Science Fair Project Encyclopedia Evolutionary psychology (or
EP) proposes that human and primate cognition and behavior could
be better understood by examining them in light of human and
primate evolutionary history. Specifically, EP proposes that the
primate brain comprises a large number of functional mechanisms,
called psychological adaptations, that evolved by natural
selection to effect or facilitate the reproduction of the
organism. These mechanisms are universal in the species, with
the exception that some will be specific to one sex or to
individuals of a certain age. Uncontroversial examples of
psychological adaptations include vision, hearing, memory, and
motor control. More controversial examples include male and
female mating preferences and strategies, incest avoidance
mechanisms, and cheater detection mechanisms. The main sources
of evolutionary psychology are: cognitive psychology, genetics,
ethology, anthropology, biology, and zoology. The term
evolutionary psychology was probably coined by G