69 Questions
According to parental investment theory, which of the following is true?
Women have to invest more in their children than men.
In polygamous societies, what is a likely outcome for many men?
Many men end up with no wives.
What does the text suggest about the reproductive success of a population when a woman is lost compared to when a man is lost?
The loss of a woman affects the reproductive success more than the loss of a man.
What is the minimum investment required from men for their children according to the text?
$0$
What does parental investment theory imply about the replaceability of men and women?
Men are more replaceable than women.
What does parental investment theory imply about the certainty of having the maximum number of children for men and women?
Men have more certainty than women of having the maximum number of children.
What is the effect size for men being ready to engage in sex earlier in a relationship?
1.21 standard deviations
What is the effect size for men's use of pornography compared to women?
$d hicksim 1.5$
What percentage of women reported being satisfied with their sexual frequency?
63%
What percentage of men reported wanting more sex?
53%
What has happened to sex differences in masturbation from the 1980s to the 1990s?
Decreased
Why do surveys show small sex differences in number of sexual partners?
Due to socially desirable responding
"Few women engage in sex when they do not feel like it" is likely due to:
Men's higher sex drive
What is the effect size for men using pornography compared to women?
1.5 standard deviations
What percentage of men reported being satisfied with their sexual frequency?
63%
What has been the trend in sex differences in masturbation in the 21st century?
Stable
What do sexually frustrated men resort to, according to the text?
Masturbation to fulfill their needs
What is the name of the questionnaire developed to study variation in sociosexual orientation?
Sociosexual Orientation Inventory
What trait is significantly correlated with interest in sex for both men and women?
Sensation seeking
Which DNA evidence suggests a shift in human mating strategies?
Y-chromosome variability increased over human evolution
What do men and women with high scores on the Sociosexual Orientation Inventory report about their romantic relationships?
They are less committed and invested
What is one implication of men's attractiveness according to the text?
Men's attractiveness plays an important role in the choice of mating strategies
What does variation in sociosexual orientation correlate with, besides personality traits?
Sensation seeking
What is one way to examine sex differences in sexual desire?
Studying attention
How are participants in attention studies distracted from their tasks?
By arousing positive and arousing negative pictures
What did the study reveal about heterosexual men and women's response to sexual stimuli?
Both were distracted by pictures of attractive members of the opposite sex
What does the study suggest about men and women's responsiveness to sexual stimuli?
Men are more responsive to sexual stimuli than women
What did the study reveal about gay couples and lesbians' sex lives compared to heterosexual men?
Gay couples should have more sex than lesbians, and gays and lesbians should be more satisfied with their sex-lives than heterosexual men
What is a stereotype regarding men's attention towards an attractive woman?
Men are easily distracted by an attractive woman
What type of pictures attracted more attention in the study of attention?
Arousing positive and arousing negative pictures
What did the study reveal about heterosexual men and women's response to attractive members of the opposite sex?
Heterosexual men and women were both distracted by pictures of attractive members of the opposite sex
What does considerable evidence suggest about non-verbal communication of emotions?
It is universal
What does a smile universally signal in all cultures?
Positive affect
What is one possible explanation for variation according to Buss (1991)?
Randomness
What does strong selection pressure produce?
Homogeneity
What is consistent with the fact that personality traits are roughly normally distributed?
Variation in personality exists due to little selection pressure
Why is random variation not a theoretically satisfying explanation for personality variation?
It does not explain trade-offs
What does the text suggest about the ability to learn verbal communication?
It is universal
What may suddenly become meaningful and provide an advantage in a new environment according to the text?
Irrelevant traits for survival or reproduction
What does weak selection pressure allow for according to the text?
Heterogeneity
What does the text suggest about the distribution of personality traits?
It is roughly normally distributed
What are the two key elements of the evolution process?
Random mutation and selection
What is the difference between genetic and cultural transmission in terms of behavior adaptation?
Genetic transmission implies no changes in behavior dispositions, unless there is further selection or new mutations; cultural transmission implies quicker adaptation to cultural changes
What do most evolutionary theories focus on?
Human universals
How do individuals with adaptive genes have a higher chance of survival and reproduction?
Their genes are adaptive to a specific environment
How does cultural transmission differ from genetic transmission?
Cultural transmission allows quicker adaptation to cultural changes; genetic transmission leads to no change in behavior dispositions.
What is passed on from generation to generation to provide the blueprint for species characteristics?
Genetic information
What influences behaviors only if they left a trace in our DNA according to evolutionary theory?
Situations thousands of years ago
What is an example of a universal and unique human behavior passed on through cultural transmission?
Cooking food
What is a fundamental assumption of life-history theory in evolutionary psychology?
Individuals face a trade-off in the use of energy between survival and reproduction
What did a study find about the relationship between personality traits and age of the first child?
No relationship between conscientiousness and age of the first child
What did a study find about women high in agreeableness and extraversion?
They had children at a younger age
What did the text suggest about the impact of modern life with birth control on reproduction?
Modern life with birth control has changed reproduction, making life-history traits no longer predict reproductive behaviors
What is a key problem for evolutionary theories of personality according to the text?
The difficulty of testing these theories with empirical data
What is a key assumption underlying evolutionary theories of personality?
Some variation in personality is inherited
What does the text suggest about maximizing reproductive fitness based on women's choices?
Maximizing reproductive fitness is not hard-wired into our DNA based on women's choices to invest in education and have fewer children.
What does weak selection pressure allow for according to the text?
Weak selection pressure allows for more genetic variation in personality traits.
What did a study find about the relationship between genetic variance and personality variance?
It's important to examine the link of genetic variance with personality variance before speculating about causes of genetic differences.
What trait may vary as a function of the trade-off in the timing of reproduction according to the text?
Conscientiousness
What did a study find about women high in openness?
They had more children
What is the main idea discussed in Chapter 7.1.3?
Traits may have had benefits or costs in the past which differ from the present
What is a key problem for evolutionary accounts of human behavior?
Inability to travel back in time to test ancestral behaviors
What does the text suggest about traits and their effects at different life stages?
Traits may have different benefits and costs at different life stages
What does Table 7.1 list potential costs and benefits of?
Being high on the Big Five traits
What does the author disagree with regarding evolutionary accounts of human behavior?
'Compelling evidence of evolutionary trade-offs is lacking' statement
What does the passage suggest about evolutionary trade-offs?
Individuals may inherit genes with past benefits but present harms
What is a key challenge for testing evolutionary theories according to the text?
Inability to observe ancestral behaviors directly
What does the passage suggest about the potential harm of inherited genes?
Inherited genes may have had past benefits but are harmful today
What does Table 7.1 specifically list potential costs and benefits of?
High levels of specific personality traits
Study Notes
Sexual Differences in Behavior and Masturbation
- Women can be certain they are raising their own children, while men may invest in children that are not their own
- Evolutionary psychologists predict strong gender differences in sexual behaviors
- Men are predicted to have a greater sex drive and be more willing to engage in sexual activities than women
- Men seem to be ready to engage in sex earlier in a relationship, with a large effect size of 1.21 standard deviations
- Surveys show small sex differences in number of sexual partners, likely due to socially desirable responding
- Men masturbate more frequently than women, with a moderate effect size of d = .6
- Men reported having sex more frequently than women, but a smaller difference, likely a response bias
- 63% of women were satisfied with their sexual frequency, while only 46% of men were satisfied
- 53% of men wanted more sex, while only 34% of women wanted more sex
- Few women engage in sex when they do not feel like it, while sexually frustrated men resort to masturbation to fulfill their needs
- Men use pornography more than women, with an effect size of d ~ 1.5
- Sex differences in masturbation have decreased from the 1980s to the 1990s, but have been stable in the 21st century, with an effect size of d = .5
Test your knowledge of evolutionary psychology and gender differences in sexual behaviors with this quiz. Explore the influences of parental investment theory and adaptation problems on men and women's mating behaviors.
Make Your Own Quizzes and Flashcards
Convert your notes into interactive study material.
Get started for free
