The DOI matches its Crossref record; 6 of the 6 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Exaptation: A Crucial Tool for an Evolutionary Psychology
Abstract
Evolutionary theory lacks a term for a crucial concept—a feature, now useful to an organism, that did not arise as an adaptation for its present role, but was subsequently coopted for its current function. I call such features “exaptations” and show that they are neither rare nor arcane, but dominant features of evolution—though previously unappreciated in the context of the overly adaptationist neo‐Darwinian theory. This article argues that exaptation overcomes the fallacy of human sociobiology, helps us to understand the major patterns of flexibility and contingency in life's history, revises the roles of structure and function in evolutionary theory, serves as a centerpiece for grasping the origin and meaning of brain size in human evolution, and thereby cries out for recognition as a key to evolutionary psychology. Historical origin and current utility are distinct concepts and must never be conflated.
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The spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian paradigm: a critique of the adaptationist programme
Gould, S. J., & Lewontin, R. C. (1979) · Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rspb.1979.0086 · Cited by 7,770
Self-citationExaptation—a missing term in the science of form
Gould, S. J., & Vrba, E. S. (1982) · Paleobiology · doi:10.1017/s0094837300004310 · Cited by 5,136
Self-citationSocial semantics: altruism, cooperation, mutualism, strong reciprocity and group selection.
WEST, S. A., GRIFFIN, A. S., & GARDNER, A. (2007) · Journal of Evolutionary Biology · doi:10.1111/j.1420-9101.2006.01258.x · Cited by 1,889
Sources of human psychological differences: the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart
Bouchard, T. J., Lykken, D. T., McGue, M., Segal, N. L., & Tellegen, A. (1990) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.2218526 · Cited by 1,373
Evolution and Escalation: An Ecological History of Life
Vermeij, G. J. (1987) · doi:10.1515/9780691224244 · Cited by 1,154
Ortiz de Montellano, B. R. (1978) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.200.4342.611 · Cited by 95
Cited by
Barsalou, L. W. (1999) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x99002149 · Cited by 6,887
Imprinting: Toward a Multilevel Theory
Marquis, C., & Tilcsik, A. (2013) · Academy of Management Annals · doi:10.5465/19416520.2013.766076 · Cited by 1,576
The seven sins of memory: Insights from psychology and cognitive neuroscience.
Schacter, D. L. (1999) · American Psychologist · doi:10.1037/0003-066x.54.3.182 · Cited by 1,133
A justification-suppression model of the expression and experience of prejudice.
Crandall, C. S., & Eshleman, A. (2003) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.129.3.414 · Cited by 1,085
The evolution of the arcuate fasciculus revealed with comparative DTI
Rilling, J. K., Glasser, M. F., Preuss, T. M., Ma, X., Zhao, T., Hu, X., & Behrens, T. E. J. (2008) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn2072 · Cited by 767
Metadata
- Authors
- Gould, S. J.
- Venue
- Journal of Social Issues
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 1991-10
- Volume
- 47
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 43-65
- ISSN
- 0022-4537 (ISSN-L)
- 1540-4560
- OpenAlex
- W1995805645
- Cited by
- 520
- References
- 6
- FWCI
- 30.38
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
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