Evolutionary Psychology - Google Docs.pdf
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volutionary Psychology E Darwin’s Theory of Evolution Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species, 1859 Primary goal of behavior: reproduce All species ○ Share common ancestry (hence, similarities)...
volutionary Psychology E Darwin’s Theory of Evolution Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species, 1859 Primary goal of behavior: reproduce All species ○ Share common ancestry (hence, similarities) ○ Have adapted to their environments (hence, differences) Selection occurs… ○ Naturally, through influences on reproductive success, e.g., food ○ supply, mate attraction ○ Artificially, through, e.g., selective breeding Sexual Selection Focused on adaptations that arise due to successful mating (not necessarily survival) Two pathways ○ Intrasexual competition = competition between members of one sex, the outcomes of which determine access to the other sex ○ Intersexual competition = preferential mate choice Theory of Evolution Modern synthesis ○ Genes are the unit of selection Genetic variation ○ Random shuffling of genes (meiosis) ○ Mutations (errors in DNA replication) Cross-Species Comparisons Homology: Any similarity that exists because of different species’ common ancestry ○ Example: Smiling and laughing in both chimps and humans Analogy: Any similarity that exists because of convergent evolution (independent evolution of similar traits) ○ Example: Wings in both birds and bats Parental Investment Theory Key difference between males and females: extent to which they are biologically obligated to invest in offspring Because of these biological differences… ○ The sex that invests more in offspring will be more selective about mating (“choosy”) ○ The sex that invests less in offspring will be more competitive for sexual access to the high-investing sex (“compete”) Fallacies about Evolution Evolution has foresight N aturalistic fallacy All traits are adaptations ○ Vestigial traits—no longer adaptive ○ Byproducts—no actual benefit on its own ○ Exaptations—originally evolved for something else ○ Context—something might be adaptive sometimes, but not always Concluding Points Not everything can be explained by evolution Evolutionary explanations and social/cultural explanations can co-exist; they are not mutually exclusive!
