evolutionary psychology

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun The branch of psychology in which aspects of brain structure, cognition, and behavior are interpreted as evolutionary adaptations to the physical or social environment.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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