ABSTRACT
How Does Evolutionary Theory Answer the Basic Questions that a Theory of Human Development is Expected to Address?
Critique of Evolutionary Theory
Strengths
Weaknesses
Key Terms
Humans are living beings, linked to all other forms of life through the process of evolution. The theory of evolution explains how diverse and increasingly more complex life forms come to exist. Evolutionary theory assumes that the natural laws that apply to plant and animal life also apply to humans. This theory is important in the study of human development because it integrates human beings into the vast array of life forms and suggests explanations for a variety of characteristics that we regard as essentially human. Evolutionary theory emphasizes the importance of biological forces in directing growth and the gradual modification of species as a result of adaptation to specific environments. The theory addresses change over many generations and thousands of years; it is not intended as a theory about how change and adaptation occur within short periods or even within one lifetime. This chapter focuses on the key concepts of evolutionary thought and their relationship to an understanding of hu-
man behavior through advances in the fields of ethology and evolutionary psychology.
