Assumption one Flashcards
1
Q
What is assumption 1 of the biological approach?
A
- Evolutionary influences
2
Q
What is natural selection?
A
- A theory devised by Charles Darwin
- It is the idea that any genetically determined behaviour that enhances an individual’s chance of survival and reproduction is naturally selected
- Genes will be passed on to the next generation
3
Q
What is an example of natural selection?
A
- Altruistic behaviour (parents risking their life to save their offspring)
- Altruism is said to be an inherited adaptive trait since it enhances the survival of an individual’s gene pool
4
Q
What is a key concept of the evolutionary approach?
A
- EEA
5
Q
What does EEA stand for?
A
- Environment of evolutionary adaptiveness
6
Q
What is EEA?
A
- The environment to which any species is adapted and the selective pressures that existed at that time
7
Q
What can EEA explain and what does it propose?
A
- EEA can explain why humans have such large brains relative to their body size
- Proposes that the human brain has evolved in response to the complex social organisation of our species (humans with particular characteristics are more likely to survive)
