Evolutionary Theory

The study of evolutionary theory as it relates to human psychology and behavior is called evolutionary psychology. Evolutionary psychology asks if a specific human behavior may have had adaptive value for early human ancestors, that is, whether it contributed directly to survival or reproduction. Evolutionary psychology does not hold that behavior is genetically driven; rather, it holds that under certain conditions, humans have a tendency to engage in some forms of behavior rather than alternatives because those behaviors were adaptive during evolution.

Same-sex attraction and sexual behavior have been studied in evolutionary psychology, but there is much disagreement about them from an evolutionary perspective. This disagreement arises in part from the fact that in the study of “homosexuality,” different researchers have studied seemingly related but actually ...