Psychology 3228B 001 FW25 S Mac-S
Evolution and Psychology
Western University
London Canada
Department of Psychology
Fall/Winter 2025-26
Psychology 3228B Section 001
Evolution and Psychology
1 Calendar Description
A survey of evolutionary approaches to the study of human behaviour, including evolutionary psychology.
Antirequisites: Psychology 3229A/B
Prerequisites: A mark of at least 60% in 1.0 credits of Psychology at the 1000 level or Biology 1001A and registration in third or fourth year.
3 lecture hours
Course Weight: 0.5
Unless you have either the prerequisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enrol in it, you may be removed from this course and it will be deleted from your record. This decision may not be appealed. You will receive no adjustment to your fees in the event that you are dropped from a course for failing to have the necessary prerequisites.
2 Course Information
Instructor: Prof. Scott MacDougall-Shackleton
Office & Phone: see OWL Brighspace
Office Hours: see OWL Brightspace
Email: smacdou2@uwo.ca
Teaching Assistant: TBA
Time and Location of Classes: In Person. See Student Centre for Timetable
3 Course Materials
Required text: Evolution & Psychology, SA MacDougall-Shackleton, SAGE Publishing
Softcover edition: US$63; 90-day ebook rental: US$31 (pricing from publisher website)
This text is available through the campus bookstore in hard copy or eBook rental. There will also be a copy on short-term loan at Weldon library.
4 Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes
|
Learning Outcome |
Learning Activity |
Assessment |
|
Depth and Breadth of Knowledge
|
Lectures and textbook readings In-class discussions |
Quizzes and Exams
|
|
Knowledge of Methodologies · understand how we can test evolutionary hypotheses |
Lectures and textbook readings |
Quizzes and Exams |
|
Application of Knowledge · identify common fallacies made when considering evolution and human behaviour |
Lectures, textbook reading, and in-class discussions |
Written assignment Exams |
|
Communication Skills · communicate succinctly and clearly about evolutionary explanations |
Written assignment and peer evaluation |
Written assignment |
|
Awareness of Limits of Knowledge · identify shortcomings of evolutionary approaches, and limits of evolutionary methods when applied to human behaviour |
Lectures, textbook readings, in-class discussions |
Exams, Written assignment |
5 Evaluation
Weekly Online Quizzes (Best 10 of 12) 5%
In class activities (Best 10 of 12) 5%
Short Writing Assignments (2 x 10%) 20%
Midterm Exam (multiple choice) 30%
Final Exam (multiple choice) 40%
Weekly quizzes will consist of 5 questions (multiple choice, fill in the blank, etc). Quizzes will be due 5 PM each Friday. Quizzes are open-book and are submitted through OWL. The quizzes are designed to be completed in 10 minutes, but you will be allowed 30 minutes to complete them.
In-class activities will occur on Fridays during class time, usually at the start of class. These will be a variety of active learning exercises or discussion that are completed during class. An internet-enabled device (phone, tablet, laptop) will be required for these activities.
The writing assignments will be a short written response (usually 400-500 words maximum) to assigned readings and may also involve peer evaluation of other students’ written work. Information about the assignments will be posted on OWL and you will submit assignments through OWL.
The midterm exam will be based on both lecture material and assigned readings for the first half of the course. This assessment is considered to be central to the learning objectives for this course. Accordingly, students seeking academic consideration for this assessment will be required to provide formal supporting documentation. Students who are granted academic consideration for this assessment will be provided an opportunity for a make up midterm (see Policy on Missing Coursework below).
The final exam will be based on both lecture material and assigned readings for the second half of the course. This exam will be scheduled by the office of the registrar.
The evaluation and testing formats for this course were created to assess the learning objectives as listed in section 4 and are necessary for meeting these learning objectives
Policy on Missing Coursework
Quizzes
Only the top 10 of the quizzes will be included in the final grade. No make-up quizzes are provided, because each quiz is worth only up to 0.5% of your final grade in the course and you may miss up to 2 without penalty. You will receive a score of 0 for any missing quizzes, over and above the dropped two. If you require a longer-term accommodation for a health or wellness concern lasting more than a week, please seek official accommodation by submitting your documentation to the academic counseling office in your home faculty. In these cases, the final quiz grade will be reweighted within category.
In-class activities
Only the top 10 of the weekly activities will be included in the final grade. No make-up activities are provided, because each activity is worth only 0.5% of your final grade in the course and you may miss up to 2 without penalty. You will receive a score of 0 for any missing activities, over and above the dropped ones. If you require a longer-term accommodation for a health or wellness concern lasting more than a week, please seek official accommodation by submitting your documentation to the academic counseling office in your home faculty. In these cases, the final activity grade will be reweighted within category.
Assignments
Written assignments will be available for at least 3 weeks prior to the due date. Students who miss the deadline must request academic consideration prior to the deadline and will receive an extension of 48 hours (including weekends/holidays) from the end of their academic consideration period to submit their assignment. Otherwise, a grade of zero will be applied.
Exams
Makeup exams will be provided only to students with documented academic considerations. The midterm exam (and final exam) are considered to be central to the learning objectives for this course. Accordingly, students seeking academic consideration for the midterm will be required to provide formal supporting documentation. Makeup exams will be scheduled at a time following the original exam date. Students unable to complete either the original or makeup exam will take the exam the next time the course is offered.
This course is exempt from the Senate requirement that students receive assessment of their work accounting for at least 15% of their final grade at least three full days before the date of the deadline for withdrawal from a course without academic penalty.
The Psychology Department follows Western’s grading guidelines: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/general/grades_undergrad.pdf
The expectation for course grades within the Psychology Department is that they will be distributed around the following averages:
70% 1000-level to 2099-level courses
72% 2100-2999-level courses
75% 3000-level courses
80% 4000-level courses
In the event that course grades are significantly higher or lower than these averages, instructors may be required to make adjustments to course grades. Such adjustment might include the normalization of one or more course components and/or the re-weighting of various course components.
Policy on Grade Rounding
Please note that although course grades within the Psychology Department are rounded to the nearest whole number, no further grade rounding will be done. No additional assignments will be offered to enhance a final grade; nor will requests to change a grade because it is needed for a future program be considered.
6 Assessment/Evaluation Schedule
Quizzes: Available by each Monday and due each Friday by 5PM
In-class activities: Completed in-class each Friday
Written Assignment 1: Due Feb 3, 2026
Written Assignment 2: Due Mar 17, 2026
Midterm Exam: Feb 24, 2025, 7-9PM
Final Exam: To be scheduled during April Exam period
7 Class Schedule
Tentative Schedule; Consult OWL Brightspace site for updates
|
Week |
Topic |
|
1 |
Introduction |
|
2 |
Natural Selection |
|
3 |
Human Origins |
|
4 |
Evolutionary Approaches |
|
5 |
Mate Choice |
|
6 |
Families and Kin Selection |
|
READING WEEK |
|
|
7 |
Living in Social Groups |
|
8 |
Perception and Cognition |
|
9 |
Language |
|
10 |
Psychopathology |
|
11 |
Motivation, Personality |
|
12 |
Culture and Evolution |
8 Academic Integrity
Scholastic offences are taken seriously, and students are directed to read the appropriate policy, specifically, the definition of what constitutes a Scholastic Offence, at the following Web site: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf.
Possible penalties for a scholastic offence include failure of the assignment/exam, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.
Statement on Use of Electronic Devices
No electronic devices will be allowed during midterm and final examinations.
Devices will be required for the in-class activities, and may be used during class and in completing weekly quizzes.
Plagiarism Detection Software
All required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to the commercial plagiarism detection software under license to the University for the detection of plagiarism. All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between Western and Turnitin.com.
Use of AI
The use of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT to produce written work is not permitted unless permission is granted by the instructor for specific circumstances. Any work submitted must be the work of the student in its entirety unless otherwise disclosed. When used, AI tools should be used ethically and responsibly, and students must cite or credit the tools used in line with the expectation to use AI as a tool to learn, not to produce content.
AI Policy for Psychology:
Responsible use of AI is allowed in Psychology. This includes using AI for brainstorming, improving grammar, or doing preliminary/background research on a topic.
AI is not to be used in place of critical thinking.
The misuse of AI undermines the academic values of this course. Relying on AI to create full drafts or fabricate sources is prohibited. You are ultimately responsible for any work submitted, so it is highly advised that you critically review your Generative AI output before incorporating this information into your assignments.
If you use AI, you must clearly explain its role in your work. All written assignments will require an AI Usage Statement, in which you will indicate what tools you have used, what you have used them for, and (broadly) how you have modified this information. Assignments without an AI Usage Statement will not be accepted.
Violations of this policy will be handled according to Western’s scholastic offense policies.
Multiple Choice Exams
Computer-marked multiple-choice tests and/or exams will be subject to submission for similarity review by software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating.
9 Academic Accommodations and Accessible Education
View Western’s policy on academic accommodations for student with disabilities at this link.
Accessible Education provides supports and services to students with disabilities at Western.
If you think you may qualify for ongoing accommodation that will be recognized in all your courses, visit Accessible Education for more information. Email: aew@uwo.ca Phone: 519 661-2147
10 Absence & Academic Consideration
Academic Considerations: https://registrar.uwo.ca/academics/academic_considerations/index.html
11 Other Information
- Office of the Registrar: https://registrar.uwo.ca
- Student Development Services: sdc.uwo.ca
- Psychology Undergraduate Program: https://www.psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/index.html
Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Health and Wellness@Western https://www.uwo.ca/health/ for a complete list of options about how to obtain help.
Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you.
If you wish to appeal a grade, please read the policy documentation at: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/appealsundergrad.pdf. Please first contact the course instructor. If your issue is not resolved, you may make your appeal in writing to the Undergraduate Chair in Psychology (psyugrd@uwo.ca).
Copyright Statement
Lectures and course materials, including power point presentations, outlines, videos and similar materials, are protected by copyright. You may take notes and make copies of course materials for your own educational use. You may not record lectures, reproduce (or allow others to reproduce), post or distribute any course materials publicly and/or for commercial purposes without the instructor’s written consent.
