Final answer:
Evolutionary theory predicts that people help their kin more than strangers due to kin selection, which can increase chances of genetic representation in future generations, a concept supported by evolutionary psychology, including works like 'The Selfish Gene' and evolutionary game theory.
Step-by-step explanation:
The subject of the question revolves around predictions and explanations provided by evolutionary theory on various behaviors. Specifically, it asks which behaviors among the provided options can be explained or predicted by evolutionary theory. Let's examine the options in more detail.
a) Animals, including humans, engaging in behaviors such as sometimes eating their young can be explained as a grim survival strategy in times of extreme resource scarcity, ensuring that the parents or other offspring can survive. b) Evolutionary theory predicts that people will help their kin more than strangers due to kin selection, where helping relatives potentially increases one's genetic representation in future generations. c) Assistance to romantic partners also makes sense from an evolutionary standpoint, as those partnerships can result in offspring that carry shared genetic material. d) Hurting kin more than strangers is generally not predicted by evolutionary theory, as it would decrease the likelihood of one's genes being propagated.
Support for these behaviors can be drawn from concepts in evolutionary psychology, such as kin selection, as well as principles from works such as Richard Dawkins' The Selfish Gene, which explores the genetic motivations behind seemingly altruistic behaviors. Additionally, evolutionary game theory helps to understand the balance of altruistic and selfish behaviors in the context of gene propagation.