Cultural Evolution

Question 1

What probably causes cultural variations in gender roles?

Answer 1

Ecology. Cultures have more androgenous roles when there is enough food and the environment is more benign.

Question 2

What are proximal causes?

Answer 2

Causes that have a direct and immediate relations with their effects.

Question 3

What are distal causes?

Answer 3

Causes that lead to initial differences that lead to effects over long periods, often though indirect relations.

Question 4

Rice farming required what? What may this lead to?

Answer 4

It required more cooperation and coordination and labor (irrigation system). This may result in more interdependent thinking.

Question 5

What are the results of Talhelm et al’s study on rice farming vs. wheat farming and interdependent vs. independent thinking?

Answer 5

Providences with a history of growing rice had more interdependent thinking.

Question 6

What are the 2 (geographical) theories to explain cultural variation?

Answer 6

1. Transmitted culture. 2. Evoked culture.

Question 7

What is transmitted culture?

Answer 7

People come to learn about a particular cultural practices through social learning or by modeling others who live near them.

Question 8

What is evoked culture?

Answer 8

The notion that all people, regardless of where they are from, have certain biologically encoded behavioral repertoires that are potentially accessible to them, and these repertoires are engaged when the appropriate situational conditions are present.

Question 9

What is an example of evoked culture?

Answer 9

Parasite threats hypothesis.

Question 10

What is the parasite threats hypothesis? (3)

Answer 10

1. Physical attractiveness signals resistance to parasites and healthiness. 2. Mating with a healthy mate give advantage to one’s offspring. 3. Most activated in environments where the health of mates is uncertain.

Question 11

What were the results of the study conducted by Gangestad and colleagues on parasites and accessing potential mates? (2)

Answer 11

1. The more parasites prevalent in a culture, the more people emphasized the physical attractiveness of potential mates. 2. People have the ability to value physical attractiveness. however, it is more strongly activated in an environment where the health of mates is uncertain.

Question 12

Describe the results of the study conducted by Rice and Steele on subjective well-being scores and cultural persistence. (2)

Answer 12

1. Much less variability among the American samples than among samples from other countries. 2. Large correlation between the average well-being score for people in American ethnic groups and the well-being scores for the countries from which those ethnic groups were originally descended.

Question 13

What is the autokinetic effect?

Answer 13

A phenomenon of human visual perception in which a stationary small point of light in an otherwise dark or featureless environment appears to move.

Question 14

Because the autokinetic effect is ambiguous, what tends to happen?

Answer 14

People tend to conform to other people’s reported judgement -developing norms.

Question 15

Describe the results of the study done by Prentice and Miller on attitudes toward alcohol use.

Answer 15

They found that students said others drank more than they did, but most people reported being uncomfortable with heavy drinking.

Question 16

What is pluralistic ignorance?

Answer 16

The tendency for people to collectively misinterpret the thoughts that underlie other people’s behaviors.

Question 17

What are the three essential characteristics of replicators?

Answer 17

1. Longevity. 2. Fecundity (speed and amount of duplication). 3. Fidelity (accuracy of duplication).

Question 18

What are two major differences between biological evolution and cultural evolution?

Answer 18

1. Cultural transmission occurs much faster (Fecundity). 2. Cultural transmission is much less accurate (Fidelity).

Question 19

What is the source of change for cultural evolution?

Answer 19

Innovations.

Question 20

What is the Dynamic Social Impact Theory?

Answer 20

Individuals influence and are influenced by the ideas of those with whom they interact regularly.

Question 21

What do interactions lead to, according to the Dynamic Social Impact Theory? What does this explain?

Answer 21

To consolidation and clustering of like-minded people. Explains emergence of cultural phenomena.

Question 22

What is communicability?

Answer 22

The extent to which a certain idea is likely to be expressed in interpersonal discourse.

Question 23

What are culturally-shared stereotypes?

Answer 23

Stereotypical beliefs that are most commonly held by the individuals within a population. They tend to be highly communicable. Likely be about populations that people often talk about.

Question 24

Describe the results of the study conducted by Schaller and colleagues on culturally-shared stereotypes and their communicability (3).

Answer 24

1. There was a positive correlation between communicability and stereotypicality. 2. No correlation for first nations since they are not talked about. 3. Traits that are highly communicable are more likely to be used as stereotypes for ethnic groups.

Question 25

What kind of narratives are more likely to persist in memories?

Answer 25

Minimally counterintuitive narratives.

Question 26

Which type of narrative was recalled the most after a 3 minute delay according to Norenzayan and colleagues first study?

Answer 26

Intuitive. Least was mostly counterintuitive.

Question 27

Which type of narrative was recalled the most after a week delay according to Norenzayan and colleagues first study?

Answer 27

Minimally counterintuitive.

Question 28

Describe the results of the second study done by Norenzayan on the coding of fairy tales.

Answer 28

Successful folktales had minimal amount of counterinuitive statements. Unsuccessful ones have too many or too few.

Question 29

Describe the results of the study done by Heath and colleagues on emotional impact and information and whether or not people pass on stories. (2)

Answer 29

1. People were more likely to pass on stories with useful information. 2. More likely to pass on stories with emotional impact.

Question 30

What trends have been increasing in America?

Answer 30

1. Individualistic. 2. Money and Materialism.