Psychological adaptations and survival strategies are essential for individuals to cope with the challenges and demands of their environment. These adaptations are the result of our evolutionary history and have played a crucial role in our survival as a species. At the individual level, these adaptations and strategies help us navigate through various situations, both positive and negative, and ensure our physical and emotional well-being. In this essay, we will explore the concept of psychological adaptations and survival strategies at the individual level and understand their significance in shaping human behavior and resilience.
Problems of survival are thus clear targets for the evolution of physical and psychological adaptations. Major problems our ancestors faced included (a) food selection and acquisition, (b) territory selection and physical shelter, and (c) avoiding predators and other environmental threats. See Buss (2011) for descriptions of various psychological adaptations that have evolved to deal with these challenges of survival.
Proponents of EP suggests that adaptationism can serve as a foundational meta theory for the entire discipline and thus it may offer a way to integrate different psychological phenomenon. They suggest that evolutionary theory can integrate the entire field of psychological science in much they same way that evolutionary theory has integrated the field of biology.