EXPANDING THE BOUNDARIES OF EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY - THE CONTEXT OF DOMAIN-SPECIFIC ADAPTATIONS

Evolutionary psychology relies heavily on domain-specific selection, p ositing that cognitive and emotional processes are adaptations for sol ving particular problems of survival and reproduction. This model ordi narily does not consider alternative mechanisms of evolution. It also restricts explanations for the biophilic nature of humans, and limits the appreciation for the profound effects of the environment on the or igin and expression of human traits. Drawing heavily on classical and recent concepts of contemporary conditioning theory, a testable model is presented that broadens domain-specific selection to include the co -evolution of contextual stimuli (''contextual evolution''). It incorp orates non-specific sensory regulation of evolved behavior, including biophilic regard for certain environments, and suggests what the evolu tionary conditions might have been for the emergence of human mental c omplexity.