Which psychological perspective emphasizes adaptation to environments and challenges through evolution?

The focus of the question is on a psychological perspective that emphasizes how adaptation to environments and challenges occurs through evolution. Evolutionary psychology is rooted in the idea that many human behaviors and mental processes are shaped by the pressures of natural selection. This perspective posits that our psychological traits evolved because they provided some advantage for survival and reproduction in ancestral environments.

For instance, traits such as social cooperation, mate selection strategies, and various cognitive functions can be understood as adaptations that enhanced our ancestors' chances of passing on their genes. By studying these adaptations, evolutionary psychology seeks to explain not just why we think and behave the way we do, but how these patterns have been influenced across generations through evolutionary pressures.

In contrast to evolutionary psychology, behaviorism focuses on observable behaviors and their responses to environmental stimuli, cognitive psychology investigates mental processes such as perception and memory without a direct link to evolutionary adaptation, and humanistic psychology emphasizes personal growth and self-actualization, which is more concerned with individual experiences than with evolutionary context. Therefore, evolutionary psychology is distinctly aligned with the principles of adaptation through evolution, making it the correct choice.