State the basic tenets of evolutionary personality psychology by describing the role of natural selection and the psychological mechanisms that are thought to determine personality. Explain how unpleasant and problematic human characteristics like anxiety could have evolved.

Evolutionary Psychology

A theoretical approach in psychology that attempts to explain mental and psychological traits—such as memory, perception, or language—as adaptations, i.e., as the functional products of natural selection.

Natural Selection

A core mechanism of evolution, proposed by Charles Darwin, where individuals with traits best suited to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce, passing those traits to future generations.

Psychological Mechanisms

Internal cognitive, emotional, or behavioral processes that mediate between stimulus and response, explaining how individuals perceive, react to, and interact with their environment.