Evolutionary Personality Theories

Question 1

Briefly explain Darwin’s evolutionary theory.

Answer 1

Natural selection - characteristics that are adaptive for survival are more likely to be passed on.
Sexual selection - characteristics that are desirable to a mate and that win intrasexual competition.
Natural variation + struggle for survival/reproduction.

Question 2

Why is it hard to test evolutionary psychology?

Answer 2

Cannot go back in time and test by observation. Have to use indirect measures.

Question 3

What are the three main psychological features which can be tested in evolutionary psychology?

Answer 3

Functional - would they aid survival or reproduction?
Domain-specific - particular issue.
Numerous.

Question 4

What are the three main levels of explanation?

Answer 4

Nomothetic - evolved group differences, structure of individual differences.
Idiographic - individual uniqueness.
Evolved characteristics of human nature.

Question 5

What approach do most evolutionary theories use?

Answer 5

Nomothetic approach.

Question 6

Name the group differences in mating strategies for men and women (Buss & Schmitt, 1993):

Answer 6

Women - high parental investment, more selective, look for faithfulness, resources, status, ambition, commitment, health, intelligence.
Men - low parental investment, short-term mating, look for fertility, fidelity, youth, faithfulness.
Evidence is cross-cultural.

Question 7

What is important to remember about the variation between and within-groups?

Answer 7

Within-groups variation is larger than between-groups.

Question 8

What is the traditional evolutionary view?

Answer 8

Individual differences reflect random variation and can be discarded as noise.

Question 9

What is the modern evolutionary view?

Answer 9

Traits reflect a range of equally adaptive strategies.

There is no single optimal combination across contexts/time.

Question 10

Explain stabilising, directional, fluctuating and negative frequency-dependent selection.

Answer 10

Stabilising - initial large range, over time, extremes are widdled out due to less chance of survival/mating.
Directional - population moves from one end to another.
Fluctuating - No consistent pattern.
Negative frequency-dependent - characteristics are more adaptive if there are fewer individuals using it.

Question 11

What is the life history theory (Wilson, 1975)?

Answer 11

Different individuals = different strategies to maximise survival + reproduction success.
Individual has finite energy, therefore, each strategy = trade-off between costs + benefits.
Theory applied to differences between species + sex differences.
Recently applied to individual differences.

Question 12

What inspired the K-factor theory (Rushton, 1985)?

Answer 12

The life history theory (Wilson, 1975).

Question 13

Explain the K-factor theory (Rushton, 1985).

Answer 13

Personality dimension reflecting mating effort vs parental investment.
Low K factor = more invested in mating effort. (High effort to attract mates, machiavellianism and risk taking).
High K factor = more invested in parental investment. (High attachment to own father and to partners).

Question 14

Do women or men score generally higher in the K-factor?

Answer 14

Women (but there is a lot of variation within-groups).

Question 15

Name some strengths of the big five personality traits.

Answer 15

Universal.
Seen in other species.
Moderate-high heritability estimates.
Relevant for challenges of survival and reproduction.

Question 16

What are the big five personality traits?

Answer 16

Openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism.
(Honesty/humility has also been discussed).

Question 17

Name some of the adaptive trade-offs of each trait (big five/six).

Answer 17

Openness: high = creative, attractive. Low = less risk of psychosis.
Conscientiousness: high = organised, healthy. Low = spontaneous, less obsessional.
Extraversion: high = more mating opportunities, more risk-taking, sociable. Low = parental investment, less risk-taking.
Agreeableness: high = could be taken advantage of, cooperation, empathic. Low = ruthless, wary of others.
Neuroticism: high = alert to threats, motivate achievement. Low = more socially desirable, health, calm.
Honesty/humility: high = trust from others, humble, mutual help. Low = easier to manipulate others.

Question 18

How does extraversion affect the number of sexual partners + infidelity (Nettle, 2005)?

Answer 18

High extraversion = more sexual partners + higher infidelity.

Question 19

How does extraversion affect the number of children with different partners (Nettle, 2005)?

Answer 19

More partners + more children.

Question 20

Name some costs of extraversion (Nettle, 2005).

Answer 20

Infidelity + children from multiple partners = reduced investment.
Higher extraversion = more hospitalised due to illness/accident.
Related to higher criminal/anti-social behaviour.
However… More grandchildren! Therefore, extraverts are ultimately more successful in evolutionary terms.
Optimal level fluctuates depending on conditions.

Question 21

How are the K-factor and personality traits linked?

Answer 21

Low K-factor = high psychoticism + neuroticism.

Extraversion not highly correlated with low or high K-factor.

Question 22

What is the main strength of evolutionary personality theories?

Answer 22

Proposed ultimate explanation for behaviour + complements other levels of analysis.

Question 23

What are the main weaknesses of evolutionary personality theories?

Answer 23

No way of knowing what problems our ancestors actually faced.
Evidence cannot test causality or compare to similar species.
Other influences may be stronger than evolutionary ones (e.g. sociocultural).
Reductionist.
It is a relatively young field.
Unfalsifiable + speculative.