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Natural selection operates on psychological traits from "summary" of Evolutionary Psychology by David M Buss
Evolutionary psychology posits that natural selection acts on the psychological mechanisms that underlie human behavior. These mechanisms, or psychological traits, are the result of countless generations of adaptations to the environment. Just as physical traits like opposable thumbs or bipedalism have evolved to enhance survival and reproduction, so too have psychological traits like fear, jealousy, or mate preferences. One of the key concepts in evolutionary psychology is that these psychological mechanisms are not arbitrary or random, but have been shaped by the demands of the ancestral environment. For example, fear of snakes or spiders may have provided a survival advantage to our ancestors who lived in environments where these creatures posed a threat. Over time, individuals who were more afraid of these animals were more likely to survive and pass on their genes, leading to the evolution of a fear response. Similarly, jealousy may have evolved as a mechanism to guard against the loss of a mate, which cou...
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