Studying culture from an evolutionary psychological perspective: approaches, achievements, and prospects

This paper examines how culture can be studied from an evolutionary psychological perspective. We review the integrated causal model proposed by Tooby and Cosmides and examine the ways in which it differs from other approaches to culture. We discuss three aspects of the model that require further discussion and elaboration: how such varied cultures can arise from a species-typical mind; how cultural content can come to be transmitted between individuals; and how culture can acquire normative force. We present three case studies of research into cultural patterns that exemplifies the integrated causal approach: kinship terminologies, punitive justice institutions, and fertility patterns. We emphasize the non-reductive nature of the evolutionary psychological approach, and its generative benefits in stimulating enquiry into both the commonalities and specificities of human cultural forms.