Evolution and Behavior

Question 1

Why are we smarter than other vertebrates with larger brains than us?

Answer 1

our body mass to brain mass ratio is much higher than other animals. we also have more neural folding and a larger neuronal density compared to other animals.

Question 2

T/F: our brainstem and midbrain has been conserved through a variety of species

Answer 2

true. Our cortexes differ in size but they are structurally similar to other vertebrates, and our brain stem adn midbrains has been conserved.

Question 3

why do land dwellers typically have larger brains than water animals? what is an exception to this?

Answer 3

in order to survive on land, a larger brain was needed to have more refined survival processes. Brain structures relating to skills needed for terrestrial survival began to evolve.

ex/ structures in thalamus and brainstem needed to alter in order to coordinate how to brreathe without water

exception: whales have large brains but live in the ocean.
- they evolved into land animals ( got larger brains) and then evolved back into water dwellers
- vestigial proof of theory

Question 4

encephalization quotient

Answer 4

comparison between brain size to body mass. Humans have the largest encephalization quotient: we have the largest brain compared to body mass

Question 5

Innate vs learned behavior

Answer 5

innate behavior: behavior that comes naturally due to an inherent physical trait that allows them to express the action (ex/ a sharp beak allows certain birds to ear pinecones)

learned behavior: a behavior that is taught to an animal through experience or from their parents, usually there is no physical mechanism that allows for a learned behavior
ex/ a baby rat must learn how to crack open a pinecone from its mom, it does not have a sharp beak trait to do it naturally.

Question 6

how do conditions favor innate vs learned behavior?

Answer 6

learned behavior facilitates innovation and can occur in a more social condition. Larger brains also facilitate learned behavior over innate behavior.
having a larger brain makes you capable of EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING and MIRROR LEARNING.
larger brains= increase plasticity and behavioral flexibility and trial and error learning.

Question 7

Charles Darwin proposed evolution through ___ ___

Answer 7

natural selection.

Question 8

Charles Lyell published a paper called ____ which suggested that:

Answer 8

published principles of geology: suggested that features of the earth are PLASTIC and every changing. Also noted that fossils of older layers of earth are structurally different than newer fossils, suggesting that species may change over time.

layers of rock and fossils can show a timeline; the earth may be older than what the church says it is.

Question 9

___ ___ introduced competition theories, whihch states that all organisms are able to over-produce, which leads to competition and a population decrease because the earth and its resources can only sustain a fixed number of organisms.

Answer 9

Thomas Malthus –>”Our environment has a fixed capacity for the number of organisms that it can sustain”

Question 10

success

Answer 10

term given to an animal that lived long enough to reproduce in a competitive environment.

Question 11

3 Main evolutionary principles

Answer 11

1) competition
2) variation: sexual reproduction and mutation ensure offspring are non-identical, which causes differential success for each individuals and shifts genotypes/phenotypes towards favored traits.
3) adaptation: individuals whose characteristics are best fitted to the environment will survive to produce more offspring.

Question 12

Behavioral Functionalism

Answer 12

the idea that behavior is subject to evolutionary pressure and that every behavior of an animal must serve a purpose to enable an aspect of survival or reproductive success.

if the behavior served no purpose, the trait would’ve been lost.

there is a reciprocity between brain mechanism and behavior

Question 13

Describe to reciprocity between brain mechanism and behavior.

Answer 13

each species has a unique and functional behavioral repetoire which is intertwined with physical characteristics. A brain mechanism allows for a certain behavior, and certain behaviors allow for trait propagation. If you do not exhibit a certain behavior, it is likely because there is no mechanism in place for that behavior, but at the same time, if you have a physical characteristic that is not utilized (behaviorally), the physical characteristic will also decline in the population.

Question 14

what is “potential” in terms of functionalism

Answer 14

sometimes the lack of physical attributes characterize a change in BRAINcapacity and behavior to allow the organism to survive without the physical characteristic.

so being physically weak = mentally stronger
ex/ Birds are dumb because they can fly

Question 15

describe a scenario in which selection plays a role in cognitive abilities

Answer 15

ex/ using articificial selection: “dumb” rats who made lots of mistakes trying to get out of a maze were bred together, and “smart” rates who got out of the maze were bred together. Over a few generations, the “dumb” rat lineage made even more errors than their parents, and “smart” rat pups got out of the maze faster than their parents. There was a compopunding of cognitive abiliteies.

Question 16

convergent evolution

Answer 16

process by which genetically non-identical species (unrelated species) independently evolve similar traits as a result of having to adapt to similar environments

Question 17

divergent evolution

Answer 17

accumulation of differences between groups which can lead to speciation, or genetic distinction. Groups are no longer closely related.

Question 18

causes of speciation and divergent evolution

Answer 18

reproductive isolation or geographic isolation

Question 19

sexual selection

Answer 19

preference for certain traits within the opposte sex of the same species; causes propagation of the desired trait.

Question 20

describe how sexual and natural selection may work against each other

Answer 20

sexual selection may impede other adaptations and get in the way of survival, but it facilitates reproduction

ex/ a peacocks plume attracts predators (decreased survival) but it also attracts females

Question 21

which sex drives sexual selection

Answer 21

females drive sexual selection and drive the formation of ENHANCED secondary sexual characteristics by choosing males with desired traits.

Question 22

Intersexual competition

Answer 22

organisms of one trait choose characteristics of the opposite sex

Question 23

intrasexual selection

Answer 23

animals compete with members of the same sex for access to members of the opposite sex (ex/ male deer fighting)

Question 24

mimicry as an adaptation

Answer 24

appearing as a predator or appearing as a different species in order to avoid predation. Selection for specific traits to prevent predation; adoption of features that resemble an organisms predator

Question 25

How does mimicry come to be?

Answer 25

PREDATORS drive mimicry adaptions as their prey evolve to adopt specific patterns.

Question 26

Warning colors as an adaptation

Answer 26

prevents predation by signalling toxicity; warning colors can also be mimicked by animals that are not inherently toxic (ex/ viceroy moth mimicking the colors of a toxic monarch butterfly.

Question 27

Maladaptive traits

Answer 27

mutations that reduce the fitness of an animal. ex/ albinism

Question 28

homological structures

Answer 28

structures within RELATED species that RESEMBLE one another but are functionally different (ex/ human forearm bones and bat wing bones)

Question 29

Analogical strucutres

Answer 29

structures that serve the same function, but do not arise from evolutionarily related structures Ex/ wings on bats and wings on insects)

Question 30

natural selection operates at the ____ level, and the ____ is passed onto the next generation

Answer 30

natural selection operates at the PHENOTYPIC level (selection for physical or behavioral characteristics), and the GENOTYPE is passed onto the next generation.

genotypic frequencies change over generations as a function of reproductive success of a phenotype

Question 31

desribe how genes, the brain, and the environment all tie together to facilitate evolution

Answer 31

1) evolution influences the genes that are available to members
2) genes code for neural structures
3) the nervous system is physically created by genes, but its development and cultivation depends on the environmental pressures.
4) the cultivated nervous system and environment create the current individual, and their thoughts and feelings.
5) the state of the current individual as well as the current situation plays a role in how they behave
6) current behavior as a result of the current organism ini the current environment influences the likelihood that the behavioral genes (aka the genes that coded for the particular mechanisms that allowed the overt behavior to happen) will be passed onto the next generation.

• therefore, the overt behavior determines survival and reproduction and thus drives evolution by the propagation of the genes and mechanisms that allowed for that behavior.

Question 32

Human evolution address

Answer 32

Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom: animalia
Phylum: chordates
Class: mammals
Order: Primates
Family: hominidae
Genus: Human
Species: Modern Human (sapiens)

Question 33

Which one of charles’ darwins work was the most controversial?

Answer 33

the descent of man; contended on man evolution.

Question 34

two theories about human migration

Answer 34

Out of Africa: theory that modern humans evolved in the rift valley of africa, and then later migrated to Europe and east Asia before moving to North America

Multiregional Migration: ancient humans evolved in out of africa, migrated to all parts of the world, and then evolved into modern humans.

most results point to the out of africa theory of migration.

Question 35

How did diet play a role in human evolution?

Answer 35

studies show that primates wiht larger brains eat more fruit. larger brains needed to scout out ripe fruit? or eating fruit rather than bark provided essential nurients for brain development and metabolism maintenance?

Question 36

Forces of evolution

Answer 36

1) mutation
2) gene flow (migration)
3) genetic drift (bottle neck or founder effects)
4) natural selections

Question 37

selective advantage

Answer 37

characteristic of an organism that permits it to produce more than the average number of offspring

Question 38

evolution

Answer 38

gradual change in the structure and physiology of plant and animal species, generally producing more complex organisms as a result of natural selection.

Question 39

5 notable factors in human evolution

Answer 39

1) climate change; adaptation to climate/ ex/ in hotter regions, people are more tall and slender for heat dissapation, in colder regions, people are more short and robust for heat conservation.

climate change also may have resulted in diet change and humans evolved to have a more diverse diet than their related species.

2) bipedalism
3) grasping hands: oppositional thumb increases manual dexterity
4) langauge: theory of mind, social skills, learning and teaching.
5) neoteny

Question 40

How has bipedalism facilitated human evolution?

Answer 40

bipedalism allowed for further migration because it was energetically efficient rather than crawling, allowed humans to cover larger distances and occupy larger land masses.

bipedalism could have also led to increased brain size by freeing up forelimbs and leading to the expansion and reorganization of the sensory and motor brain areas the process sensation and control movement. Bipedalism may also have pushed towards a reorganization of the prefrontal cortex and expansion of the visual cortex now that a person’s visual field grew larger due to standing on hind legs.

bipedalism also posed an obstetric dilemma; the switch to walking on two limbs reconfigured the birth canal and narrowed the pelvis of humans; as bipedalism was happening, brain expansion also was happening, and it was disadvantageous to have a smaller pelvis. (but a skull formation adaptation dealt with that)

Question 41

How did humans evolve to overcome the dilemma of having a narrower pelvis but larger head?

Answer 41

babies are born with FONTANELLES that enable the head to compress during birth in order to pass through the birth canals. these fontanelles remain open for the first couple years of life allowing for a MASSIVE INCREASE IN BRAIN SIZE. these adaptation was also seen in previous species before humans, such as from Australopithecines, who also followed a similar pattern to the anatomical growth of humans.

This is partially known as neoteny: and evolutionary factor that helped with human progression which encompasses sustained brain growth due to slow maturation.

Question 42

How has neoteny helped with human evolution?

Answer 42

neoteny: a slowing of the maturation process, allowing for more time for growth, including brain growth. Althouh human babies are born essentially helpless because they are born early, neoteny is a better trade off because they develop larger brains in the long run.

Slow maturation allows for the retaination of brain plasticity and juvenile characteristics, allowing for the more learning and experience to take place.
- increases the amount of creativity and innovation.

• prey species do not exhibit neoteny because it is TOO EVOLUTIONARILY DISADVANTAGEOUS to have slow-developing young. They must be able to develop fast to prevent being killed before they can reproduce. they are precocial species.

Question 43

Precocial species

Answer 43

species that are born essentially fully developed and mobile at birth. They are often prey species that need to be able to keep up with the herd hours after being born.

Question 44

humans are ____ species where as deer and prey animals are ____ species.

Answer 44

humans are altricial species where as deer and prey animals are PRECOCIAL species.

Question 45

what do social biologists do?

Answer 45

they study the social behavior in non humans animals and make comparisons across species aka edward o wilson.

Question 46

Heuristic Approach to a study

Answer 46

a working model of a study

Question 47

in the “expression of the emotions in man and animals” by Darwin, he suggested that:

Answer 47

we can automatically process other peoples emotions. It is evolutionarily advantageous to process others emotions because EMOTIONALITY CONVEYS INTENTION (conveys danger)

Question 48

Principle of Antithesis:

Answer 48

opposite of emotions generate opposite behaviors: ex/ tail up= happy but tail down= sad

Question 49

do humans follow the principle of antithesis?

Answer 49

no. animals convey emotions directly into associated behaviors, but humans can act differently than their emotions.

Question 50

How does our role in society affect or behaviors? (compare to emotional effects on behavior)

Answer 50

humans are not always emotional. We pursue goal directed behavior rather than emotional behavior. Our ROLE in society elicits a given behavior regardless of our emotional state (to an extent).

ex/ 2 people could have the same role as a student, and thus they both go to class (behave the same due to the same role), but they may have different emotions at a given time.

Question 51

rules may be unsaid or _____

Answer 51

scripted

Question 52

what is a scripted rule? What must humans have in order to follow a scripted rule?

Answer 52

set of prescribed behaviors on how to react and behave in certain situations.
requires ability to read people and to have relative memory; we need a THEORY OF MIND in order to account for other people’s situation: rules on how to talk to individuals depending on scenario.

Question 53

most mirror neurons are located in the _______ and the _____

Answer 53

located in the VENTRAL PREMOTOR CORTEX and INFERIOR PARIETAL LOBE that responds when an individual watches someone else perform a movement.

Question 54

mirror neurons allow for 3 main things:

Answer 54

1) imitation
2) empathy
3) theory of mind

Question 55

how does a mirror neuron allow for empathy? How does our brain prevent mirror neurons from getting out of control?

Answer 55

mirror neurons fire when we watch someone else experience something or perform a certain action. It alerts us that we ourselves are being touched when in fact someone else is being touched.

Our SENSORY neurons repress MOTOR neurons and prevents us from actually sensing someone else being touched, or else that would be super overwhelming. Without our motor neurons being repressed by our sensory neurons, we would feel touch when someone else is touched due to our mirror neurons.

Question 56

How do mirror neurons give us a heightened theory of mind?

Answer 56

mirror neurons provide a basis for a heightened theory of mind because it allows for the VICARIOUS EXPERIENCE of other people’s experiences. Theory of mind is a STEP HIGHER THAN MERE IMITATION, and it is a prerequisite for communication.

Question 57

what happens to the mirror neurons of EMTs and individuals who deal with trauma regularly?

Answer 57

repeated trauma= less mirror neuron response to certain situations, allowing EMTS to remain a bit more detached in an emergency situation.