Rather than a subfield of psychology, evolutionary
psychology refers to a meta-theoretical approach toward
the entire discipline of psychology in which the brain is
studied as an integrated collection of computational
mechanisms that evolved to solve persistent adaptive
problems throughout ancestral times. Evolutionary psychology
extends the research focus beyond proximate
explanations (i.e., how a computational mechanism
works) also to include ultimate explanations (i.e., why
some mechanisms exist, either as by-products, adaptations,
or noises) (Tinbergen, 1963). Evolutionary psychologists
argue that these two types of explanations
are mutually constructive—knowing how a psychological
mechanism works facilitates productive hypotheses
of why this mechanism exists, and vice versa.
There are some common pitfalls when applying evolutionary
psychology. The first is the naturalistic fallacy:
assuming that because something is natural, it is
morally acceptable. The second is the genetic fallacy:
assuming that because a psychological mechanism is
evolved, its functional outcome is immutable or
unchanging.
Evolutionary psychology has two core tenets. First,
evolutionary psychologists often assume that the brain
is, by definition, a computational device: it inputs information
in the form of specific environmental cues, processes
that information, and outputs some form of
behavior. Second, evolutionary psychologists assume
that specific adaptive tasks (e.g., attracting a mate)
select for specific computational devices that, in conjunction
with others, help to solve these tasks. Thus,
evolutionary psychologists posit that reliably developing
psychological mechanisms (i.e., human nature) are
modular and domain-specific, rather than versatile and
domain-general. This second tenet—the modularity of
evolved psychological mechanisms—contrasts most
with prevailing meta-theoretical approaches, which
often assume the mind is a blank-slate (Pinker, 2003).
As evolutionary psychology is applied to the contexts
of sport and exercise (see Balish, Eys, & Schulte-
Hostedde, 2013; for an overview), there are opportunities
to review and improve existing theory, but also to
integrate disparate findings and generate novel and productive
hypotheses. Although evolutionary psychology
has only recently been employed within sport and exercise
psychology, novel hypotheses concerning a variety
of topics have already been offered (e.g., sex differences,
motivation).
