When people think of evolutionary psychology, they often think about such findings as:

• A high proportion of homicides result from male reactions to sexual infidelity (Daly & Wilson, 1988).
• People evolved to be fiercely tribal, showing strong biases to benefit members of their own group at a cost to others (Billig & Tajfel, 1973).
• Humans nearly stand alone within the animal kingdom when it comes to engaging in warfare (Smith, 2008).

Indeed, a basic course that includes learning about natural selection leads immediately to an understanding of adaptations as serving individuals within a species, often at a cost to conspecifics (other members of the same species; c.f., Dawkins, 1976).

In a sense, these ideas that serve as a foundation for the field of evolutionary psychology have a strong focus on anti-social behaviors—behaviors that hurt others to one’s own evolutionary benefit.

If we stop there in our learning about how evolution has shaped human behavior, it stands to reason that this perspective would become known for painting a deeply disturbing portrait of who we are. And I will say that in my experience as someone who identifies as an evolutionary psychologist for decades, I do find that many people seem to only know about the anti-social elements of evolutionary psychology. So it is kind of no wonder that evolutionary psychology is not universally embraced by scholars and students of the human condition.

This said, if you look carefully at human behavior, in addition to various forms of anti-social behaviors, we quickly see at least as many prosocial behaviors—behaviors that have the effect of benefiting others. And one core concept that underlies the field of evolutionary psychology is this: If some behavioral trait is commonly expressed across many populations within our species, it is reasonable to ask if that trait is a product of evolutionary forces such as natural selection.

Around the world, people care for their children (see Hrdy, 2009)—often in collaborative groups of caring adults. People help others in a broad array of contexts, including helping offspring, siblings, parents, friends, and even strangers (see Geher & Wedberg, 2022). People have a strong capacity for loving others—an outcome that often leads to strong emotional collaborations between individuals—collaborations that can lead to extraordinarily positive outcomes (Fisher, 1993).

The same evolutionary framework

When it comes to understanding both anti-social and prosocial facets of the human experience, the same evolutionary framework can be applied. So the same basic ideas related to natural selection that help us to understand why homicide in reaction to infidelity is relatively (and unfortunately) common can help us to understand why love exists and why people care deeply for others in their lives.

In a sense, a full understanding of evolutionary psychology, thus, includes something of an arc (Geher, 2026). In teaching about this field, it is common to start with an understanding of the evolution of anti-social behaviors and outcomes. But it is also common to ultimately move toward understanding more complex, other-oriented (prosocial) facets of the human animal by using the exact same evolutionary principles.

Bottom line

Sure, humans have a dark side. Lying, cheating, stealing—all these features of our nature can be easily understood when we apply an evolutionary lens. But human behavior is hardly completely anti-social in nature. Humans often do things that are deeply other-oriented, or prosocial in nature. We help people who run the gamut in our worlds. Yes, we help our offspring and other kin members, but we also help friends, friends of friends, and, in many contexts, total strangers. And evolutionary psychology can help us to understand all of it (see Geher & Wedberg, 2022).

This capacity to shed light on both the anti-social nature of humans along with the prosocial side of humans may be thought of as the arc of evolutionary psychology. And this arc opens the door for the study of any and all classes of behaviors—from the darkest aspects of our nature to the most beautiful parts of the broader human condition.

Want to understand human behavior in the biggest sense? Dismiss the evolutionary approach to your own detriment.