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Questions and Answers
What is evolution via natural selection?
What is evolution via natural selection?
A process by which species adapt to their environment as individuals that possess favorable traits tend to survive and reproduce.
What is evolutionary psychology?
What is evolutionary psychology?
The study of how evolutionary theory informs psychological processes and behaviors.
What are psychological adaptations?
What are psychological adaptations?
Mental processes or behaviors that have evolved to solve specific problems related to survival and reproduction.
What is parental investment theory?
What is parental investment theory?
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What are adaptive problems in long-term mating for women?
What are adaptive problems in long-term mating for women?
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What are the adaptive benefits of short-term mating for women?
What are the adaptive benefits of short-term mating for women?
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What does the theory of parent-offspring conflict explain?
What does the theory of parent-offspring conflict explain?
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What is altruism in the context of evolutionary psychology?
What is altruism in the context of evolutionary psychology?
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What concept explains the ability of offspring to optimize parental care into reproductive fitness?
What concept explains the ability of offspring to optimize parental care into reproductive fitness?
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In the context of group living, which form of altruism is characterized by helping others with the expectation of future reciprocation?
In the context of group living, which form of altruism is characterized by helping others with the expectation of future reciprocation?
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Which hypothesis addresses the uncertainty regarding paternity and its impact on the genetic relatedness of offspring?
Which hypothesis addresses the uncertainty regarding paternity and its impact on the genetic relatedness of offspring?
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What aspect of altruism involves individuals benefiting from the actions of others without direct reciprocation?
What aspect of altruism involves individuals benefiting from the actions of others without direct reciprocation?
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Which theory describes the competitive dynamics of resource allocation between parents and their offspring?
Which theory describes the competitive dynamics of resource allocation between parents and their offspring?
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What evidence suggests human violence existed among early individuals based on the examination of a Neanderthal skull?
What evidence suggests human violence existed among early individuals based on the examination of a Neanderthal skull?
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Which topic is NOT directly associated with the problems of group living as outlined in the lectures?
Which topic is NOT directly associated with the problems of group living as outlined in the lectures?
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What aspect of early human social structures can be inferred from examining the physical evidence of Neanderthal skulls?
What aspect of early human social structures can be inferred from examining the physical evidence of Neanderthal skulls?
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The aim of studying human behavior from a historical perspective includes examining which of the following?
The aim of studying human behavior from a historical perspective includes examining which of the following?
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Which of the following questions addresses a potential evolutionary explanation for relationship dynamics?
Which of the following questions addresses a potential evolutionary explanation for relationship dynamics?
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Study Notes
Foundations of Evolutionary Psychology
- Introduction
- Provides the framework for understanding the evolution of the human mind
- Examines how natural selection shapes our psychological traits, behaviors, and social tendencies
- What is evolution (via natural selection)?
- Evolutionary theory suggests that organisms inherit adaptations that increase their likelihood of survival and reproduction
- Focuses on the differential survival and reproduction of individuals
- Natural selection is the driving force behind evolutionary changes; organisms with advantageous traits are more likely to survive and reproduce
- Sexual selection
- A subcategory of natural selection
- Focuses on traits that increase an organism’s chances of finding a mate
- Two main types:
- Intersexual selection: Individuals of one sex choose mates based on desirable traits in the opposite sex
- Intrasexual selection: Individuals of the same sex compete for mating access to individuals of the opposite sex
- Leads to the development of traits that are attractive to potential mates, which can sometimes be disadvantageous in terms of survival
Adaptations for survival
- What is evolutionary psychology?
- Examines the relationship between the human mind and its evolutionary history
- Uses evolutionary principles to explain psychological traits and behaviors
- Expands upon evolutionary theory by explaining how our minds are adapted for survival and reproduction
- What are psychological adaptations?
- Psychological traits or mechanisms that evolved to solve specific adaptive problems in our ancestors’ environment
- Examples:
- The ability to learn and use language
- Fear of snakes, heights, and spiders
- The ability to form social bonds
- How to generate (and test) an evolutionary hypothesis?
- Start with an observation about a psychological phenomenon
- Formulate a hypothesis about the adaptive problem that the phenomenon solves
- Use different methods to test the hypothesis:
- Comparing groups of people
- Studying cross-cultural differences
- Looking for evolutionary changes
- Adaptations for survival: Getting food
- The ability to find food and avoid poisons is essential for survival
- Evolution shaped our sense of taste and smell to help us distinguish between edible and toxic substances
- Adaptations for survival: Fear and disgust emotions
- Fear and disgust are important emotions that evolved to protect humans from potential dangers
- Fear helps us avoid threatening situations
- Disgust helps us to avoid contaminated food and other harmful substances
Men’s and Women’s Long-Term Mating Strategies
- Parental investment theory
- Explains why men and women have different mating strategies
- Argues that the sex with the higher parental investment (typically females) will be more selective in choosing mates
- Expecting a male to provide resources and commitment
- Evidence for parental investment theory
- Females invest more time and energy in producing and raising offspring
- Carrying the fetus to term
- Breastfeeding for a period afterwards
- This makes females more choosy, as they have more to lose if they make a poor mate selection
- Males can often reproduce with minimal investment, making them more likely to seek multiple mating opportunities
- Females invest more time and energy in producing and raising offspring
- Adaptive problems in long-term mating (more so for women)
- Women need to find a partner who can provide:
- Resources: Financial security and resources for her and her offspring
- Commitment: Commitment to the relationship and willingness to help raise offspring
- Good genes: Characteristics that will be passed down to her offspring
- Traits desired in long term mates:
- Status: Social status and economic resources
- Age: Older men often have more resources and experience
- Health: Physical health and good genes
- Ambition: Drive and ambition for successful career or business
- Women need to find a partner who can provide:
- Adaptive problems in long-term mating (likely more so for men)
- Men need to find a partner who can:
- Ensure paternity: Behave in ways that indicate sexual fidelity and minimize the risk of raising offspring that aren’t his own
- Have reproductive value: Be fertile and capable of bearing healthy children
- Have good parenting skills: Be nurturing and willing to help raise offspring
- Men need to find a partner who can:
- Traits desired in long-term mates: - Physical attractiveness: Youthfulness and fertility indicators (e.g., smooth skin, full lips) - Age: Younger women are more fertile - Waist-to-hip ratio: Low waist-to-hip ratio signals a higher likelihood of fertility in women - Symmetry: Facial symmetry and symmetry of body parts is a signal of good genes
- Darwinian puzzle of homosexuality
- Homosexuality is a phenomenon that does not appear to align with the goal of reproduction
- Evolutionary explanations:
- May be a byproduct of genes that increase fitness in heterosexual siblings
- May involve a complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors
Short-Term Sexual Strategies
- Short-term mating
- Involves seeking partners for casual sexual encounters, often without much romantic interest
- Can be an adaptive strategy for both men and women
- Adaptative challenges for short-term mating for men
- Finding a willing partner: Men must overcome the difficulty of finding women who are willing to participate in short-term mating
- Minimizing the risk of disease: Short-term mating increases the risk of sexually transmitted infections
- Maximizing sexual opportunities: Men need to be able to identify and approach women who are open to short-term mating
- Costs for short-term mating
- Risk of disease: Increases risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections
- Risk of paternity uncertainty: Men cannot always be certain of who the father is
- Risk of social repercussions: Short-term mating can damage reputation
- Potential adaptive benefits of short-term mating strategy for women
- Resource gain: Women can sometimes obtain resources (e.g., food, protection) from a short-term partner
- Genetic diversity: Having offspring with multiple fathers increases genetic diversity and offspring survival
- Mate switching: If the primary partner fails to provide for her, she can use short-term mating to obtain these resources from another partner
- Mate assessment: Women can use short-term mating to gather information about potential long-term partners.
Challenges of Parenting and Problems of Kin
- Differences in parental care
- Men and women differ in the type and amount of parental care they provide, which can be attributed to differences in parental investment
- Men often prioritize their own reproductive success
- Women often prioritize the survival and well-being of their offspring
- I. Estimating genetic relatedness of offspring
- Paternity uncertainty: A fundamental problem for men in that they cannot be entirely sure they are the biological father of their children
- Leads to men being more cautious about investing resources in offspring who are not genetically theirs
- Tests of the paternity uncertainty hypothesis: Genetic Relatedness of Offspring
- Men are more invested in their genetic offspring
- Men who are uncertain about the biological father of their children are less likely to provide resources and care
- II. Ability of offspring to convert parental care into fitness
- Offspring's ability to convert parental care into fitness is also a factor in parental investment decisions
- Parents are more likely to invest in offspring with greater potential for reproductive success
- III. Discriminating investments between the children
- Parents often exhibit different levels of investment in their children based on different factors like the child’s health, age, and perceived potential for future success
- Investment strategies:
- Favoring offspring who are more likely to survive and reproduce
- Providing more resources to children who are perceived to be more “worthy” - IV. Investing resources in alternatives for own children
- Parents can also invest resources in relatives, such as siblings, nieces, and nephews
- Kin selection theory proposes that individuals can increase their own fitness by helping their relatives
- Investing in kin can be a way to indirectly promote your own genes
Problems of Group Living: Cooperation
- Altruism
- Helping others at a cost to oneself
- Challenging for evolutionary theory because it appears to reduce an individual’s own fitness
- Explanations for altruism:
- Kin selection: Helping relatives increases the survival and reproduction of shared genes
- Reciprocal altruism: Helping others with the expectation of future reciprocation
- Group selection: Groups with more cooperative members may be more successful in competition with other groups
- I. Altruism as byproduct or mistake
- May also arise as a byproduct of other adaptations or as a mistake in judgment
- Example: A person who is helping others may be doing so out of a desire for social approval rather than genuine altruism
Introduction
- The course focuses on understanding human behavior through an evolutionary lens.
- Examines why people choose specific romantic partners, engage in homosexual relationships, experience attraction, and break up.
Evolutionary Psychology
- The course uses a historical perspective and looks at the evolution of humans over millions of years.
- Evolution through natural selection is studied to understand how our behavior today is shaped by the past.
- Darwin believed that psychology would be based on a new foundation built upon evolutionary principles.
Human Evolution
- Humans share a common ancestor with chimpanzees, but evolved separately into distinct species.
- Neanderthals were a species that existed alongside Homo sapiens, but went extinct.
- There are different theories for why Neanderthals died out, including competition for resources, violence, or interbreeding with Homo sapiens.
Evolution through Natural Selection
- Key principles include variation, heritability, and differential reproductive success.
- Natural selection favors traits that increase survival and reproduction.
- Sexual selection is another vital force, driving the evolution of traits that enhance mate acquisition and reproductive success.
Sexual Selection
- Inter-sexual competition occurs between genders, with traits that attract mates being selected for.
- Intra-sexual competition occurs within the same gender, with traits that enhance competition for mates being selected for.
Adaptations for Survival
- Humans evolved fear responses as a defense mechanism against danger.
- Examples include fear of snakes, spiders, heights, panics, agoraphobia, disease, separation anxiety, and stranger anxiety.
- These fears trigger survival responses such as fight, flight, freeze, and faint.
- Phobias can arise from mismatches between evolved fear mechanisms and current environmental threats.
Disgust as Adaptation
- Disgust is a universal emotion designed for disease avoidance and protection from non-cooperative individuals.
- It is triggered by various stimuli like illness, contamination, and morality.
- Disgust helps protect against potentially harmful individuals and situations.
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Description
Explore the principles of evolutionary psychology, focusing on how natural selection and sexual selection shape human behavior and psychological traits. This quiz delves into the mechanisms of adaptation, survival, and reproduction in the context of human evolution.
