Honors Evolution & Human Behavior

Evolution & Human Behavior is a 5-credit course for non-majors.

Course description

Course Description

The theory of evolution by natural selection is the conceptual foundation that unites all fields of biology. In this course we will cover the basic principles of evolution, explore ways in which evolutionary theory can be used to understand human biology and behavior, and consider how evolutionary thinking might guide the development of social policy. We will consider questions such as these:

How, why, and what do humans seek to learn from each other?
When do people cooperate, when are they selfish, and why?
Why are women and men different?
Why do step-parents and step-children often have more conflicted relationships than biological parents and biological children?

Learning goals

My goal is to help you learn selection thinking—that is, to reason like evolutionary biologists. I will encourage you to pose questions, formulate hypotheses, design experiments, and critically evaluate the quality of evidence. After taking this course, you will be able to:

Apply evolutionary theory to human interactions and make predictions about how the shared and divergent interests of the parties involved will affect their behavior.
Design observational studies and experiments to test these predictions.
Interpret and critically evaluate graphs and tables showing data on behavioral patterns in humans and animals.
Provide evolutionary interpretations of various human social institutions, such as laws, wills, and social policies.

Tentative schedule

The following list of topics is flexible, based on your background and interests. I want to learn from you what issues in evolution and human behavior are most compelling and important from your perspective. Do the readings, browse the newspaper, the web, and even the library, and let me know what you want to cover.

Selection Thinking

Origin of modern humans, adult lactase persistence, and natural selection
Studying adaptation
Who benefits? Pathogens and behavior in humans and other animals
Adaptation to what environment? The trouble with time travel

Introduction to Evolutionary Psychology

The challenge of studying human behavioral adaptations

Genetics, determinism, and behavioral strategies

Basic human genetics, genes in populations
Determinism versus flexible behavioral strategies
Inbreeding and available sources of information
Social learning

Cooperation

Altruism
Public goods
Group selection

Special Topic

Sexual orientation

The Target of Selection

Deception
Religion
Marriage

Special Topic

The demographic transition

Mating and Family Life

Sexual selection
Uncertain paternity
Discriminative solicitude

The Modern World

Morality and social policy