Which perspective explains behavior through natural selection?

• A. Evolutionary perspective
• B. Dissociative disorders
• C. Distress
• D. Dopamine hypothesis

Answer: (A)

Behavior that is shaped by natural selection falls under the evolutionary perspective. It asks why a behavior exists by looking at how it helped our ancestors survive and reproduce, so it would be passed on and become common across generations. For example, universal fear responses to dangerous situations or cooperative, parental behaviors can be understood as adaptive strategies that increased safety and reproductive success. This view often explains similarities across cultures as evidence of shared adaptive functions. In contrast, dissociative disorders focus on disruptions in memory or identity, distress describes an emotional state rather than a theoretical lens, and the dopamine hypothesis explains symptoms through brain chemistry rather than how traits were favored by selection.