Evolutionary Psychology and Sociocultural Theory
Jorge F. Larreamendy-Joerns (larream+ who-is-at pitt.edu)
Mon, 15 Apr 1996 16:07:06 -0400 (EDT)
Hi xmca fellows,
Although this message doesn't bear any visible relation with the
linguistic issues being currently discussed, I would appreciate if
someone has any useful references to share about the following issue.
I teach un undergraduate course in educational psychology, and over the
past two terms I've been using, for pedagogical purposes, a video from
the TV series Nature entitled "Monkey in the mirror". The video makes a
fascinating comparison between the intellectual abilities and social
behavior of humans and those of other great apes (Orangutans and
chimpazees). I usually present the video to illustrate the role of tools
in the development and evolution of intelligent behavior as well as the
connection between identity and social interaction. During discussions
with my students, the similarities between sociocultural analysis of
activity in context and ecological and evolutionary views of animal
behavior usually become a main issue. After all, both sociocultural
analyses and evolutionary analyses take very seriously the role of local
contexts (or environments) and the functional usefulness of actions in
the development and evolution of complex behavior (with and without
adaptations in a specific sense). I was wondering if the connections
between what has come to be known as evolutionary psychology and, say,
activity theory have been explored in some detailed somewhere. Given the
increasing significance of evolutionary theory in the biological
sciences and the recognition of the explanaotry power of evolutiuonary
accounts as far as human behavior is concerned, I think such connections
are more than worth exploring. Any suggestions are welcomed.
Jorge F. Larreamendy-Joerns
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
E-mail: larream who-is-at pitt.edu