. However, our ancestors had little option because they could not remain highly selective on what they could eat (Schmitt, 2003). Many issues including the susceptibility of pregnant women developing Foodborne diseases and the lowering of the immune system among pregnant women gives room for an increase in the knowledge for choosing food because of the increase in disgust. Merits of the study by Fessler include among others a large sample size that adds to the reliability of the information as well as a large age range from eighteen years to fifty years (Smith, 2000). The large range highlights the trend among pregnant women. The assumption that a predisposition for certain characteristics comes through inheritance of genes and that the standards of evolution shape genetically based behavior of a person reproduced and given to the subsequent generation, means that behavior observed in the present era should contain an evolutionary explanation. The explanation to this is that the behavior existing in people today was present many years ago and was significant to the survival of people those days, which enhanced reproduction and procreation. An adaptive behavior helps an organism to survive and reproduce (Schwarz, 1988). The basic assumption of all research in evolutionary psychology is that all human personality was adaptive under particular situations several years ago. The behavioral immune system as studied by Fessler is a group of psychological systems such as disgust that continue to evolve in the process of advancing avoidance of diseases. Culture evokes through behavioral defenses, parasites, as well as social psychological means. Research by Fessler proves that the behavioral immune system enhances the capacity of pregnant women avoiding diseases (Sripada, 2004). It is an ancient source of contamination prevented through social conservatism. According to experts, disgust is an essential predictor of this form of conservatism and prejudicial behavior towards people of opposite sexes. The feature is common among pregnant women who show dislike and extreme liking of certain people across the gender. Dr. Dan Fessler, an evolutionary psychologist, posits that the natural selection only has the capacity to choose ways and not behavior that result to specific characteristics (Schwarz, 1983). His two thousand and six studies aimed at finding evidence that disgust from emotions gave room to the ancestors to survive to the most appropriate age to reproduce and continue with procreation. Then, the psychology theory held that morning sickness is vital in compensating for the immune system feeling suppressed by hormones among pregnant women. To enhance the authenticity of his research, Fessler asked the pregnant women to carry out thirty-two actions with the ability to affect their stomach movement. They included among others stepping on earthworms and walking bare foot (Seligman, 1971). The research required women to respond to questions by ranking them according to their levels of disgust. Conclusively, Fessler found that using the disgust terminology women in their first trimester were highly sensitive compared to their counterparts in the second and third trimesters. Controlling morning sickness in the study resulted in responses coming on the food alone. Evolutionary behavior builds up on the standards that after several years genes with the higher ability of surviving go down from one generation to another via natural selection (Rozin, 1994). The emotion of disgust bases on the evolutionary of behavior. A two thousand and six study by Fessler supports the evolutionary explanation of behavior. The evolutionary psychologist also discussed the first trimester for pregnant women as well as various diseases caused by food and those that remained risky to the same women. Results in the first study found situations containing food disgust having the highest degree of disgust appears in most contexts compared to others (Sagarin, 2005). Fessler and other professionals held that food borne diseases constitute some of the dangerous diseases in the world. It was not possible for our ancestors especially those pregnant to select what they wanted to eat thereby relying on natural selection to help them in preventing the occurrence e of diseases. In this case, natural selection offered them the ability to remain choosy on what they would eat in the first trimester by reducing their appetite naturally. The level of disgust remains the capacity to defend through reduction of resistance where necessary with levels of risk behavior diminishing. References Rozin, P. (1994). Varieties of disgust faces and the structure of disgust. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 870-881. Sagarin, B. J. (2005). Reconsidering evolved sex differences in jealousy. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 9, 62-75. Schaller, M. (2003). Fear of the dark: Interactive effects of beliefs about danger and ambient darkness on ethnic stereotypes. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 637-649. Schmitt, D. (2003). Universal sex differences in the desire for sexual Variety. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 85-104. Schwarz, N. (1983). Mood, misattribution, and judgments of well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45, 513-523. Schwarz, N. (1988). How do I feel about it? Informative functions of affective states. Toronto: Hogrefe International. Seligman, M.E.P. (1971). Phobias and preparedness. Behavior Therapy, 2, 307-320. Sidanius, J. (2000). Gender and race discrimination: The interactive nature of disadvantage. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Smith, A. (2000). The theory of moral sentiments. New York: Prometheus Books. Sripada C. (2004). Evolution, culture and the irrationality of the emotions. New York: Oxford University Press. Symons, D. (1979). The evolution of human sexuality. New York: Oxford University Press. Read More