The Massive Modularity Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Massive Modularity Theory - Essay Example It seeks to identify which human psychological traits are evolved adaptations which pertain to products of natural or sexual selection. The main concept of evolutionary psychology is that the human mind consists of information-processing mechanisms which have evolved through natural selection. These mechanisms are called adaptations that are functionally specialized to deal with problems in certain circumstances and environments, and therefore it must have specific and richly structured contents.1 This type of psychology has also been proposed as a metatheory not just of psychology but also of the fields in social sciences. Evolutionary psychology has also been said to be a predominant theory that has principles which are functional to all of the disciplines of social science. There have been studies that propose evolutionary psychology as the uniting elements present in different fields. The evolutionary psychology’s metatheory is consisted of chain of command in the level of analysis.2 What programs the human mind? Why do thoughts and ideas differ from one individual to another? Is there a specific portion of the mind allocated for a particular action? The Massive Modularity Theory presents the argument that biological systems are designed and constructed in a way that a person would need to have massively modular organization of the mind. In addition to this, it was also said that the human mind is a biological system and is complex so the human mind must be massively modular in its organization.3 This theory is further studied in this paper. Evolutionary Psychology In the past, the branches of social sciences and biology have different opinions towards the subject of how the mind works. With evolutionary psychology in place, connecting biological and social science ideas and theories is now possible by providing conceptual analyses of specific questions: analyses that move step by step and integrating evolutionary biology with psychology, and psychol ogy with social and cultural phenomena.4 Evolutionary psychology is a method of psychology that studies the inherited architecture of the human mind as a product of the evolutionary process. It is a conceptually integrated approach in which the theories of â€Å"natural selection† are used to produce hypotheses about the design features of the human mind.5 There are 3 levels of explanation in evolutionary psychology. In between levels, extrapolations can be made in between each level. These manipulations are made in order to get the appropriate results for various types of populations. The 3 levels are noted to be 1) adaptive problem, 2) cognitive program, and 3) neurophysiological basis. With these levels being laid down, the primary principle in the evolutionary psychology still remains to be the human brain being the corporal structure. In the modern times, the brain is being compared to the computer where there is a designated chip or program for various functions and one would not over manoeuvre other programs for it to malfunction.6 It has been believed by evolutionary psychologists that there is a certain connection between adaptive problems and evolving structured mechanisms in solving the evolutionary process. During the time of Charles Darwin, people believed that humans are social animals and they learn from experiences and behaviours.