Psychology Essay: Discuss at least two contributions of Darwin to Psychology

Discuss at least two contributions of Darwin to Psychology

(10 marks)

4 A01 marks = describe / name the contributions
6 A02 marks = criticise Darwin

Note: the more assumptions you name, the more AO2 marks you can achieve by criticising.

Darwin’s main contribution to psychology is the theory of natural selection (A01). This theory shows how animals that are adapted to their environment survive and pass on their genes and how animals that aren’t adapted to their environment eventually die out. This process can be summed up by the term “survival of the fittest” (A01). A good example of natural selection is the peppered moth during the industrial revolution.

Darwin has also shown how both animals and humans are similar (A01). For example, both animals and humans evolve by natural selection and both are born with aggressive and sexual instincts (A01). This has influenced the behaviourist approach who believe that animals and humans both learn by conditioning (A02). This has also influence the psychodynamic approach as Freud adopted the idea that humans have sexual instincts and aggressive instincts, which he called Eros and Thanatos (A02). The humanist approach disagrees with Darwin and believes that humans are unique and cannot be compared with animals as humans can self-actualise and animals cannot (A02). Also behaviourism does not believe that people have innate (inborn) behaviours like instincts and that instead people are born a blank slate (A02). Instincts are internal behaviour and behaviourism only studies external behaviour because it can be observed and scientifically measured (A02).

Another contribution of Darwin to psychology the research method of natural observation (Can’t get any more A01 Marks – Maximum is 4.), used to studies animals around the world during the Voyage of the Beagle. However, although this method has high ecological validity, its main problem is that variables cannot be controlled to establish cause and effect (A02).

The cognitive approach criticise Darwin because he does not show how mediational processes, like thinking or perception, affect a person’s behaviour (A02). Also, Darwin does not appreciate how the unconscious mind, described by Freud, may determine a person’s behaviour (A02).

Finally, Darwin and the biological approach believe that people don’t have any free will as their behaviour is determined by instincts. The humanistic approach disagrees and believes that people have free will to make their own decisions. This is called personal agency (A02).