The Effect of Evolutionary Psychology Charles Darwin is one of the most well known scientists to ever live because

of his work on evolution. Darwin is the first name to come to mind when anyone thinks of evolution, not only because it is a controversial topic but because Darwin did the most notable work in the field. However like most scientists Darwin had others work that came before him that he was able to build off of. There were several people who had a large impact on our understanding of evolution including Herbert Spencer, Jean Lamarck, and Sir Francis Galton. The theory of Evolution has not only changed our thinking on how we came about biologically but we are able to apply evolution to other areas as well. Jean Lamarck discovered the theory of inheritance of acquired characteristics. Lamarck found that environmental changes caused biological changes in plant life; these changes were then passed down genetically through offspring. This theory is the basis of evolution; changes in the environment cause organisms to adapt and develop attributes that help them survive. This view of evolution was taken to another level by a scientist named Herbert Spencer. Spencer applied his view of evolution to everything in life. Spencer believed that through evolution systems become more complex and become more near perfection. Spencer applied his theory of evolution to human behavior by developing the Spencer-Bain principle. This principle states that a behaviors likeliness to be repeated depends on whether or not the previous execution of this behavior resulted in a pleasurable experience or a negative experience. The Spencer-Bain principle is the foundation of many behaviorists beliefs to come including Skinner and Thorndike. Spencer was also responsible for the widely popular term survival of the fittest and applied this term to society and entities within it (like companies). Needless to say Darwin had a lot to build off of when he started his voyage.

Charles Darwin originally was setting out to find facts that supported the biblical account of creation. What Darwin learned throughout his travels was that he was going to find facts that disproved this theory of creation. He originally started to doubt his biblical background after reading a book on geology and discovering that the earth is much older than the bible dictates. Darwin took a trip to the Galapagos Islands where he took his theory to a new level. Darwin found differences in birds of the same species on one side of the island compared to the other. After making this observation Darwin came up with his theory of natural selection. Natural selection states that environmental pressures dictate what traits are favorable to survival and which traits are not. The traits that prove to be helpful to survival are passed down through generations while traits that are unfavorable to survival begin to die out. Charles Darwin published many books on evolution but his groundbreaking book was The Evolution of Man. This book forever changed the worlds view on human biology and behavior. The theory of evolution has bled through the decades and still influences how we view psychology today. The theory of evolution laid the groundwork for other psychological theories such as behaviorism and functionalism. The theory of evolution has also changed society simply because the public is aware of it. Terms like Social Darwinism and survival of the fittest are terms that everyone knows and uses frequently. Charles Darwin wasnt the only person to bring the theory of evolution to life but psychological theories always need a poster child and Darwin was the perfect one.