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Yabba-Dabba-Doo! Evolutionary Psychology and the Rise of Flintstone Psychological Thinking in Organization and Management Studies

Graham Sewell

Department of Management, University of Melbourne, Australia.gsewell{at}unimelb.edu.au

Seven years have passed since Nigel Nicholson published his manifesto for evolutionary psychology (EP) in Human Relations. Given EP’s continued popularity, this article undertakes a timely reappraisal of its assumptions and practical implications. In particular, it assesses EP’s claim to unify the social and natural sciences by establishing a foundation for psychology in the evolutionary biological sciences. I demonstrate that EP is found wanting in both these areas: it cannot satisfy the rigorous demands of experimental evolutionary biology and does not deal well with some of the key problems faced by mainstream psychologists. As a result, EP’s claims as they pertain to management and organizations are speculative and highly normative, despite vigorous protestations to the contrary.

Key Words: biological sciences • controversy • Darwin • evolutionary psychology • management • organizations

Human Relations, Vol. 57, No. 8, 923-955 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/0018726704045835
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N. Nicholson
Objections to evolutionary psychology: Reflections, implications and the leadership exemplar
Human Relations, March 1, 2005; 58(3): 393 - 409.
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