Evolution and Genetics for Psychology lays out the conceptual toolkit one needs in order to think in evolutionary terms - and to apply this thinking to any subject. With the toolkit firmly in place, it goes on to show how these key concepts are applied to issues of human behaviour, from sex to social relationships, to learning. Evolution and Genetics for Psychology does not set out to teach evolutionary psychology or behavioural genetics, but explores the key fundamental principles on which such disciplines are based. If you need to understand what heritability really means, what the difference is between a gene and an allele, or whether evolutionary and social explanations are compatible, this book is the survival guide you need.

1. The Significance of Darwinism 1.1. What problems does the theory of evolution solve? 1.2. Evolution by natural selection in a nutshell 1.3. Incorporating genetics: The modern synthesis 1.4. Common objections and misunderstandings 1.5. Summary, Taking it Further, and Questions 2. Variation 2.1. The phenotype 2.2. The genotype 2.3. Genetic variation 2.4. From genotype to phenotype 2.5. Summary, Taking it Further, and Questions 3. Heredity 3.1. Inheritance does not work by blending 3.2. Mendelian genetics 3.3. Quantitative Genetics 3.4. Heritability and natural selection 3.5. Summary, Taking it Further, and Questions 4. Competition 4.1. Malthus: Checks on reproduction and competition to reproduce 4.2. Natural selection at the genotypic level 4.3. Group selection 4.4. Kin selection 4.5. Advanced topics: Evolutionary transitions, levels of selection, and intra-genomic conflict 4.6. Summary, Taking it Further, and Questions 5. Natural Selection 5.1. Modes of selection 5.2. Selection and variation 5.3. Selection and adaptation 5.4. Constraints on optimality 5.5. How to test adaptationist hypotheses 5.6. Getting natural selection clear 5.7. Summary, Taking it Further, and Questions 6. Sex 6.1. The diversity of reproduction in nature 6.2. Why have any sex at all? 6.3. The evolution of anisogamy 6.4. Sex differences 6.5. Pluralism in sexual strategies 6.6. Sexual selection and mate choice in humans 6.7. Summary, Taking it Further, and Questions 7. Life histories 7.1. When to die: The evolution of life span 7.2. When to breed: The evolution of reproductive strategies 7.3. Parental care 7.4. Grandparental care 7.5. Summary, Taking it Further, and Questions 8. Social life 8.1. Why live in groups? 8.2. Types of groups 8.3. Consequences of group living 8.4. Human groups in comparative perspective 8.5. Cooperation 8.6. Summary, Taking it Further, and Questions 9. Plasticity and learning 9.1. Conditions for the evolution of phenotypic plasticity 9.2. Developmental induction 9.3. Imprinting 9.4. Associative learning 9.5. Social learning 9.6. Learning and adaptation 9.7. Summary, Taking it Further, and Questions 10. Our place in nature 10.1. Reconstructing the tree of life 10.2. Humans as primates 10.3. What makes humans different? 10.4. Summary, Taking it Further, and Questions 11. Evolution and Contemporary Life 11.1. Human evolution is still going on 11.2. Evolution leaves a legacy 11.3. The place of evolutionary theory in the explanation of current behaviour 11.4. How should cross-cultural variation be explained? 11.5. How much of our behaviour is adaptive? Glossary References

Daniel Nettle , University of Newcastle upon Tyne

`I think that the book is written in an astonishingly clear way that indicates a great deal of thought has gone into writing it. It further indicates that Nettle is entirely on top of his discipline as he has the facility to make complex and technical matters easy to digest.' Tom Dickins, UEL