Evolutionary Psychology

Anna Dornhaus
THURSDAYS 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
October 5 - December 14, 2017. No class on November 23.
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Evolutionary Psychology

Fall 2017
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THURSDAYS
1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
October 5 - December 14, 2017. No class on November 23.

Location: 

Main Campus

Tuition: 

$160

Biology has well-supported insights into how animals make decisions and why they behave the way they do, in contexts from foraging to cooperation. This knowledge is grounded in theory as well as empirical evidence. Generally these insights also apply to humans: humans evolved, and thus their brain as well as their preferences, capabilities, and learning abilities are all the result of natural selection, as they are for any other animal. What consequences does this have for our understanding of how people behave when shopping, budgeting time, parenting, loving, or hating? In this course, we will cover how biologists arrived at their conclusions about animals and discuss how they apply to humans. We will also talk about psychological research and controversies in this area, and what, if anything, differentiates humans from other animals (intelligence, cultural evolution, free will?). Do any of these research findings change our conclusions? 

Required Reading: 

All readings will be provided by the instructor as pdf files and will be uploaded to Box@UA. Registered students will receive a link to the uploaded readings by early September.

Meet Your Professor

Professor
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

ANNA DORNHAUS got her PhD from the University of Würzburg. Her research centers on complex collective behaviors in social insects, ants, and bees—how they communicate or make decisions as a group, and how these strategies can be applied to distributed computing. In teaching she focuses on how the scientific method is key to gaining objective information, and with “The Cricket Project” she supports elementary school teachers in bringing hands-on science to the classroom.

Location

Poetry Center
Dorothy Rubel Room
1508 E Helen
Tucson, AZ 85721
United States
Located on the SE corner of Helen Street and Vine Avenue, one block north of Speedway and three blocks west of Campbell Ave.

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