Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Development

"This new edition of Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Development is obligatory reading for anyone interested in the integration of evolutionary theory into developmental psychology. . . . It provides a valuable corrective to recent narrow approaches which argue that the human mind is constructed exclusively of domain-specific mechanisms and which deemphasize the importance of human psychological and behavioral plasticity. . . . Anyone who reads this book will come away with a richer understanding of our shared human nature."

-Bill Irons, Northwestern University

"In this volume, Burgess and MacDonald have brought together a distinguished group of psychologists and anthropologists to investigate how-given our evolutionary heritage, genetic make-up and salient environment-behavior, cognition, and emotion unfold from the human organism. They make clear that both evolutionary functional and proximate behavioral perspectives are essential to understanding the human mind and its products. Many of these essays should be required reading for sociobiologists, evolutionary psychologists, and evolutionary anthropologists and their ilk."
-Jeffrey Kurland, Penn State

"It′s clear that evolutionary biology has a tremendous amount to offer when it comes to our understanding of human development, and yet, many experts in developmental psychology have remained impervious to these insights. At last, this may change: Burgess and MacDonald have compiled a rich array of theory and data, much of it contributed by the leading lights of evolutionary psychology (or, if you prefer, sociobiology). A very valuable collection and one that might help define a new and important field."

-David P. Barash, University of Washington

Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Development, Second Edition considers the role of evolutionary theory in the field of developmental psychology to examine key topics of individual human development. This unique book fills an important gap in the literature, applying evolutionary models to human development by focusing on central development issues. The book emphasizes both domain-general evolved psychological mechanisms and domain-specific processes. The text also integrates behavior-genetic research with evolutionary and developmental principles.

In this contributed volume, editors Robert L. Burgess and Kevin MacDonald have brought together a distinguished group of social and behavioral scientists employing multiple levels of analysis drawn from a variety of academic disciplines. This diverse group of contributors illustrates the enormous power of evolutionary theory by elucidating human behavior and its development and the various ways it is manifested in different environments. Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Development applies evolutionary theory to such topics as parent-child relationships, the maltreatment of children, psychopathology, cooperation and competition among siblings, and the acquisition of vital resources in different cultural settings from an evolutionary point of view.

Key Features

• Comprehensive coverage of the impact of evolutionary theory on human development provides students with the most thorough foundation available in this area.
• Contributions by leading scholars and researchers expose readers to the exciting research and developments that have been occurring in the field.
• An introductory chapter written by the volume editors provides an accessible overview of the book.

Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Development provides state-of-the-art groundwork in evolutionary theory as viewed by leading thinkers in the field. It is an excellent supplementary textbook for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in evolutionary and developmental psychology.

Robert Lee Burgess (Ph.D., Washington University in St. Louis, 1969) is Professor of Human Development at the Pennsylvania State University.  He has degrees in anthropology, psychology, and sociology.  He has published numerous articles in journals and chapters in books dealing with such topics as theory construction, the development of criminal behavior and illicit drug use, cooperation and competition in children′s groups, the development and consequences of power differences in dyads involved in exchange relationships, and the role of imitation in retarded children.  He is also co-author (with Don Bushell, Jr.) of Behavioral Sociology: The Experimental Analysis of Social Process and (with Ted L. Huston) of Social Exchange in Developing Relationships.  Drawing upon research methods developed by primatologists, he conducted one of the first observational studies of abusive and neglectful families in their own homes.  Recently, he has published articles examining the convergence of evolutionary biology and behavior genetics for understanding human development.

Kevin MacDonald is Professor of Psychology at California State University Long Beach. After receiving a Masters degree in evolutionary biology, he received a Ph. D. in Biobehavioral Sciences, both at the University of Connecticut.  Since assuming his position at California State University Long Beach, his research has focused on developing evolutionary perspectives on culture, developmental psychology and personality theory, the origins and maintenance of monogamous marriage in Western Europe, and ethnic relations (group evolutionary strategies).

He is the author of Social and Personality Development: An Evolutionary Synthesis (1988), A People That Shall Dwell Alone: Judaism as a Group Evolutionary Strategy (1994), Separation and Its Discontents: Toward an Evolutionary Theory of Anti-Semitism (1998), and The Culture of Critique: An Evolutionary Analysis of Jewish Involvement in Twentieth-Century Intellectual and Political Movements (1998). He has also edited three books, Sociobiological Perspectives on Human Development (1988), Parent-Child Play: Descriptions and Implications (1994), and Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Development (2004).