12 - Human behavioural ecology Flashcards
Psychohistory Darwinian Gastronomy
What are some objections to human behavioural ecology?
- We don’t think about our reproductive success (neither do other animals)
- Our behaviour isn’t genetically determined (that’s true for other animals as well, there is heritable genetic component to many behaviours)
- The approach leads to ‘nastiness’ (eg. racism, sexism). Facts are facts, what we do with them is a separate issue.
What are the three main approaches to study human behavioural ecology
These recognize the hitches involved when studying humans.
- Treat humans just like any other species (long tradition of this in anthropology/Darwinian anthropology)
- Study our evolved psychology (evolutionary psychology) history and whatnot (as natural selection is no longer really a factor for us)
- Build cultural evolution into behavioural ecology (gene-culture coevolution/dual inheritance theory). Genes and culture coevolving explaining human behaviour.
How should human behaviour be looked at as?
As adaptive behaviour, like for any other animal. We’re able to adjust our behaviour according to current conditions, able to weight cost/benefits.
Why shouldn’t we be able to look at current behaviour independently from methods of behavioural ecology?
How can methods of behaviour ecology be used to look at human behavior? (3)
- Test suitability for behaviour for particular function(s)
- Test whether that increases survival and reproductive success
- Test whether behaviour matches environment across different environments (comparative method)
Describe a behavioural ecology study of cultural recipes.
Eg. spicy food vs. non-spicy food
This is adaptive variation. Spicier foods in hotter climates may preserve food better. They stop bacterial growth. Correlation is not about ‘hotness,’ it’s about bacteriostatic properties of spices. Only applies in meat dishes.
Describe the approach of evolutionary psychology and its limitations
The behaviours that we use fit the pst, not the present. Meaning we can’t really use correlation of reproductive success with modern behaviour or the comparative method.
- We still have the brain that evolved these behaviours, so we can study modern psychology as tools for past selective problems.
- We evolved mental ways for dealing with things like: food/foraging, mate choice, detect predators or people we dislike,
Describe a human male, mate choice module
Low Waist-height-ratio correlates with higher oestrogen and lower rate of health disorders.
So do males prefer low WHR?
Yes.
This is a mental module that was selected for, for finding the best mate.
HOWEVER, opposite results found in remote tribe in Peru. Preference varies with exposure to ‘western’ culture.
Describe gene-culture coevolution with things like children’s rhymes
Cultural transmission
You have:
- Variation in how well it’s transmitted
- Heritable, handed down from one person to the next
- Variation in reproduction and success
- Some variants will do better than others
Describe gene-culture coevolution in terms of dealing with new inhospitable environment (eg. arctic)
Adaptive value of culture
Eg. natives of lands know the best ways in which to survive in their environment
Describe how genes and culture affect each other in gene-culture coevolution
Cultural traits can be selected for (such as lactose tolerance following pasteurization of cattle)
What is evolutionary lag?
We’ve evolved a certain way but not enough to adapt into the modern world (has gotten a lot of attention in animal studies recently)
Phenotypic plasticity
What is a classical example of niche construction?
Beaver dam
List an example for each in humans:
- Human behavioural ecology
- Evolutionary psychology
- Gene-culture coevolution
- Human behavioural ecology: spicy food study
- Evolutionary psychology: male mate choice model for WHR
- Gene-culture coevolution: children’s rhymes