Nature, Nurture, and Human Diversity PDF

Nature, Nurture, and Human Diversity Evolutionary and Cross- Cultural Psychology  What does Evolutionary Psychology study? Evolutionary Psychology Evolutionary psychology is the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind (using principles of natural selection...

Nature, Nurture, and Human Diversity Evolutionary and Cross- Cultural Psychology  What does Evolutionary Psychology study? Evolutionary Psychology Evolutionary psychology is the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind (using principles of natural selection).  3. Selective 1. Variation. 2. Heritability. pressure. (More Required (Individuals all (Individuals pass are born than can components: have slightly on traits to survive to different traits.) offspring.) reproduce.) natural selection - the process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring. sexual selection – natural selection arising through preference by one sex for a certain characteristics in individuals of the opposite sex. Does not promote survival, but a chance to be picked for reproduction. kin selection – aiding relatives’ survival fitness –how well the features of an organism “fit” the environment. Reproductive fitness Evolution is a process synchrony/diachrony Darwinian Evolution + Mendelian Genetics = Modern Evolutionary Synthesis Important assumption: RELIABLE DEVELOPMENT, that is excluded from the process of evolutionary analysis. Evolutionary Psychology (broadly) – development of human mind in evolution. Its evolutionary origins. Evolutionary Psychology (narrow view) –Santa-Barbara School of EP. A very specific theoretical premise. In a nutshell: our psychology is a set of adaptations for a hunter- gatherer environment ( 1.8 my to 10 000 ya). The time of Pleistocene. Whatever was adaptive for hunter-gatherers is still incorporated (hardwired in our brain). Human Behavioral Ecology – our psychology adapts to current environment, not much concerned with previous environments. Stresses interaction between a human and a current environment. Consequently, ancestors’ environment cannot explain current human psychology. Gene-Culture Coevolution – also concerned with the present environment. Treats Culture as a mode of selective pressure: another evolutionary driving force. Social learning and culture leads to niche construction, hence changes environment and thus has to be accounted for in evolutionary studies. Milk product + mutation in milk digestion gene. Cultural Evolution Why humans like sweets? Evolutionary Psychology Human-Behavior ecology Gene-Culture Coevolution  What does Evolutionary Psychology study? How current human behaviors can be explained evolutionary vs. How mind and behavior evolved in evolution? An Evolutionary Explanation: Male–Female Differences in Sexuality Men think more about sex than women do. Men are more likely to think that casual sex is acceptable. Why might natural selection have resulted in greater male promiscuity? An Evolutionary Explanation: Male–Female Differences in Sexuality Evolutionary psychology explanation Men who had the trait of promiscuity were more likely to have their genes continue, and even spread, in the next generation. There is little cost to spreading extra genes. For women, the trait of promiscuity would not greatly increase the number of babies born, and it would have greater survival costs. Throughout human history, pregnancy was often life-threatening. An Evolutionary Explanation: Male–Female Differences in Mating Preferences Men prefer women with signs of future fertility (narrow waist and fuller figure; age of peak fertility). Women prefer men with loyal behavior and physical/social power and resources. Why might natural selection have resulted in mating preferences? An Evolutionary Explanation: Male–Female Differences in Mating Preferences Evolutionary psychology explanation Male choices optimize the chance of producing offspring. Female choices seek to ensure offspring survival. Men choose widely; women choose wisely! Mating & Parenting Sexual dimorphism Concealed ovulation Parenting & Alloparenting Sociality Neoteny & Paedomorphism Self-domestication Dmitry Belyaev Domesticated foxes Selection on a single behavioral trait Associated changes in phenotype Globalized shape of a human skull and brain Neural crest modification (vertebrae) Neanderthals 500-400 K – 30 K Brain 1300-1600 cm3 Adaptation to the cold climate Denisovans AMH – Anatomically Modern Humans 250K Culture & Behavioral Modernity Culture Structural brain changes due to cultural experience Culture = how we “structure” the environment Culture = a way of life and an adaptation Experience and Brain Development Nature and nurture interact to shape synapses. To make well-used brain pathways work better, unused connections are “pruned” away. If certain abilities are not used, they will fade. Brain development does not end with childhood. Plasticity allows neural tissue to change and reorganize in response to new experiences. Experience and Brain Development In 14 of 16 repetitions of this basic experiment, rats in the enriched environment developed significantly more cerebral cortex (relative to the rest of the brain’s tissue) than did those in the impoverished environment. The results influenced improvements in environments for animals and for children in institutions.  “Innate” vs “learned” Individual learning as an evolutionary factor precocial (maturely born) and altricial (immaturely born) animals Differences in learning and play behavior  Severcov A. N.: “Evolution and psyche” 1922. – was analyzing basic types of adaptation to a changing environment. Mind, cognition increases animal’s ability to adapt to a changing environment faster. Evolution “cares” about the nervous system. Anokhin K.– majority of evolutionary pressure and attention is concerned with the nervous system in various phyla. Allen Brain Institute: 80 % of all genes (under selection) are active in the brain (mice and humans) – other organs – well lower number. Evolution continues shaping human development. Culture plays a primary role in these processes. What is so special about the human brain?  Cross-Cultural Psychology W - western E - educated I – industrialized R - rich D – democratic 90% of all psychology research samples come from WEIRD countries (>98% in dev psych) Are these just samples? WEIRD psychology and Coloniality (the organisation and systemic distribution of power through the control of access to knowledge, moral and artistic resources by the dominant group) De-colonising Psychology (non-WEIRD) Samples Methods Approaches Topics Perspectives Researchers