Evolution of Human Behavior and Culture
Our human nature -- our desires and preferences, our virtues and faults, our behavior and culture -- evolved through natural selection. But because people live everywhere from the arctic to the tropics, and in a wide range of socio-economic circumstances, this also means understanding how human nature has evolved to respond adaptively to different environments. Courses in this area examine both the ecological pressures that shape these cross-cultural differences, and how individuals learn to respond adaptively in these different contexts.