Developmental Psychology: An Evolutionary Perspective

This textbook introduces the field of developmental psychology from an evolutionary and adaptationist perspective. This perspective allows us to make sense of the interaction between the developing child and the environment in which the child is developing. It allows us to ask why the human mind is designed the way it is, what functions psychological processes serve, and how our human psychology was adaptive in the environment in which our ancestors evolved. A second advantage to an evolutionary framing is pedagogical. This book has a strong thesis: That nature and nurture work together by design during development. This thesis is supported in every content chapter—from perceptual development to language development to gender development—giving students a strong framework with which to link the empirical reports. M.D. Rutherford is Canada Research Chair in Social Perceptual Development and Professor in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour at McMaster University.