Psychologists who advocate the evolutionary view explain behavior through which of the following approaches?

• A. Studying the impact of cultural norms and social learning on behavior
• B. Analyzing the influence of immediate environmental rewards and punishments
• C. Focusing primarily on unconscious motives and childhood experiences
• D. Emphasizing how natural selection and adaptation have shaped psychological traits and behaviors

Answer: (D)

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1. Understand that the evolutionary perspective in psychology focuses on how behaviors and mental processes have been shaped by natural selection and adaptation over time.
2. Recognize that this approach explains behavior by considering how certain psychological traits may have increased the chances of survival and reproduction in our ancestors.
3. Differentiate this from other approaches: cultural norms and social learning emphasize environmental and social influences; immediate rewards and punishments relate to behaviorism; unconscious motives and childhood experiences are central to psychoanalytic theory.
4. Identify that the evolutionary approach specifically emphasizes the role of inherited traits and adaptive functions in shaping behavior, rather than immediate environmental factors or unconscious processes.
5. Conclude that the correct explanation involves emphasizing how natural selection and adaptation have shaped psychological traits and behaviors.