10. Evolution of Individual Differences Flashcards
TRUE OR FALSE: Evolutionary psychology is an area of psychology.
False: It is a perspective
What are Tinbergen’s four why’s?
- Functional
- Phylogenetic
- Proximate
- Ontogenetic
Traditional view in evolutionary psychology that evolved behaviours are _____ and _______
fixed
universal
Fisher’s fundamental theorem
Based on principle that NS will select the FITTEST variant of a trait (e.g. height)
Leads to a FIXATION of that particular trait for its OPTIMAL FITTEST form
Therefore ‘uses up’ any genetic variation, stabilising traits and selecting against any further variation (e.g. via mutations)
TRUE OR FALSE: According to traditional evolutionary psychology view, we should all have identical personalities and intelligence.
True
TRUE OR FALSE: Many personality traits have been shown to be heritable to varying degrees.
True
What are the heritability coefficients for the Big 5 personality traits? Are these high or low?
between 30% and 50%
these are fairly high
Examples of adaptive traits in humans that show variation
Physical attractiveness
Height
Cooperativeness
Lynch and Walsh (1998)
“almost every character in every species that has been studied intensively exhibits nonzero heritability”
Why might we be placing too much emphasis on variation of traits?
Variation is relatively small but observable - this amplifies such differences in our view
Faces of sheep supposedly are more varied than humans but we do not recognise these differences
Some adaptive problems had optimal solutions that were selected for, for example…
Predator avoidance
Mate choice
Colour vision
Sometimes the optimal solution is less clear, for example…
Should humans be selfish/kind? Extraverted/Introverted?
Optimal solutions depend on…
current environment and others’ behaviours
TRUE OR FALSE: ID traits have no heritable component.
False
TRUE OR FALSE: Variation may be overemphasised.
True
TRUE OR FALSE: Variations in certain traits have have fitness benefits.
True
TRUE OR FALSE: There is an optimal human nature.
False
The recombination of genes during sexual reproduction creates a _____ individual.
unique
TRUE OR FALSE: Every new individual has genetic mutations.
True
Variation in traits represents an ________ - it is a ___ _____ of these two processes
epiphenomenon
side effect
Examples of variation in the environment
Weather
Predators
Prey
Flora & fauna
Example of shift in environment over thousands of years
Ice age
Example of shift in environment over small periods
Food abundance
TRUE OR FALSE: The environment is never stable enough for a trait to become fixed.
True(?)
Many genes are pleiotropic. This means…
more than one phenotypic effect
Why is it beneficial to have different personality traits from other members of a group?
Reduced competition - there is no single ESS when it comes to certain personality traits
Variation exists in response to…
the behaviour of others
TRUE OR FALSE: Certain variations of traits have be evolutionarily successful at low frequency.
True. If one variation is too frequent it will become unsuccessful (e.g. driving to work early)
How can psychopathy in low frequency be adaptive?
It allows such individuals to exploit others’ trusting nature
Increased frequency will make victims more weary
TRUE OR FALSE: Variation exists in all fitness indicators.
True. E.g. peacock’s tail
Cosmides and Tooby: Selection interacting with sexual recombination tends to impose…
near uniformity
