Evolutionary developmental psychology

High school (ages 12+)
Human Body

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/evolutionary-developmental-psychology

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is Evolutionary developmental psychology known for?Proposes that natural selection can favor adaptive developmental plasticity and individual differences
2. What is the research paradigm?Integrates evolutionary theory with developmental science to study human behavior and cognition
3. What is the primary focus?The evolution of ontogeny, emphasizing developmental adaptations and plasticity
4. Why do kids learn differently from each other?Evolutionary developmental psychology says that natural selection can favor different ways of learning, so kids can adapt to their surroundings.
5. How does the environment affect a child's brain growth?The environment works with genes in a process called epigenetics, helping shape how a child’s brain develops for the places they live.

Adaptive Developmental Plasticity: The capacity for development to vary in response to environmental cues, enhancing fitness.
Epigenetics: Heritable changes in gene expression that do not involve alterations to the underlying DNA sequence.
Species-Typical Features: Developmental patterns or traits that are common to most members of a species due to shared evolutionary history.