446 Part V Biological/Evolutionary Theories
self-care and hence can lead to a longer and healthier life, but also heighten the
risk of leading to rigid and compulsive behavior.Common Misunderstandings in
Evolutionary Theory
When evolutionary theory first became popular in the 1980s it caused quite a bit
of controversy. There was a lot of resistance both from inside and outside univer-
sity settings against applying evolutionary ideas to human thought and behavior.
Although much of this resistance has died down over the last 20–30 years, there
are some misunderstandings that still occur (D. Buss, 1999).Evolution Implies Genetic Determinism (Behavior as Set
in Stone and Void of Influence From the Environment)
Evolution is all about the body changing due to changes in the environment. In this
sense it is inherently a “nature and nurture” interaction perspective. Evolution
occurs from the interaction between adaptations and input from the environment
that triggers the adaptations. Buss uses calluses as an example: Calluses are evolved
adaptations but do not get expressed without input from the environment such as
walking barefoot for long periods of time or playing the guitar. Calluses get
expressed through genetically induced protein formation and this gene expression
only occurs with input from the environment (Ulrich-Vinther, Schwarz, Pedersen,
Soballe, & Andreassen, 2005).
More generally, the discovery of epigenetics is an even more powerful exam-
ple of how genetic influence is not set in stone at the moment of conception and
interacts with input from the environment. Epigenetics is change in gene function
that does not involve changes in DNA (Meaney, 2010; Rutter, 2006). In other
words, experiences that animals have create tags that attach to the outside structure
of DNA and control gene expression. Epigenetics has fundamentally altered our
view of genetic influence. It makes clear that the experiences we have (such as
eating, drinking, or being exposed to chemicals) can affect changes in genes
(Watters, 2006). In fact, cancers are one of the most widespread examples of epi-
genetic change in gene expression and demonstrate tragically how what we eat,
drink, and smoke can alter genetic activity (Jones & Baylin, 2002). In fact, in a
very real sense, changes in organs, physiological systems and bodies that occur
over long periods of time (i.e., evolution) are the result not only of mutations in
genes but also epigenetic processes. In short, that DNA is not destiny is perfectly
consistent with evolutionary theory.Executing Adaptations Requires Conscious Mechanisms
To say that mechanisms (cognitive and personality) evolved to solve important
problems of survival and reproduction does not mean they require complex (con-
scious) mathematical abilities to operate. For example, the idea of “inclusive fit-
ness” revolves around the idea that we are more likely to help out a brother than