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Foundations of Human Behaviour

Module description

This module gives an overview of the evolutionary basis for human behaviour and is suitable for students interested in the origins of human behaviour and the psychological mechanisms that guide it. The seminars will cover a range of topics focussing on understanding often harmful behaviours (e.g. gambling, overeating, depression, criminal violence) by taking evidence from knowledge of animal behaviour and how behaviour evolves in response to ecological pressures. You will take part in discussions and presentations about the practical and theoretical issues in understanding human behaviour and engage with the cutting-edge literature that tackles these issues. 

Module aims - intentions of the module

In this module you will explore in depth how human behaviour has been formed by ecological and social selective pressures, how to understand the adaptive psychological mechanisms underlying behaviour, and use this knowledge to understand the issues resulting from the limitations in these mechanisms.

You will gain knowledge and understanding of

• how humans, as animals, have evolved mechanisms that control behaviour under natural and sexual selection.
• how great variation amongst people persists under such selective processes.
• how these psychological mechanisms can sometimes cause irrational decisions and maladaptive mental states.
• how an evolutionary viewpoint can help address many of the problems facing people and society.

During the module you will gain knowledge of how to understand many issues of health and economic importance. There will also be more general skills developed in the module: teamwork and negotiation; presentation and debate skills; critical analysis of published information; as well as the generic skills of time-management and self-directed study in response to tight deadlines.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate a critical understanding of how natural selection has influenced human behaviour.
• 2. Describe the psychological mechanisms underlying human behaviour.
• 3. Explain how an evolutionary approach can help address medical issues in humans.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Acquire advanced critical understanding of this knowledge and of the limits and provisional nature of this knowledge
• 5. Review and critically evaluate published work and to identify the strengths and weaknesses of this work at an advanced level
• 6. Address systematically complex problems which may be framed within unpredictable contexts, to think critically, creatively, and independently, and to fully appreciate the complexities of the issues at an advanced level

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. Interact effectively and supportively within a learning group
• 8. Manage their own learning using the full range of resources of the discipline and with minimum guidance
• 9. Select and manage information and to undertake competently study tasks with minimum guidance
• 10. Manage time effectively to meet deadlines.

Syllabus plan

The module will cover a range of topics, for example:

• Adaptive behaviour and levels of explanation: how does natural and sexual selection form behaviour and what sort of questions do we need to answer to understand it?
• Ancestral environments and modern mismatch: how can the selective environment experienced by early humans be known, and what are the consequences of the artificial environment in which most of us live?
• Adversity, risk, and reward: how have we evolved to handle uncertainty in our lives, and how could understanding this help problem gambling and dangerous risk-taking?
• Addiction, self-control, and free will: why have we evolved to be impulsive and what how can we create better interventions for addition?
• Adolescence, maturity, and reproduction: what are the environmental influences on life history and parental behaviour?
• Attraction, attractiveness, and sexual behaviour: what are the evolutionary influences on sexual attraction and its influences?
• Aggression, crime, and homicide: what is the function of aggression and how can we better prevent murder?
• Associations, relationships and gender: how has natural selection led to the variation within and between sexes and what is the relationship with gender?
• Art and aesthetics: what is the function of our appreciation for beauty and how does it affect our behaviour?
• Appetite, over-eating, and obesity: how has natural selection formed our eating behaviour and why are we susceptible to becoming obese?
• Affective disorders and evolutionary medicine: how has natural selection formed our emotional system and why are we susceptible to depression and anxiety disorder?

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Two assessments are required for this module. Where you have been referred/deferred in the examination you will have the opportunity to take a second examination in the August re-assessment period. Where you have been referred/deferred in the coursework you will be required to resubmit the coursework. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%; deferred marks are not capped.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Cartwright J (2016) Evolution and human behaviour: Darwinian perspectives on the human condition. Palgrave Macmillan, London.  
• Buss D (2013) Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind. 6th edition. Taylor & Francis ISBN: 13: 978-1138088610.
• Laland K & Brown G (2011) Sense and Nonsense: Evolutionary perspectives on human behaviour. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199586967
• Nesse R (2019) Good reasons for bad feelings. Random House. ISBN 9781101985663
• Nettle D. (2009) Evolution and Genetics for Psychology. Oxford University Press. ISBN: 978-0199231515
• Williams G, Nesse RM (1996). Why We Get Sick: the new science of Darwinian medicine. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 978-0-679-74674-4.

In addition to the general background reading listed above, you will be given reading lists of papers from scientific journals to prepare for each seminar meeting

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE page

Key words search

Evolution, psychology, adapted, behaviour, affective, medical