Evolutionary psychology would have the most trouble explaining which of the following incidents?
A) Samuel risks his life to save his nephew in a car accident.
B) Jane runs in to save her adopted daughter from a fire.
C) When Alphonso was put in the unfortunate situation of saving his wife or his son in a boating accident, he chose to save his son first, and his wife died.
D) When Larry was on a ship going down at sea, he let everyone else be saved ahead of him, even though everyone on the ship was a complete stranger to him.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Evolutionary psychology focuses on how behavior and cognition have evolved over time to adapt to the environment, including the social environment. However, the behavior described in option D cannot be easily explained by evolutionary psychology, as it goes against the notion of self-preservation that is assumed to be a universal human instinct. While altruism and self-sacrifice have been observed in many cultures throughout history, such behavior challenges the idea that humans are inherently and exclusively self-interested. Thus, evolutionary psychology may have trouble making predictions about or explaining such behavior.

Evolutionary Psychology Would Have the Most Trouble Explaining Which of the Following