Delta Scan: The Future of Science and Technology, 2005-2055: Growth of Evolutionary Psychology

Key Pages

Category:
Science and Technology

Domain:
Psychology

Keywords:
Cognitive & neuroscience - gene expression, imaging, evolutionary psychology, behaviourism, cognitive psychology

Outlook:
Gene expression mapping could popularize evolutionary psychology, an approach to understanding human behaviour that combines evolutionary biology and cognitive science.

Summary Analysis:
There is growing acceptance among psychologists that the brain, like other organs, 'has evolved through the process of natural selection, and so the capacities of the brain can be profitably understood as adaptations and by-products of adaptations' (Bloom) – our minds are the result of the evolutionary pressures of previous generations then. This challenges the 'blank slate' approach in psychology - that we have no inherent talents or temperaments because the mind is shaped completely by our environment (Pinker).

Each brain cell has a full set of genes. Only some of these are expressed at any given time - transcribed into RNA and later into proteins. Different areas in the brain have different gene-expression patterns, and they undergo changes from embryo to adult and in response to day-to-day situations. When our parents die, when we are laid off, when we are rewarded, the gene expression in the brain gets rewired.

If scientists could trace gene expression in real time, it could be possible to see whether modern situations elicit particular, commonly handed down, brain patters, or as Geoffrey Miller puts it, "the genetic footprints of evolution all over our brains'. This could also help us understand more about how our genes and our environment work together to make us think and behave in particular ways.

Implications:

Potential for better understanding and treatment of mental and psychological disorders

Early Indicators:

Increasing acceptance of evolutionary psychology over the last 10 years

What to Watch:

Researchers start conducting research across species and looking at different points in the life span, at forms of mental illness, and at cross-cultural differences as a way to explore the evolution of mental systems.
The means to do gene expression mapping becomes cheaply available.

Parallels/Precedents:

Growth of behaviourism in early 20th-century psychology

Enablers/drivers:

Increasing use of functional MRI (fMRI) to do brain imaging, allowing researchers to gain insights into how a healthy brain works

Leaders:
Institutions:

University of California, Santa Barbara (Center for Evolutionary Psychology)
University of California, Los Angeles
Stephen Pinker at MIT
David Buller at Northern Illinois University
Daniel Dennett at Tufts univesity
Robert Wright
Evolutionary Psychology and Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Liverpool University, UK [link]
Department of Psychology, Universityof Durham, UK [link]
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Centre for Economic Learning and Social Evolution, University College London [link]
Human Evolutionary Ecology Group, University College London [link]
AHRB Innateness and the Structure of the Mind Project (international collaboration based at Sheffield University, UK)[link]
Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Germany [link]
Group on Evolutionary Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina [link]
Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research, Vienna, Austria [link]
Jean Nicod Institute, France [link]

Figures:

Sources:

Bloom, Paul, and John Brockman (ed). 2002. "Towards a Theory of Moral Development." The Next Fifty Years. New York: Vintage Books.
"Think Tank: Eric Haseltine." 2005. Discover April.
Miller, Geoffrey, and John Brockman (ed). 2002. "The Science of Subtlety." The Next Fifty Years. New York: Vintage Books.
Pinker, Stevens, and John Brockman (ed). 2003. "A Biological Understanding of Human Nature." The New Humanists: Science at the edge. New York: Barnes and Noble Books.
Human Behaviour and Evolution Society [link]
Dunbar, R. (2003). The Social Brain: Mind, Language, and Society in Evolutionary Perspective. Annual Review of Anthropology, 32, 163-181.
Durrant R. and Ellis B. "Evolutionary Psychology" chapter in M. Gallagher & R.J. Nelson (Eds.), Comprehensive Handbook of Psychology, Volume Three: Biological Psychology (pp. 1-33). New York: Wiley & Sons [link]
Evolutionary (Darwinian) Medicine and the Concepts of Illness, Disease and Health [link]
Buller, D. "The Glamour of Evolutionary Psychology." September 10 2005. New Scientist [link]

At A Glance:
When:
11–20 years

Where:
Global

How Fast:
Years

Likelihood:
Medium

Impact:
Unknown

Controversy:
High

Related Outlooks:

About this outlook: An outlook is an internally consistent, plausible view of the future based on the best expertise available. It is not a prediction of the future. The AT-A-GLANCE ratings suggest the scope, scale, and uncertainty associated with this outlook. Each outlook is also a working document, with contributors adding comments and edits to improve the forecast over time. Please see the revision history for earlier versions.

Category:	Science and Technology
Domain:	Psychology
Keywords:	Cognitive & neuroscience - gene expression, imaging, evolutionary psychology, behaviourism, cognitive psychology
Outlook:	Gene expression mapping could popularize evolutionary psychology, an approach to understanding human behaviour that combines evolutionary biology and cognitive science.
Summary Analysis:	There is growing acceptance among psychologists that the brain, like other organs, 'has evolved through the process of natural selection, and so the capacities of the brain can be profitably understood as adaptations and by-products of adaptations' (Bloom) – our minds are the result of the evolutionary pressures of previous generations then. This challenges the 'blank slate' approach in psychology - that we have no inherent talents or temperaments because the mind is shaped completely by our environment (Pinker). Each brain cell has a full set of genes. Only some of these are expressed at any given time - transcribed into RNA and later into proteins. Different areas in the brain have different gene-expression patterns, and they undergo changes from embryo to adult and in response to day-to-day situations. When our parents die, when we are laid off, when we are rewarded, the gene expression in the brain gets rewired. If scientists could trace gene expression in real time, it could be possible to see whether modern situations elicit particular, commonly handed down, brain patters, or as Geoffrey Miller puts it, "the genetic footprints of evolution all over our brains'. This could also help us understand more about how our genes and our environment work together to make us think and behave in particular ways.

	Implications:	Potential for better understanding and treatment of mental and psychological disorders
	Early Indicators:	Increasing acceptance of evolutionary psychology over the last 10 years
	What to Watch:	Researchers start conducting research across species and looking at different points in the life span, at forms of mental illness, and at cross-cultural differences as a way to explore the evolution of mental systems. The means to do gene expression mapping becomes cheaply available.
	Parallels/Precedents:	Growth of behaviourism in early 20th-century psychology
	Enablers/drivers:	Increasing use of functional MRI (fMRI) to do brain imaging, allowing researchers to gain insights into how a healthy brain works
	Leaders:	Institutions: University of California, Santa Barbara (Center for Evolutionary Psychology) University of California, Los Angeles Stephen Pinker at MIT David Buller at Northern Illinois University Daniel Dennett at Tufts univesity Robert Wright Evolutionary Psychology and Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Liverpool University, UK [link] Department of Psychology, Universityof Durham, UK [link] Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Centre for Economic Learning and Social Evolution, University College London [link] Human Evolutionary Ecology Group, University College London [link] AHRB Innateness and the Structure of the Mind Project (international collaboration based at Sheffield University, UK)[link] Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Germany [link] Group on Evolutionary Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina [link] Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research, Vienna, Austria [link] Jean Nicod Institute, France [link]
	Figures:
	Sources:	Bloom, Paul, and John Brockman (ed). 2002. "Towards a Theory of Moral Development." The Next Fifty Years. New York: Vintage Books. "Think Tank: Eric Haseltine." 2005. Discover April. Miller, Geoffrey, and John Brockman (ed). 2002. "The Science of Subtlety." The Next Fifty Years. New York: Vintage Books. Pinker, Stevens, and John Brockman (ed). 2003. "A Biological Understanding of Human Nature." The New Humanists: Science at the edge. New York: Barnes and Noble Books. Human Behaviour and Evolution Society [link] Dunbar, R. (2003). The Social Brain: Mind, Language, and Society in Evolutionary Perspective. Annual Review of Anthropology, 32, 163-181. Durrant R. and Ellis B. "Evolutionary Psychology" chapter in M. Gallagher & R.J. Nelson (Eds.), Comprehensive Handbook of Psychology, Volume Three: Biological Psychology (pp. 1-33). New York: Wiley & Sons [link] Evolutionary (Darwinian) Medicine and the Concepts of Illness, Disease and Health [link] Buller, D. "The Glamour of Evolutionary Psychology." September 10 2005. New Scientist [link]

At A Glance:	When:	11–20 years
	Where:	Global
	How Fast:	Years
	Likelihood:	Medium
	Impact:	Unknown
	Controversy:	High