Evolutionary Influences Flashcards
What were Darwin’s two theories?
natural selection and sexual selection
What has the evolutionary process sculpted?
The body and the brain, the psychological mechanisms it houses, and the behavior it produces.
Traditionally we have come to expect that it is the woman’s role to be home maker and the provider of a nurturing environment for our children, how can this be explained by the evolutionary approach?
It makes sense that the mother is nurturing as the only way to ensure her genes are passed to the next generation, is to ensure that her children reach maturity and that they then go on and produce offspring.
Men seem to be attracted to particular types of female characteristics; large eyes, small waist, curvy hips and so on. How can this be explained by the evolutionary approach?
Men tend to be attracted to women with features that seem to signify youth, so large eyes signify youth and health. Small waist shows that the female is not pregnant and is ready to breed. Curvy hips may be better for a healthier delivery, also shows that a woman has hit puberty, again ready to breed.
Humans tend to have the ability to assess situations and deal with them in a way that apparently requires assessment. Students are constantly measured using exams, how can the evolutionary approach attempt to explain this?
Education is vital in order to enhances your intelligence is vital in order to enhance your chances of gathering what you would need in order to give your children the best possible start in life, the higher the level of education, the more money you earn meaning you can afford houses in safer areas, top quality food and so on. This enhances the chance of your offspring surviving and reproducing, so your genes continue.
Humans are aggressive creatures; we kill our own kind. How can the evolutionary approach explain this?
Humans have evolved to be aggressive in order to be able to fend off attackers. Fight with competitors to ensure that they can secure their mates, food, land and so on, the more dominant the more chance of surviving.
What is natural selection?
The idea that any genetically determined behaviour that enhances an individuals chance at survival and reproduction would be naturally selected.
Explain EEA.
Environment of evolutionary adaptiveness. The environment in which any species is adapted to and the selective pressures that existed at that time. The only characteristics that are adaptive are those who ensure survival. EEA explains how a human’s brain is so large in comparison to their body size. The theory proposes that that the human brain has evolved in response to the complex social organisation of our species.
