How children invented humanity : the role of development in human evolution / David F. Bjorklund.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bjorklund, David F., 1949- author.

Series:

Oxford scholarship online.

Oxford scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Evolutionary psychology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (392 pages) : illustrations (black and white).

Place of Publication:

New York, New York : Oxford University Press, [2021]

Summary:

Infants and children are the often-ignored heroes when it comes to understanding human evolution. Evolutionary pressures acted upon the young of our ancestors more powerfully than on adults, and changes over the course of development in our ancestors were primarily responsible for the species and the people we have become. This text takes an evolutionary developmental perspective, emphasizing that developmental plasticity - the ability to change our physical and psychological selves early in life - is the creative force in evolution.

Contents:

Children, Childhood, and Development in Evolutionary Perspective

Changeable Children: Evolved Plasticity and Development

Adaptable Ancestors: Developmental Plasticity and Evolution

Embryos and Ancestors

The Adaptive Value of Immaturity (or The Benefits To Being Young at Heart)

Developing the Evolved Social Brain

Evolutionary Mismatches in the Development of Today's Children

Epilogue: How Children Invented Humanity.

Notes:

Also issued in print: 2020.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-19-006688-1

0-19-006689-X

0-19-006687-3