Darwin's Evolutionary Theory of Non-Verbal Behaviour (AQA GCSE Psychology)
Revision Note
Written by: Claire Neeson
Reviewed by: Lucy Vinson
Darwin’s evolutionary theory
Darwin’s evolutionary theory is based on the idea that humans (and other animals) seek to promote their genes using the mechanisms of adaptation to ensure their survival (achieved via reproductive success)
In other words, survival is a key drive (for both humans and other animals) because survival means that the chances of reproducing offspring are increased (reproduction is the ultimate aim of evolution: to keep the species going as it were)
Traits are inherited from generation to generation with only the 'fittest' traits surviving this process e.g. traits which signal aggression (the red breast of the robin) may aid survival by frightening off competitors for resources and territory
Adaptive traits provide humans (and animals) with advantages in terms of survival and reproduction:
a healthy, disease-free human signals the non-verbal message, ‘I will provide our offspring with good genes which will enable them to survive and to adapt to whatever the environment throws at them’
Human evolution diagram
Human evolution.
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Remember that Darwin’s theory is not just an opinion or an idea; it is supported by research evidence e.g. fossils demonstrate the existence of now-extinct past species that are related to present-day species. Whatever your own views are about evolution you need to ‘stick to the script’ as it were when writing exam responses - the exam paper is not an appropriate forum for a debate on evolution versus other theories.
Non-verbal communication is evolved & adaptive
Darwin argued (in his book ‘The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals’) that non-verbal communication (NVC) is an adaptive behaviour, for example:
Some animals (e.g. lions, bears, dogs) bare their teeth to signal aggression which is adaptive as the message is ‘Don’t mess with me’ which aids survival by scaring off potential competitors or predators
Humans and animals both scan the environment in situations where there may be potential threats by moving their eyes from left to right and up and down (known as overt attention)
Humans and animals open their eyes wide when shocked to see which escape routes are available in a potentially dangerous situation
Wrinkling the nose and/or gagging could prevent a human from ingesting toxic substances (the gag reflex is an automatic physical response which prevents potentially dangerous substances from being swallowed)
Wrinkling the nose, gagging, baring teeth to show aggression, scanning the environment: all of these behaviours are known as serviceable habits - they aid survival in the animal world (and to a much lesser extent the human world) but their main function for humans is to express how they feel e.g. baring teeth means ‘I am really angry!’
Is there any alternative non-verbal response to shock? Probably not…
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Remember that when you are asked to ‘Describe and evaluate’ a theory or study then you absolutely MUST not neglect AO3 (i.e. the ‘evaluate’ part of the question)! Description is a lot easier than evaluation and students tend to stay in this ‘comfort zone’ in exam responses which results in them achieving a lower grade than if they had taken the ‘plunge’ into evaluation.
Evaluation of Darwin’s evolutionary theory of non-verbal behaviour
Strengths
Research (e.g. Ekman, 1972) has identified six primary emotions which appear to cross cultures i.e. all cultures use the same facial expressions to communicate each emotion (e.g. wrinkled nose for disgust) thus supporting an evolutionary argument for NVC
Newborn babies can use NVC from birth e.g. crying, smiling, and gazing at face-like images which supports the evolutionary theory as newborns are unaffected by environmental and social factors i.e. they don’t learn to smile or cry
Weaknesses
Cultural differences in NVC do exist (e.g. the use of personal space between contact and non-contact cultures as covered here) which limits the scope of Darwin’s theory
NVC cannot always be interpreted with 100% accuracy or consistency as there are individual differences in both the sending and the receiving of NVC messages which means that the theory may lack reliability
Worked Example
Here is an example of a question you might be asked on this topic - for AO1 and AO3.
AO1: You need to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key concepts, ideas, theories and research.
AO2: You need to apply your knowledge and understanding, usually referring to the ‘stem’ in order to do so (the stem is the example given before the question)
AO3: You need to analyse and evaluate key concepts, ideas, theories and research.
After each featured question there is a ‘model’ answer i.e. one which would achieve top marks in the exam.
Question: Describe and evaluate Darwin’s evolutionary theory of non-verbal communication. [6 ]
AO1 = 3 marks
AO3 = 3 marks
Model answer:
AO1:
Some of Darwin’s key ideas re: evolution (for both animals and humans) are natural selection and survival of the fittest, the ultimate aim being reproduction and continued existence of the species.
He said that organisms that make the best changes/adaptations to fit into their environment are the ones most likely to survive and reproduce.
Darwin put forward the idea that non-verbal communication has evolved as a way of expressing emotions as a product of serviceable habits (e.g. exposing the teeth to communicate anger which links to animals baring their teeth as an aggressive signal).
AO3:
Some research suggests that at least some non-verbal behaviours/emotions such as anger and happiness are linked with the same facial expressions in all cultures which supports evolutionary theory.
Additionally, newborn babies display some non-verbal behaviours e.g. crying, and smiling which they cannot have learned, thus some non-verbal behaviour is innate.
However, Social Learning theory suggests that some non-verbal behaviours are learned through observing and copying others which means that they can be affected by culture (ie Yuki’s study of emoticons). Moreover, not all non-verbal behaviours aid survival e.g. performing angry gestures during a heated argument could result in one or both people being injured in a physical fight which ultimately goes against the idea that all non-verbal behaviours are adaptive.
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