Psychology and Evolution: The Origins of Mind [Hardcover]

Bruce Bridgeman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 6, 2003 | ISBN-10: 0761924795 | ISBN-13: 978-0761924791 | Edition: 1

Psychology and Evolution: The Origins of Mind introduces students to the emerging field of evolutionary psychology. Bruce Bridgeman applies concepts of evolutionary theory to basic psychological functions to derive new insights into the roots of human behavior and how that behavior may be viewed as adaptation to life’s significant challenges. Examining courtship, reproduction, child rearing, family relations, social interaction, and language development, Bridgeman uses evolutionary theory to help in the search to elucidate the foundations of human perceptions, experiences, and behaviors.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Bridgeman’s Psychology and Evolution is a superb textbook in evolutionary psychology…I see it as a landmark in the emergence of evolutionary psychology as no longer a controversial minority current but as a central aspect of the mainstream. The book reflects the state of the art in current work in evolutionary psychology…the reader is brought up-to-date about evolutionary theory, modern genetics, human prehistory, and relevant issues in modern linguistics."

(M. Brewster Smith )

"This is an important book. Readers partial to evolutionary psychology, as well as those who remain skeptical, will benefit from a careful reading of this reader-friendly book…The author endorses the core assumptions of evolutionary psychology…but, refreshingly, he includes, often with a new slant, relevant material usually overlooked by both believers and skeptics."

(Andrew Neher )

About the Author

Bruce Bridgeman is a professor of Psychology and Psychobiology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, a position he has held since 1973. He received a Ph.D. in physiological psychology from Stanford University in 1971, working in the laboratory of Karl Pribram, and then held post-doctoral fellowships in Berlin, Germany, at the physiological institute of the Free University of Berlin, and in Berkeley, California, at the UC Berkeley School of Optometry. He is author or coauthor of more than 100 published scientific papers and has authored or coedited five books along with 25 chapters in edited volumes. Aside from evolutionary psychology, which he has taught since the early 1980s, he has taught behavioral neuroscience, introductory psychology and psychobiology, and graduate seminars in perception. His research interests include visual perception, eye movements, computer simulation of cognitive processes, spatial orientation, and of course evolutionary psychology. A fellow of the American Psychological Society and the Psychonomic Society, he has received research grants and fellowships from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, The Max-Planck Society, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. As a lifelong choral singer, he has participated in international concert tours with the Cornell University Glee Club, the Berliner Konzert-chor, and the Santa Cruz Chorale.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Sage Publications, Inc; 1 edition (February 6, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761924795
• ISBN-13: 978-0761924791
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,691,639 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction for a general reader, July 22, 2008

By 

Alan Venable "Author/creator of 'Dr. Peanut'... (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Psychology and Evolution: The Origins of Mind (Hardcover)

Once you've escaped from college, how often do you even LOOK AT another textbook? If you're interested in evolution or recent research in psychology, this one is well worth reading for its reliable broad perspective on the evolutionary psychology and how its ideas can/should be the basis for psychology as a field. Not that the physical evolution of the brain is all we need to consider, but that without that psychology continues to be such a slush of barely related ideas. I'd already read other books about emerging neuroscience, but Bridgeman's helped me better understand how that work is more and more infusing the study of mental and overt behavior. The book isn't overly long on topics, and it isn't encyclopedic and short on depth like most recent introductory textbooks, and it's always readable, often entertaining too. It'll let you know where psychology is ultimately headed. Nutty to Meet You! Dr. Peanut Book #1