Psychology2016

The Science of Psychology 15

how likely they would be to forgive either a sexual infidelity or an emotional one
( Shackelford et al., 2002). Evolutionary theory would predict that men would find it more
difficult to forgive a woman who had sex with someone else than a woman who was only
emotionally involved with someone, because the man wants to be sure that the children
the woman bears are his (Geary, 2000, 2012). Why put all that effort into providing for
children who could be another man’s offspring? Women, on the other hand, should find
it harder to forgive an emotional infidelity, as they are always sure that their children are
their own, but (in evolutionary terms, mind you) they need the emotional loyalty of the
men to provide for those children (Buss et al., 1992; Daly et al., 1982; Edlund et al., 2006).
The results support the prediction: Men find it harder to forgive a partner’s sexual stray-
ing and are more likely to break up with the woman than if the infidelity is purely emo-
tional; for women, the opposite results were found. Other research concerning mating
has found that women seem to use a man’s kissing ability to determine his worthiness as
a potential mate (Hughes et al., 2007; Walter, 2008), and men seem to prefer women with
more curve in their spines, possibly because it makes them more capable of bearing the
weight of pregnancy (Lewis et al., 2015).
You may have realized as you read through the various perspectives that no one
perspective has all the answers. Some perspectives are more scientific (e.g., behavioral
and cognitive), while others are based more in thinking about human behavior (e.g.,
psychodynamic and humanistic). Some, like sociocultural, biopsychological, and evolu-
tionary perspectives, are related to each other. Psychologists will often take an eclectic
perspective—one that uses the “bits and pieces” of several perspectives that seem to best
fit a particular situation.

THINKING CRITICALLY

Do you believe that violence is a part of human nature? Is violent behavior something that can
someday be removed from human behavior or, at the very least, be controlled? Think about this
question from each of the perspectives discussed in this chapter.

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PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFESSIONALS AND AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION

1.4 Differentiate between the various types of professionals within the field of
psychology.

Psychology is a large field, and the many professionals working within it have different
training, different focuses, and may have different goals from the typical psychologist.
A psychologist has no medical training but has a doctorate degree. Psycholo-
gists undergo intense academic training, learning about many different areas of psy-
chology before choosing a specialization. Because the focus of their careers can vary so
widely, psychologists work in many different vocational* settings. Figure 1.3a on the
next page shows the types of settings in which psychologists work. It is important to
realize that not all psychologists are trained to do counseling, nor are all psychologists
actually counselors. Psychologists who are in the counseling specialization must be
licensed to practice in their states.
In contrast, a psychiatrist has a medical degree and is a physician who specializes in
the diagnosis and treatment (including the prescription of medications) of psychological

Psychologists with an evolutionary

perspective would be interested in how this

couple selected each other as partners.

*vocational: having to do with a job or career.

psychiatrist

a physician who specializes in the

diagnosis and treatment of psycholog-

ical disorders.

psychologist

a professional with an academic

degree and specialized training in one

or more areas of psychology.