Advances in the Study of Behavior, Volume 49 provides users with the latest insights in this ever-evolving field. Users will find new information on a variety of species, including social behaviors in reptiles, the behavioral evidence of felt emotions, a section on developmental plasticity, a chapter on covetable corpses and plastic beetles and the socioecological behavior of burying beetles, and a section on the mechanisms of communication and cognition in chickadees. This volume makes another important contribution to the development of the field by presenting theoretical ideas and research findings to professionals studying animal behavior and related fields. Researchers in a variety of behavioral fields will find this longstanding series, initiated over 40 years ago, to be a go-to resource for the study of animal behavior.

Advances in the Study of Behavior was initiated over 40 years ago to serve the increasing number of scientists engaged in the study of animal behavior. This volume makes another important contribution to the development of the field by presenting theoretical ideas and research findings to professionals studying animal behavior and related fields.

Advances in the Study of Behavior, Volume 50 provides users with the latest insights in this ever-evolving field. Users will find new information on a variety of species, including social behaviors in reptiles, the behavioral evidence of felt emotions, a section on developmental plasticity, a chapter on covetable corpses and plastic beetles and the socioecological behavior of burying beetles, and a section on the mechanisms of communication and cognition in chickadees. This volume makes another important contribution to the development of the field by presenting theoretical ideas and research findings to professionals studying animal behavior and related fields.

Advances in the Study of Behavior was initiated over 40 years ago to serve the increasing number of scientists engaged in the study of animal behavior. That number is still expanding. This volume makes another important "contribution to the development of the field" by presenting theoretical ideas and research to those studying animal behavior and to their colleagues in neighboring fields.
Initiated over 40 years ago to serve the increasing number of scientists engaged in the study of animal behaviorMakes another important contribution to the development of the field Presents theoretical ideas and research to those studying animal behavior and to their colleagues in neighboring fields

This accessible guide provides an introduction to evolutionary psychology - the fascinating and often controversial new discipline that studies human behavior, evolution and the mind. Starting with its origins in the work of Charles Darwin, the book covers all the key areas of evolutionary psychology, including the role played by genetics in our sexual behavior, parental decision-making, and how babies learn about and adapt to the world. In clear and straight-forward language, the book also breaks new ground in examining the debates and ethical questions raised right now by evolutionary psychology and contemplating their implications for the future of humankind.

Why do people resort to plastic surgery to look young? Why are stepchildren at greatest risk of fatal abuse? Why do we prefer gossip to algebra? Why must Dogon wives live alone in a dark hut for five days a month? Why are young children good at learning language but not sharing? Over the past decade, psychologists and behavioral ecologists have been finding answers to such seemingly unrelated questions by applying an evolutionary perspective to the study of human behavior and psychology. "Human Evolutionary Psychology" is a comprehensive, balanced, and readable introduction to this burgeoning field. It combines a sophisticated understanding of the basics of evolutionary theory with a solid grasp of empirical case studies.

Covering not only such traditional subjects as kin selection and mate choice, this text also examines more complex understandings of marriage practices and inheritance rules and the way in which individual action influences the structure of societies and aspects of cultural evolution. It critically assesses the value of evolutionary explanations to humans in both modern Western society and traditional preindustrial societies. And it fairly presents debates within the field, identifying areas of compatibility among sometimes competing approaches.

Combining a broad scope with the more in-depth knowledge and sophisticated understanding needed to approach the primary literature, this text is the ideal introduction to the exciting and rapidly expanding study of human evolutionary psychology.

When a chimpanzee stockpiles rocks as weapons or when a frog sends out mating calls, we might easily assume these animals know their own motivations--that they use the same psychological mechanisms that we do. But as Beyond the Brain indicates, this is a dangerous assumption because animals have different evolutionary trajectories, ecological niches, and physical attributes. How do these differences influence animal thinking and behavior? Removing our human-centered spectacles, Louise Barrett investigates the mind and brain and offers an alternative approach for understanding animal and human cognition. Drawing on examples from animal behavior, comparative psychology, robotics, artificial life, developmental psychology, and cognitive science, Barrett provides remarkable new insights into how animals and humans depend on their bodies and environment--not just their brains--to behave intelligently. Barrett begins with an overview of human cognitive adaptations and how these color our views of other species, brains, and minds. Considering when it is worth having a big brain--or indeed having a brain at all--she investigates exactly what brains are good at. Showing that the brain's evolutionary function guides action in the world, she looks at how physical structure contributes to cognitive processes, and she demonstrates how these processes employ materials and resources in specific environments. Arguing that thinking and behavior constitute a property of the whole organism, not just the brain, Beyond the Brain illustrates how the body, brain, and cognition are tied to the wider world.

Other people and their behaviour are a subject of endless fascination for us. Our understanding of why we behave in certain ways can be greatly enhanced if we take an evolutionary perspective. Understanding the evolutionary pressures that have shaped human behaviour can give us a new insight into why we prefer a good gossip to a lengthy session of algebra, or why children are so good at learning language and so poor at sharing nicely with others. Human Evolutionary Psychology offers a comprehensive overview of all aspects of human evolutionary behaviour and psychology. Tackling everything from mate choice to marriage patterns, childcare to cultural evolution, Human Evolutionary Psychology critically assesses the value of evolutionary explanations to humans in both modern western society and traditional pre-industrial societies. The combination of broad scope and in-depth analysis makes it the ideal introduction to this exciting and rapidly expanding area of research.