PSI0311 - EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY

courses

ID:

PSI0311

Duration (hours):

48

CFU:

SSD:

PSICOBIOLOGIA E PSICOLOGIA FISIOLOGICA

Located in:

CHIETI

Url:

Course Details:

PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCES/CORSO GENERICO Year: 3

Year:

2025

Course Catalogue:

https://unich.coursecatalogue.cineca.it/af/2025?co...

Date/time interval

Secondo Semestre (09/02/2026 - 30/05/2026)

Course Objectives

The first aim of the course is getting the student acquainted to the positioning of psychology and its contents in an appropriate biological framework, beyond the trivial assumption that the immediate mechanisms of realization of mental processes are based in the work of the brain, but considering the brain, mental functions and behaviours as the result of the slow process of biological evolution. The second objective is the understanding of the concept of adaptation and its adoption in psychology. More specific objectives are the understanding of cognitive and motivational adaptations useful to individual survival, adaptations useful for selection based on mating and the choice of a partner, and the peculiar features of social adaptations.

Course Prerequisites

Essential prerequisite is a basic knowledge of general psychology and the knowledge of biological and genetic mechanisms at the basis of evolution.

Teaching Methods

Class lessons (also online) with recourse to slides presentation. Focus classes with articles and videos on specific topics of interest for the discipline.

Assessment Methods

The examination consists of an oral examination or a written multiple choice test composed of thirty items. Each question is associated to four response alternatives, only one of which is correct. The correct response entails attribution of one point, the wrong response (or more responses given, or no response given) entails the attribution of zero points. In case of passing the written examination, the student can undertake an oral examination upon request, thus integrating the result hitherto obtained. The evaluation can be carried out in English upon request.

Texts

Buss - Evolutionary psychology - sixth edition 2020 (Taylor & Francis) £ 59.00

The course deals with the framing of mental and behavioural mechanisms in the light of the critical and methodological paradigm of modern evolutionary synthesis.
- Starting from the basic concepts grounding the study of evolution of biological species, the course will deal with the adaptations of mental life associated to individual survival, to sexual selection and the mating strategies based on parental investment, to parenthood and sociality (cooperation, aggression, between-sexes conflicts).
- This knowledge will be applied to examples of everyday life and to the choices that the individual must face every day, in order to allow the student to achieve the critical ability to extend the concepts covered during the course to different possible situations.
- These reflections on specific examples of choices made by humans will allow the student to achieve a certain autonomy of analysis on the different behaviors of humans and the other animal species.
- The course also aims to train the student on the way of understanding and communicating the evolutionary bases of human behavior.
- Finally, it provides the basis for autonomously developing new ideas on the evolutionary reasons for the most disparate human behaviors.

Course Language

Italian

More information

Office hours are held weekly, by appointment, in the professor’s office located in "Blocco A di Psicologia". Students are invited to check the instructor’s institutional webpage for updated office hours and contact details.
For any questions, students can contact the instructor at: d.marzoli@unich.it.
In addition to the standard teaching hours, students may take part in optional supplementary activities, including:
Tutoring sessions to support exam preparation and reinforce key concepts;Optional lab sessions or practical activities, scheduled during the semester and communicated during class or via the elearning platform;External seminars or guest lectures on topics relevant to the course, when available.Participation in these activities is voluntary and does not affect the final grade, but it is strongly recommended to enhance the learning experience and deepen the practical understanding of course content.