Evolutionary Psychology - Arnold Library - Adult Learning

Evolutionary Psychology – Understanding Human Behaviour

Why do we think, feel and behave the way we do?

Why are we drawn to sugary foods, quick to fear certain animals, or so invested in social relationships?

This engaging face-to-face course explores these questions through Evolutionary Psychology, a field that brings together evolutionary biology and cognitive psychology to uncover the origins of human behaviour.

Using modern Darwinian ideas, you’ll examine how the human mind has evolved through natural selection, shaped by the challenges faced by our early ancestors. Along the way, you’ll encounter key thinkers in the field and explore the environments in which humans first evolved, helping to explain why some of our instincts feel mismatched to modern life.

Explore topics such as parent–offspring conflict, language development, mate choice, and the size of the human brain - considering its advantages and costs. You’ll also be introduced to ideas such as specialised “mind modules” and how nature and nurture work together to shape behaviour.

Accessible and thought-provoking, this course offers fresh insight into everyday behaviour - your own and that of others - through the lens of our evolutionary past.

Please bring:

A pen and paper for note taking.

Suggested reading:

A Quick Read:

Introducing Evolutionary Psychology by Dylan Evans and Oscar Zarate

A Deeper Dive:

Behave by Robert Sapolsky

Funding and Fees

If you receive certain benefits, you may be able to take the course for free.
If money is stopping you from enrolling, please visit our funding page to see what help is available.

Living in England

To book and join one of our courses, you must live in England permanently and either:

• Live inside the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) area (Nottinghamshire or Derbyshire)

or

• Live outside the devolved areas listed below

You cannot enrol if you live in these devolved areas:

•    Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA)
•    Liverpool City Region Combined Authority

• Greater London Authority
•    North East Combined Authority
•    South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority
•    Tees Valley Combined Authority
•    West Midlands Combined Authority
•    West of England Combined Authority
•    West Yorkshire Combined Authority
•    Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority
•    York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority
•    Hull and East Yorkshire
•    Greater Lincolnshire
•    Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority
•    Cornwall Council
•    Lancashire Combined County Authority
•    Buckinghamshire

• Warwickshire

• Surrey

Residency Requirements (Additional Information)

If you live in the UK on a visa, we’ll need evidence of your visa to confirm funding. You can upload this when applying, and you’ll need to complete a short questionnaire.

Some exceptions include:

• Your visa must last until after your course ends.

• Asylum seekers must have lived in the UK for at least 6 months while their claim is being processed.

• You are supported by your local authority under Section 23C or 23CA of the Children Act 1989, or under the Care Act 2014.

Anyone who does not meet the funding criteria would need to pay full course fees.