Evolutionary psychology week 1

Question 1

Lamark: theory of the Inheritance of acquired characteristics

Answer 1

when animals had the inner “need” they use and diffuse traits

Question 2

Darwin: survival of the fittest

Answer 2

Within a population of animals, not all will survive, some of them do better and will therefore survive and reproduce

Question 3

Mendel 1st law

Answer 3

segregation: you get one allele from your mother and 1from your father. These are randomly copied

Question 4

Mendel 2nd law

Answer 4

Independent Assortment: Genes do not depend on each other

Question 5

three essential ingredients of natural selection

Answer 5

variation, inheritance, selection

Question 6

variation

Answer 6

the presence of differences in sequences of genes between individual organisms of a species

Question 7

inheritance

Answer 7

the transfer of genetic sequences from one generation to the next generation

Question 8

selection

Answer 8

the preferential survival and reproduction or preferential elimination of individuals with certain genotypes

Question 9

sexual selection

Answer 9

the process by which individuals compete for access to mates and fertilization opportunities

Question 10

Inter-sexual competition

Answer 10

Traits that are passed on because they are good at attracting opposite sex mates

Question 11

Intra-sexual competition

Answer 11

Traits that are passed on because they are good at winning same sex competition

Question 12

the runaway effect

Answer 12

strong men have more strong offspring which, on their turn, will also make stronger offspring, men on average are likely to get stronger and stronger

Question 13

adaptations

Answer 13

the inherited characteristics that are naturally selected because they helped to solve a “problem of survival” or a “problem of reproduction”

Question 14

by-products

Answer 14

a trait that evolved “not because it was selectively advantageous, but because it was inextricably linked to another trait that was reproductively advantageous

Question 15

noise

Answer 15

random effects without any function

Question 16

an evolved psychological mechanism

Answer 16

exists in the form it nowadays does because it solved a specific problem of survival or reproduction. Key concepts; problem solving, informative, fast, automatic and universal

Question 17

2 methods for testing evolutionary psychology hypotheses

Answer 17

1. Observation explained by theory (Bottom-up)
2. Hypothesis extracted from theory (Top-down)

Question 18

adaptive problems

Answer 18

input –> decision –> output

Question 19

the hunting hypothesis of food

Answer 19

people evolved in hunting because the price was bigger. Meat is of high caloric value and when killing an animal there was enough food for the whole family.

Question 20

The Showing off hypothesis of hunting

Answer 20

hunting led through a status competition between men. Better hunters had more status, mates and better resources for their children

Question 21

The gathering hypothesis

Answer 21

Women’s role was gathering of food as plants, seeds and nuts. Women better with multi-tasking and object memory.

Question 22

The Embryo Protection Hypothesis

Answer 22

Pregnancy sickness is an Adaptation because morning sickness helps to avoid and excrete toxins