Evolutionary Psychology PDF
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Hamilton College
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Summary
This document discusses evolutionary psychology, focusing on Darwin's theory of evolution and its concepts such as reproductive success, natural selection, and adaptations. It also touches on related topics like sexual selection and parental investment.
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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!
