evoloutionary explanaition Flashcards
What is a central premise of the evolutionary explanation of behaviour?
How behaviors that were adaptive to our human ancestors are passed through genetic transmission from one generation to the next. Behavior’s witnessed today would’ve evolved as a reaction to the environment 10,000 to 5 million years ago. This time frame and environment is known as the environment of evolutionary adaptiveness
Name 5 things that aggression may have helped with that make it adaptive.
Secure resources, food ,females dominance and social status
enabled our ancestors to survive and evolve by natural selection
If aggression is adaptive in human males due to natural selection, who is doing the selecting?
felmales
What is cuckoldry, and why is a maladaptive from an evolutionary perspective?
Paternity uncertainty ( sexual jealousy) - which is an evolutionary waste of resource to raise children who are not the males own as it is contributing to the survival of a competitors genes. Men aren’t sure the child is theirs until a paternity test is done
Why might cuckoldry have led to the evolution of aggression in men?
Psychological mechanisms have evolved to increase anti-cuckoldry were more reproductively successful. This drives aggressive strategies in men
What male retention strategies did Wilson & Daly (1996) identify?
Several mate retention strategies which evolve aggression and psychical violence
Direct guarding – male vigilance over a partners behavior, checking who your partners been seeing tracking them
Negative inducements – issuing threats of dire consequences such as threatening to kill themselves if their partner leaves
What impact did Wilson et al. (1995) find male retention strategies have on their partners?
Maladaptive behavior as a result of social skills. Our ancestors may have used bullying as an adaptive strategy to increase chances of survival by creating evolutionary advantage
Why does Volk (2012) suggest that bullying may be adaptive?
Characteristics associated with bullying are attractive to females as it suggests dominance acquisition of resources and strength can ward off potential rivals
What other adaptive value might bullying have (Sapolsky, 2004)?
Bullying may even benefit the bully’s health due to less stress being at the top of the hierarchy
What is the evolutionary explanation for female bullying?
Female bullying often takes place within the relationship and is a method of control to help secure males fidelity. The partner continues to provide resources for future offspring and the behavior is naturally selected because it enhances the women’s reproductive success (Campbell (1999)
