Human Behavior and Cultures

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Questions and Answers

What do proximate explanations of altruism primarily focus on?

The evolutionary functions of altruistic behavior

The immediate psychological motivations behind altruism (correct)

Cultural influences on altruistic actions

Long-term benefits associated with helping others

What is the ultimate function of altruistic behavior from an evolutionary perspective?

To build social networks and alliances

To ensure long-term survival and reproductive success (correct)

To gain external rewards and recognition

To increase immediate satisfaction

How does natural selection shape altruistic behavior?

By favoring behaviors that improve individual reproductive chances (correct)

By creating a conscious desire for external rewards

By promoting competition over cooperation

By encouraging cultural norms against helping others

Which of the following best defines kin selection?

The preference to help relatives to increase shared genetic success Signup and view all the answers

What role does oxytocin play in altruistic behavior?

It creates feelings of satisfaction when helping others Signup and view all the answers

What can undermine the benefits of performing altruistic acts?

The sincerity perceived by others Signup and view all the answers

Which explanation emphasizes the unconscious mechanisms motivating altruistic behavior?

Ultimate causes Signup and view all the answers

What is mutualism in the context of altruism?

Cooperation where both parties benefit evolutionarily Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary driver behind the evolutionary change rate within a species?

Generation time Signup and view all the answers

Which concept refers to the understanding of goals that individuals pursue as a result of natural selection?

Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness (EEA) Signup and view all the answers

How does kin selection influence behavior according to evolutionary theories?

It favors behaviors that increase offspring survival. Signup and view all the answers

What is the difference between proximate and ultimate causes in understanding behavior?

Proximate causes deal with immediate biological mechanisms, while ultimate causes address evolutionary reasons. Signup and view all the answers

Which concept describes the ability of an organism to adapt to varying environmental conditions?

Adaptive plasticity Signup and view all the answers

What is a key characteristic of mutualism in evolutionary terms?

It benefits both participants in the relationship. Signup and view all the answers

What trade-off might exist for species with higher rates of evolutionary change?

Decreased phenotypic plasticity Signup and view all the answers

In evolutionary biology, what does the term 'conflict of interest' typically refer to?

Divergent goals between individuals and their group objectives. Signup and view all the answers

What does the payoff table indicate about player A's decision-making under mutualism?

A will defect if it ensures a higher payoff than helping. Signup and view all the answers

In terms of social optimum, what is the most favorable strategy for player A?

To help if B is expected to help. Signup and view all the answers

What does negative frequency-dependence in a population imply?

Cooperators are favored when their population is rare. Signup and view all the answers

What challenge does group functionalism encounter in evolution?

It does not account for individual variations in reproductive strategies. Signup and view all the answers

Which statement best describes the evolutionary stable strategy (ESS) based on the payoff matrix?

There is no ESS in a pure strategy context. Signup and view all the answers

How does kin selection influence reproductive strategies?

It prioritizes the survival of genetically related individuals. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following reflects the ultimate causes behind cooperative behavior?

It enhances long-term survival and reproductive success of the species. Signup and view all the answers

What does a payoff of -4 indicate for player A if player B defects?

A experiences a severe disadvantage in that situation. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Human Behavior, Cultures, and Societies - Class 4

Cognitive science focuses on how individuals process information, regardless of the ultimate goal.
Key processes include detecting stimuli, analyzing signals (e.g., language), and making decisions.
Social science examines how individuals interact and the aggregate consequences of those interactions.
Understanding goals like safety, food, friendship, love, and status is crucial.
Evolutionary theory is essential because goals are products of natural selection. A good understanding of natural selection is required.

Key Notions

Life history trade-offs
Adaptive (phenotypic) plasticity
Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness (EEA)
Ultimate and proximate causes
Conflict of interest
Evolutionary Stable Strategy (ESS)
Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation

Rate of Evolutionary Change

Rate of evolutionary change primarily depends on generation time.
Species with shorter generation times evolve faster.
Phenotypic plasticity evolves in species with a longer generation time compared to environmental change rates.
Phenotypic plasticity is less useful for species that can adapt genetically quickly.

Why is that after all?

Phenotypic plasticity is not favored when generation time is fast compared to environmental change.
There are enough generations during stable environmental periods to favor specialized genotypes.
Specialized genotypes outperform plastic genotypes because they are well-suited to current conditions, but plasticity comes with costs.
Selection favors specialized genotypes in each environmental phase.

Evolutionarily Stable Strategies (ESS)

No single "optimal" strategy can be defined in scenarios involving multiple interacting individuals.
Game theory was introduced to biology to deal with such situations.
Nash equilibrium describes a situation where no alternative strategy is strictly better against the resident strategy and, in turn, is unbeatable.
A strategy is an ESS if there is no rare mutant able to increase in frequency by natural selection when fixed in the population.

Examples

Feeding or checking for predators (with others): The optimal individual strategy depends on what others are doing (e.g., if everyone else is vigilant, I can afford to eat).
Prisoner's dilemma: A classic game theory study that shows how individual self-interest can lead to suboptimal outcomes for the group, even under cooperation. Average payoff under ESS is less when cooperating.
Snowdrift game: Similar to the prisoner's dilemma, cooperation is not always the best and is not always an ESS.

Negative Frequency-Dependence

In some cases, the relative dominance of a strategy shifts based on how many individuals adopt a particular strategy.
Cooperators are favored when they are rare, defectors are favored when they are rare. Intermediate frequency at equilibrium.

Proximate versus Ultimate Explanations

Proximate explanations focus on immediate mechanisms (neural, hormonal) producing behaviors.
Examples include feelings of satisfaction or motivations for cooperation.
Ultimate explanations look at evolutionary functions and adaptive benefits of behaviors (e.g., reproduction, survival of kin).

Real Altruism

How do we explain anonymous donations?
Real altruism exists outside of simple reputation management, such as in buddhist philosophy.
Intrinsic motivation to be altruistic exists and can be separate from reputation gains. Building an altruistic robot requires programming it to care genuinely about others, even when there is no immediate benefit or reputational reward.

Acts of Altruism Between Species

Evolutionary mismatch may account for altruistic acts. Behaviors evolved to solve ancestral problems may be maladaptive now.
The concept of evolutionary mismatch applies to species showing altruistic behaviors to each other which did not co-evolve.
Whales and dolphins protecting humans demonstrate potential evolutionary mismatch issues.

Cooperation

Three mechanisms for cooperation:
- Kin selection (genetics)
- Byproduct benefits (interest in cooperation)
- Conditional cooperation (reputation)
Cooperation is often highly conditional on specific situations and may not be instinctive in humans or simple.

Additional Study Topics

"Toxic" relationships
Religious rituals as cooperation filters

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Description

This quiz explores cognitive science and social science concepts focusing on human behavior, decision-making, and evolutionary theory. Key notions like adaptive plasticity and motivations are discussed, along with the impact of generation time on evolutionary change. Test your understanding of these fundamental principles in human behavior and societies.

Human Behavior and Cultures - Class 4

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