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Originally published in 1979, this book provides students with an example of the ways in which an evolutionary perspective can rephrase and clarify traditional questions and issues in psychology. The format provides the student firstly with the minimal amount of basic information in neuroanatomy, genetics and modern evolutionary theory in a form which is readily related to the remainder of the volume. The book then goes on to consider the relationships between different forms of explanation in biology, and the role of brain behaviour students in these relationships. Finally, the reader is given an opportunity to follow the reasoning which stems from a biological approach when applied to topics in human behaviour such as learning, dreaming, sleeping, exploration, anxiety, reasoning, intelligence and consciousness. Modern evolutionary biology places man in a broader context than does traditional psychology, and this new perspective reduces our tendency to view life solely from a human standpoint. The significance as well as the uniqueness of some traditionally 'human' attributes are challenged by this approach.
List of contents
Notes on the Contributors. Editors’ Introduction. 1. The Evolution and Genetics of Behaviour Linda Partridge 2. The Anatomy of the Vertebrate Nervous System: An Evolutionary and Developmental Perspective Christopher H. Yeo 3. Brain-behaviour Studies and Evolutionary Biology H.C. Plotkin 4. Chemical Systems of the Brain and Evolution Gaylord D. Ellison 5. The Evolution and Function of Sleep Ray Meddis 6. Brain Size and Intelligence: A Comparative Perspective I. Steele Russell 7. Cerebral Cortex and Adaptive Behaviour David A. Oakley 8. Symmetry and Asymmetry in the Vertebrate Brain Stuart J. Dimond 9. Consciousness, Freewill and Personal Identity R.W. Sperry. Name Index. Subject Index.
About the author
David A. Oakley and H. C. Plotkin
Summary
Originally published in 1979, this book provides students with an example of the ways in which an evolutionary perspective can rephrase and clarify traditional questions and issues in psychology.
