Discuss the importance of evolutionary psychology in studying human development.

Answers will vary. The field of evolutionary psychology studies the ways in which adaptation and natural selection are connected with mental processes and behavior. One of the concepts of evolutionary psychology is that not only physical traits but also patterns of behavior, including social behavior, evolve and are transmitted genetically from generation to generation. In other words, behavior patterns that help an organism to survive and reproduce are likely to be transmitted to the next generation. Such behaviors are believed to include aggression, strategies of mate selection, even altruism-that is, self-sacrifice of the individual to help perpetuate the family group.