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Many evolved psychological mechanisms are domain-specific. That is, the mechanisms apply only to a specific aspect of a person’s makeup. According to evolutionary psychology, information processing is one example. In this view, the mind is not a general-purpose device that can be applied equally to a vast array of problems. Instead, as our ancestors dealt with certain recurring problems such as hunting and finding shelter, specialized modules evolved that process information related to those problems. For example, a module for physical knowledge for tracking animals, a module for mathematical knowledge for trading, and a module for language.

Evolved mechanisms are not always adaptive in contemporary society. Some behaviors that were adaptive for our prehistoric ancestors may not serve us well today. For example, the food-scarce environment of our ancestors likely led to humans’ propensity to gorge when food is available and to crave high-caloric foods, a trait that that might lead to an epidemic of obesity when food is plentiful.