Indicative syllabus
- Introduction to evolutionary theory
What is evolution, evolutionary forces, components of natural selection, levels of explanation (proximate v ultimate), relative v absolute fitness, human origins, adaptations, Tinbergen's four questions.
Mate choice, sexual selection, mating strategies, costly signalling, fitness indicators.
Reasoning, learning, language, problem-solving, EEA, theory of mind, Social Brain Hypothesis, intelligence, runaway brain, language, creativity & art.
- Personality and individual differences.
Social niches, polymorphisms, developmental plasticity, frequency-dependent selection, tit-for-tat and related forms.
- Cooperation and altruism.
Levels of selection, multilevel selection, reciprocity, indirect reciprocity, strong reciprocity, costly signalling theory, social exchange, cheater detection, evolutionary game theory.
Parental investment, conflict between the sexes, inclusive fitness, kinship, incest avoidance and Westermarck effect.
Role of emotions, emotions & cognition, disease & disgust, incest & disgust, depression, jealousy.
- Aggression, violence, warfare and terrorism.
Status, prestige, and dominance hierarchies, relatedness and aggression, sex differences in aggression, group conflicts, territoriality, reconciliation.
Evolution and health, mismatch between environment and us, evolution of virulence & how humans affect this, pregnancy sickness, how humans interfere with evolution's hard work - Fever & Iron supplements.
Nature/nurture, gene-environment interactions, cultural evolution, human behavioural ecology, cultural capacity as a trait.
- Aggression, violence, warfare and terrorism.
Status, prestige, and dominance hierarchies, relatedness and aggression, sex differences in aggression, group conflicts, territoriality, reconciliation.
Evolution and health, mismatch between environment and us, evolution of virulence & how humans affect this, pregnancy sickness, how humans interfere with evolution's hard work - Fever & Iron supplements.
Nature/nurture, gene-environment interactions, cultural evolution, human behavioural ecology, cultural capacity as a trait.