Adaptations, Exaptations, and Spandrels

Adaptation and natural selection are central concepts in the emerging science of evolutionary psychology. Natural selection is the only known causal process capable of producing complex functional organic mechanisms. These adaptations, along with their incidental by-products and a residue of noise,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American psychologist 1998-05, Vol.53 (5), p.533-548
Main Authors: Buss, David M, Haselton, Martie G, Shackelford, Todd K, Bleske, April L, Wakefield, Jerome C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation
Adaptation, Physiological - physiology
Adaptation, Psychological - physiology
Adjustment (to Environment)
Animals
Biological Evolution
Brain
Brain - physiology
Commerce
Evaluation Criteria
Evolution
Evolutionary psychology
Female
Humans
Language
Male
Natural Selection
Psychology
Selection, Genetic
Social Environment
Theories
Theory of Evolution
War
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Summary:Adaptation and natural selection are central concepts in the emerging science of evolutionary psychology. Natural selection is the only known causal process capable of producing complex functional organic mechanisms. These adaptations, along with their incidental by-products and a residue of noise, comprise all forms of life. Recently, S. J. Gould (1991) proposed that exaptations and spandrels may be more important than adaptations for evolutionary psychology. These refer to features that did not originally arise for their current use but rather were co-opted for new purposes. He suggested that many important phenomena-such as art, language, commerce, and war-although evolutionary in origin, are incidental spandrels of the large human brain. The authors outline the conceptual and evidentiary standards that apply to adaptations, exaptations, and spandrels and discuss the relative utility of these concepts for psychological science.
ISSN:0003-066X
1935-990X
DOI:10.1037/0003-066X.53.5.533