Evolutionary developmental psychology, (or EDP), is the application of the basic principles of Darwinian evolution, particularly natural selection, to explain contemporary human development. It involves the study of the genetic and environmental mechanisms that underlie the universal development of social and cognitive competencies and the evolved epigenetic (gene-environment interactions) processes that adapt these competencies to local conditions; it assumes that not only are behaviors and cognitions that characterize adults the product of natural selection pressures operating over the course of evolution, but so also are characteristics of children's behaviors and minds. A speculative phylogenetic tree of all living things, based on rRNA gene data, showing the separation of the three domains, bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes. ... Natural selection is the metaphor Charles Darwin used in 1859 to name the process he postulated to drive the adaptation of organisms to their environments and the origin of new species. ... Human development is the physical and mental process of growing from a one-celled zygote to an adult human being. ... Genetics (from the Greek genno γεννώ= give birth) is the science of genes, heredity, and the variation of organisms. ... Developmental psychology is the scientific study of progressive psychological changes that occur in human beings as they age. ... Cognitive The scientific study of how people obtain, retrieve, store and manipulate information. ... Epigenetic inheritance is the transmission of information from a cell or multicellular organism to its descendants without that information being encoded in the nucleotide sequence of the gene. ... In biology and psychology Gene-environment interaction is a term used to describe any phenotypic effects that are due to interactions between the environment and genes. ...

Some Basic Assumptions of Evolutionary Developmental Psychology:

• 1. All evolutionarily-influenced characteristics develop, and this requires examining not only the functioning of these characteristics in adults but also their ontogeny.

• 2. All evolved characteristics develop via continuous and bidirectional gene-environment interactions that emerge dynamically over time.

• 3. Development is constrained by both genetic and environmental factors.

• 4. An extended childhood is needed in which to learn the complexities of human social communities.

• 5. Many aspects of childhood serve as preparations for adulthood and were selected over the course of evolution (deferred adaptations).

• 6. Some characteristics of infants and children were selected to serve an adaptive function at specific times in development and not as preparations for adulthood (ontogenetic adaptations).

• 7. Children show a high degree of plasticity, or flexibility, and the ability to adapt to different contexts.

Ontogeny (also ontogenesis or morphogenesis) describes the origin and the development of an organism from the fertilized egg to its mature form. ... We dont have an article called Phenotypic plasticity Start this article Search for Phenotypic plasticity in. ...

See Also

• Developmental psychology
• Dual inheritance theory
• Evolutionary psychology
• Human behavioral ecology
• Life-history theory
• List of publications on evolution and human behavior
• Nature vs. nurture

Developmental psychology is the scientific study of progressive psychological changes that occur in human beings as they age. ... Dual inheritance theory, (or DIT), in sharp contrast to the notion that culture overrides biology, posits that humans are products of the interaction between biological evolution and cultural evolution. ... Evolutionary psychology (abbreviated ev-psych or EP) proposes that animal psychology can be better understood in light of evolution. ... Human behavioral ecology (HBE) or human evolutionary ecology applies the principles of evolutionary theory and optimization to the study of human behavioral and cultural diversity. ... Life-history theory explores how an organism makes a living by integrating ontogeny an phylogeny. ... Intro to Evolutionary psychology Buss, D. M. (1995). ... This article needs cleanup, so as to conform to a higher standard. ...

References

• Bjorklund, D.F., & Pellegrini, A.D. (2002). The Origins of Human Nature: Evolutionary Developmental Psychology. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association

• Bjorklund, D.F., & Pellegrini, A.D. (2000).Child Development and Evolutionary Psychology.Child Development, 71, 1687-1708.

• Boyce, W. T., & Ellis, B. J. (2005). Biological sensitivity to context: I. An evolutionary-developmental theory of the origins and functions of stress reactivity. Development & Psychopathology, 17, 271-301.

• Burgess, R. L. & MacDonald (Eds.) (2004). Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Development, 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

• Ellis, B.J., & Bjorklund, D.F. (Eds.) (2005). Origins of the social mind: Evolutionary psychology and child development . New York: Guilford Press.

• Ellis, B.J., Essex, M.J., & Boyce, W.T. (2005). Biological sensitivity to context: II. Empirical explorations of an evolutionary-developmental theory. Development & Psychopathology 17, 303-328.

• Ellis, B.J. (2004). Timing of pubertal maturation in girls: An integrated life history approach. Psychological Bulletin , 130 , 920-958.

• Flinn MV. 2004. Culture and developmental plasticity: Evolution of the social brain. In: Evolutionary perspectives on child development. K. MacDonald and R. L. Burgess (eds.), chapter 3, pp. 73-98. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

• Flinn, M.V. & Ward, C.V. (2004). Ontogeny and Evolution of the Social Child. In: Origins of the social mind: Evolutionary psychology and child development, B. Ellis & D. Bjorklund (Eds.), chapter 2, pp. 19-44. London: Guilford Press.

• Geary, D. C. (2005). Folk knowledge and academic learning. In B. J. Ellis & D. F. Bjorklund (Eds.), Origins of the social mind (pp. 493-519). New York: Guilford Publications.

• Geary, D. C. (2004). Evolution and cognitive development. In R. Burgess & K. MacDonald (Eds.), Evolutionary perspectives on human development (pp. 99-133). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

• Geary, D. C., Byrd-Craven, J., Hoard, M. K., Vigil, J., & Numtee, C. (2003). Evolution and development of boys’ social behavior. Developmental Review, 23, 444-470.

• Geary, D.C., & Bjorklund, D.F.(2000).Evolutionary Developmental Psychology.Child Development, 71, 57-65.

• MacDonald, K. (2005). Personality, Evolution, and Development. In R. Burgess and K. MacDonald (Eds.), Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Development, 2nd edition, pp. 207–242. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

• MacDonald, K., & Hershberger, S. (2005). Theoretical Issues in the Study of Evolution and Development. In R. Burgess and K. MacDonald (Eds.), Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Development, 2nd edition, pp. 21–72. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

• Vigil, J. M., Geary, D. C., & Byrd-Craven, J. (2005). A life history assessment of early childhood sexual abuse in women. Developmental Psychology, 41, 553-561.