Controversy

Despite the evidence contradicting the blank slate view, many social psychologists are still uncomfortable taking an evolutionary perspective. Although most psychologists accept the obvious biological constraints on human behaviour (such as that women bear and nurse children and that the human brain is uniquely designed for language), some psychologists still prefer to believe that the slate is blank or nearly blank in their own research area. Some of the reluctance to accept an evolutionary viewpoint is based on misconceptions about how evolutionary models are tested. Other sources of influence are political. For example, some fear that if scientists admit that there are biological influences on men’s and women’s motivations, inequitable treatment in the workplace would be justified. Evolutionary psychologists respond that scientific censorship is unlikely to lead to either credibility for the field or enlightened social policy. For example, if equal treatment of men and women in the workplace is based on a false premise that the sexes are identical, any evidence against that premise could be used to justify inequity. The social value placed on both sexes deserving fair treatment in modern environments ought not to depend on accepting or denying biological differences.

Some psychologists also fall prey to the naturalistic fallacy, the belief that what is natural is therefore good. The problems with that assumption are obvious if one considers that natural selection has produced viruses, predators, and nepotism. Other psychologists understand the naturalistic fallacy but fear that the public will fall prey to the naturalistic fallacy if they hear about research suggesting evolutionary influences on behaviour. Evolutionary psychologists generally believe that, rather than suppressing scientific facts, understanding the actual mechanisms controlling behaviour is the best way to change them. An increasing number of researchers are beginning to realize that humans’ evolutionary past has shaped not only characteristics that are socially undesirable, such as male aggression, but also many positive features of human nature, such as familial love and the ability to cooperate with others to benefit the whole group.