Evolutionary Psychology Flashcards
what is evolution?
Evolution is the process by which organisms change from generation to generation as a result of a change in heritable characteristic
what premises is the modern theory of evolution based on?
Organisms are driven by the need to survive and reproduce.
Those organisms that are well adapted to the environment have higher chances of surviving and producing offspring. Organisms that are less adapted die out or are unable to produce offspring.
Gradually as those organisms that are less adapted do not pass on their genes, those genes disappear from the population gene pool.
More adapted organisms produce more offspring’s, so their genes in the gene pool get stronger. This is called “natural selection”.
what is one behavior that is believed to be an evolutionary mechanism?
disgust
what are some behaviors linked with disgust?
facial expression
low blood pressure
galvanic skin responses
nausea
dropping item of disgust
shuddering
refusal to eat something
avoid contact with something
what is one study that investigates disgust as an evolutionary mechanism to prevent disease?
Curtis et al (2004)
what was the aim of Curtis?
To test the hypothesis that disgust is an adaptation that serves to prevent disease.
what were the 5 findings of Curtis?
1.All seven of the disease-salient images were rated as more disgusting compared to the non-disease images.
- They were also rated as more disgusting by females than males, as they would need to care for a potential offspring.
- Feelings of disgust decreased with age as reproductive potential declines.
- In response to the final question regarding with whom participants would least like to share a toothbrush, the least acceptable was the postman (59.3%), followed by the boss at work (24.7%), the weatherman (8.9%), a sibling (3.3%), a best friend (1.9%) and the spouse/partner (1.8%).
- Finally, the results were similar across cultures.
what are three strengths of Curtis?
large sample size-high population validity
cross cultural
what are 3 limitations of Curtis?
survey-self reported data
disgusts subjective- low construct validity
individual differences
what group of people are more prone to disgust?
pregnant women
which trimester of pregnancy are women more likely to have feelings of nausea?
the 1st trimester of pregnancy
what is a study that investigates disgust on pregnant women?
Fessler et al (2005)
what were the results of Fessler?
Analysis revealed that participants in the first trimester reported greater overall disgust sensitivity than did participants in the second and third trimesters, and they also experienced more nausea
what are two strengths of Fessler?
researchers took morning sickness into account
large sample size
what are two limitations of Fessler?
self reported data
low construct validity
