Buss - Evolutionary Flashcards
Describe a general statement for Buss’s life before his theories.
-a shaky start, some good luck and an amazing recovery
Evolution is broken down into what by our professor?
-three processes and three outcomes
What are the three processes of evolution? (3)
-natural selection
-sexual selection
-chance
Define natural selection
-adaptive characteristics make the organism more likely to survive, so that characteristic becomes more common
Define sexual selection
-the opposite sex finds certain characteristics more attractive
Define chance
-random chance occurs, nature hasn’t given us the optimal bodies for example, certain characteristics occurred by chance
What are the three outcomes that occur? (3)
-adaptations (mechanisms)
-by-products
-noise
Define adaptations
-evolved characteristics that promote survival or reproduction
Define by-product. Example (2)
-adaptations (can’t call them this though) because they don’t directly contribute to survival.
Example is our ability to use the scientific method.
Define noise
-random outcomes that don’t matter
What did Charles Darwin mean by “acquirement of each mental power by graduation?”
-our mental abilities have evolved
What did William James ask that illustrates functionalism?
-he would ask, what did we use it for? thats what matters most
What did Wilson do that relates to the history of evolutionary psychology?
-brought sociology and biology together, making sociobiology (which eventually led to someone bringing psychology and biology together)
Who created the centre for evolutionary psychology?
-Tooby and Cosmides
What did Buss mean when he said “the true origin of personality is evolution, meaning that it is caused by an interaction between an ever changing environment and a changing body and brain?”
-personality is an adaptive result of evolutionary pressures, shaped by the interaction between biology and the environment.
What are the psychological mechanisms in evolutionary personality according to Buss? (3)
-goals/drives/motives
-emotions
-personality traits
What are emotions in this theory?
-mechanisms that draw the organism to what it needs.
What is an example of a goal/drive/motive?
-sex drive for example
What personality traits are included in Buss’s theory? (2)
Most important:
-surgency/extraversion/dominance
-agreeablness
-conscientiousness
Otherwise:
-emotional stability
-openness/intellect
What are our sources for individual differences?
-changes in environment and our own genetics
A theorist who is further evolving evolutionary psychology named Macdonald believed what?
-variability is adaptive for species. It is good in your species to not have everyone the same, you want people to be diverse. (However, this variability may not be good for you)
A theorist who is further evolving evolutionary psychology named Nettle believed what?
-traits have benefits and costs
Example: people who are extroverted
What does Buss’s theory say personality is? i.e the structure
-5 adaptive personality traits (evolved mechanisms)
How does personality develop according to Buss?
-through the biological - environmental interaction over generations
What is pathology in Buss’s theory?
-nonadaptive mutations and changes
Describe the assumptions about human nature in Buss’s theory. (7)
-both determinism and free choice
-neither pessimistic or optimistic
-past
-unconscious
-balance of biology and social
-consistent
-similar in structure, but across individuals we are unique in how the personality traits combine
Evaluate Buss’s theory. (6)
Generate research: high
Allow falsifiability: low (can’t prove it)
Organize info: high
Guide practical action: low
Maintain internal consistency: moderate
Maintain parsimony: high
