Biological Factors and Evolutionary Concepts

Nature vs. Nurture

• Nature vs. nurture debate explores whether behavior is primarily determined by genetics (nature) or environmental factors (nurture).

Bipedalism

• Bipedalism is the ability to walk upright on two legs.

Opposable Thumbs

• Opposable thumbs are thumbs that can be placed opposite to other fingers, enabling grasping objects and tool use.

Evolution

• Evolution is the gradual change in a species over time.

Creationism

• Creationism is the belief that life was created by a god or gods.

Genetics

• Genetics is the study of genes.

DNA

• DNA is a complex molecule containing the genetic information specific to each individual.

Natural Selection

• Natural selection is a process where individuals with advantageous inherited traits survive and reproduce more successfully, leading to those traits becoming more prevalent within a population.

Cognitive Revolution

• Cognitive revolution occurred approximately 70,000 years ago, marked by the appearance of cave art and advancements like ropes and needles.

Social Darwinism

• Social Darwinism, not a scientific concept, incorrectly applied the idea of "survival of the fittest" to human society to justify social inequalities.

Ethnocentrism

• Ethnocentrism involves judging another culture based on the norms and values of one's own culture.

Cultural Relativism

• Cultural relativism involves understanding another culture within its own context, without judgment.

Material Culture

• Material culture refers to the physical objects of a culture, including food, tools, clothing, and art.

Non-Material Culture

• Non-material culture comprises the intangible aspects of a culture, such as values, norms, knowledge, and language.

Subcultures

• Subcultures are groups within a larger culture that share unique beliefs and behaviors.

Countercultures

• Countercultures actively oppose the dominant culture's values and beliefs.

Norms

• Norms are social rules that govern behavior within a society, categorized into folkways, mores, laws, and taboos.

Folkways

• Folkways are informal, weak social norms like waving to another driver.

Mores

• Mores are strong social norms related to morality and ethics, like showing respect to elders.

Laws

• Laws are formal social norms enforced by the government.

Taboos

• Taboos are strongly held social norms, breaking them leads to significant punishment and community disgust (e.g., incest, cannibalism).

Externalizing Costs

• Externalizing costs occur when a company or individual shifts costs onto others (e.g., pollution).

Fossils

• Fossils are the preserved remains or impressions of organisms from prehistoric times.

FOXP2

• FOXP2 is a gene crucial for language and speech production.

Pit of Bones

• The Pit of Bones is a significant burial site in Spain, containing numerous Homo erectus remains.

Hunter-Gatherer Society

• Hunter-gatherer societies relied on hunting and gathering for survival; they were nomadic and existed for most of human history.

Horticultural Society

• Horticultural societies developed early farming techniques; warm climates with sufficient rainfall were ideal for their establishment— these cultures were temporary.

Agricultural Society

• Agricultural societies marked the development of permanent settlements; advancements in farming allowed for larger populations and increased food production, creating a more developed social structure.

Industrial Society

• Industrial societies, emerging in the late 1700s, saw the rise of factories, mass production, and urbanization.

Post-Industrial Society

• Post-industrial societies emerged after World War II; characterized by technological advancements, communication-based culture, globalization, and notable wealth disparities.

Physical Anthropology

• Physical anthropology studies the physical evolution and development of humans.

Cultural Anthropology

• Cultural anthropology focuses on human cultural variations and patterns.

Forensic Anthropology

• Forensic anthropology applies anthropological knowledge to legal settings, primarily concerning human remains.

Information Age

• Information Age is another name for the post-industrial society.

Ethnology

• Ethnology studies cultures in detail using comparative methods.

Archaeology

• Archaeology studies past cultures primarily through physical artifacts.

Linguistic Anthropology

• Linguistic anthropology studies how language shapes and reflects culture.

Altruism

• Altruism is the selfless concern for others.

Neoliberalism

• Neoliberalism is a form of liberalism emphasizing free-market capitalism.

Globalization

• Globalization describes the worldwide expansion of interactions and interconnectedness.

Printing Press

• The printing press, invented in the 15th century, greatly increased the speed of information dissemination.

Steam Engine

• The steam engine, developed during the 1700s, marked the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.

Laetoli Footprints

• Laetoli footprints are ancient footprints preserving evidence of bipedalism, dating back 3.6 million years.

Choppers

• Choppers are early stone tools discovered in Africa, used for various tasks.

Fertile Crescent

• The Fertile Crescent was an area of rich farmland where civilizations first emerged.

Historical Linguistics

• Historical linguistics involves comparing and contrasting languages to understand their evolution.

Structural Linguistics

• Structural linguistics explores the underlying structure of language, with a key figure being Noam Chomsky.

Sociolinguistics

• Sociolinguistics examines how language use relates to social status and context.

Universal Grammar

• Universal grammar is the theoretical concept that all languages share common underlying structure, proposed by Chomsky.

Primatology

• Primatology studies primates, often including their behavior and social interactions.

Paleoanthropology

• Paleoanthropology investigates human ancestors through fossil remains.

Anna Karenina Principle

• The Anna Karenina Principle outlines six essential characteristics needed for animal domestication.

Domestication

• Domestication is the process of taming animals for human use.

Human Timeline

• A historical overview of significant periods in human evolution (e.g., appearance of Homo species, cognitive revolution, agricultural revolution).

Charles Darwin

• A British naturalist who presented the theory of evolution by natural selection.

Mary Leakey

• A British paleoanthropologist who discovered evidence of early hominins.

Donald Johanson

• A paleoanthropologist known for discovering Lucy.

Marc Lepine

• The perpetrator of the Montreal Massacre (not relevant to evolutionary study).

Jared Diamond

• A scholar who argued geographic factors influenced civilizations' development.

Yuval Noah Harari

• A historian who examined the history of Homo sapiens.

Franz de Waal

• A primatologist who studied animal behavior, arguing against human exceptionalism.

Elizebeth Anderson

• A philosopher who noted differing moral obligations to species based on perceived intelligence.

Neanderthals

• An extinct human species that lived in Europe and western Asia.

Homo sapiens

• The modern human species.

Hominins

• Humans and human ancestors.

Lucy

• A famous fossil of Australopithecus afarensis.

Selam

• A well-preserved Australopithecus afarensis fossil.

Ardi

• Fossil of Ardipithecus ramidus.

Turkana Boy

• A nearly complete early Homo fossil skeleton.

Yanomamo

• Indigenous people of the Amazon, studied for their cultural characteristics/conflict.

Samoans

• Study population, known for their culture.

Nim Chimpsky

• Chimp used to test language abilities in communication research.

Noam Chomsky

• Theorist on language development and acquisition.

Napoleon Chagnon

• Anthropologist who studied the Yanomamö, known for certain viewpoints on violence and culture

Patrick Tierney

• Critic of Chagnon's research on the Yanomamo.

Ruth Benedict

• Anthropologist known for studying Japanese culture.

Diamond Jenness

• Anthropologist who studied Inuit cultures.

Rick Potts

• Anthropologist arguing climate change was a driver of human evolution.

Margaret Mead

• Anthropologist who studied Samoan culture, but her work was challenged.

Derek Freeman

• Anthropologist who criticized Mead's conclusions about Samoan culture.

Jane Goodall

• Primatologist whose work revolutionized chimpanzee behavior observation.

Diane Fossey

• Primatologist who focused on mountain gorillas.

Birute Galdikas

• Primatologist centered on orangutans.

Raymond Dart

• Archeologist whose work initially identified Africa as the birthplace of humans

Wilhelm Wundt

• Established psychology as a formal science.

William James

• Founder of functionalism in psychology

Sigmund Freud

• Founder of psychoanalysis

Carl Jung

• Developed the concept of the collective unconscious.

Karen Horney

• A prominent feminist in psychology, critiquing Freud's theories.

Jean Piaget

• Famous for his theory of cognitive development in children

Erik Erikson

• Neo-Freudian, focusing on psychosocial development throughout life.

Harry Harlow

• Conducted experiments on attachment and comfort in primates.

Ivan Pavlov

• Identified classical conditioning.

B.F. Skinner

• Developed operant conditioning.

John B. Watson

• Key in the development of behaviorism.

Albert Bandura

• Researched observational learning.

Elizabeth Loftus

• Criticised eyewitness testimony and memory reliability.

Brad Bushman

• Studied the impact of violent video games on aggression.

Karin Fikkers

• Studied the impact of environment on aggressive behavior and video game effects.

Abraham Maslow

• Humanistic psychologist known for the hierarchy of needs.

This quiz explores key concepts related to biology and evolution, including nature vs. nurture, bipedalism, and natural selection. It also examines the impact of genetics and cognitive evolution on species development. Test your understanding of how these theories and characteristics shape living organisms.