Bruce Bridgeman is a professor of Psychology and Psychobiology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, a position he has held since 1973. He received a Ph.D. in physiological psychology from Stanford University in 1971, working in the laboratory of Karl Pribram, and then held post-doctoral fellowships in Berlin, Germany, at the physiological institute of the Free University of Berlin, and in Berkeley, California, at the UC Berkeley School of Optometry. He is author or coauthor of more than 100 published scientific papers and has authored or coedited five books along with 25 chapters in edited volumes. Aside from evolutionary psychology, which he has taught since the early 1980s, he has taught behavioral neuroscience, introductory psychology and psychobiology, and graduate seminars in perception. His research interests include visual perception, eye movements, computer simulation of cognitive processes, spatial orientation, and of course evolutionary psychology. A fellow of the American Psychological Society and the Psychonomic Society, he has received research grants and fellowships from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, The Max-Planck Society, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. As a lifelong choral singer, he has participated in international concert tours with the Cornell University Glee Club, the Berliner Konzert-chor, and the Santa Cruz Chorale.
Introducing students to the emerging field of evolutionary psychology this book takes an approach that closely ties psychology to biology. The goal is to apply concepts of evolutionary theory to basic psychological functions to derive new insights into the roots of human behaviour and how that behaviour may be viewed as adaptations to important challenges of life. The book is organized around major life challenges and psychological functions (courtship and reproduction, child rearing, family and social interaction, language development, perception and memory) and the evolved mechanisms that have allowed humans to adapt. Pedagogical features include: - chapter-opening motivational quotes and outlines - illustrations - key terms highlighted within the text and defined both in context and in a glossary at the end of the book - end-of-chapter discussion questions along with annotated suggestions for further reading.
