evolutionary social psych lecture 1 Flashcards
what is prosocial behaviour
helping behaviour
what are we trying to find out here?
to what extent are people willing to sacrifice their resources or themselves for other people?
what is evolutionary social psych according to archer 2001
‘approach to psych based on principle of natural selection’
what is natural selection
by darwin/wallis
individuals with characteristics suited to the environment are adapted so more likely to survive and then reproduce so pass on this trait
what is adaptation
possession of a characteristic that facilitates survival
what is fitness
organisms with characteristics are likely to fit environment better
suitability of an organism to the environment due to its traits
inclusive fitness
genetic success due to cooperative/ altruistic behaviour
(helping relatives enhances survival of shared genes to be passed on)
what is altruism according to archer 2001
‘behaviour that helps another individual’s fitness despite a fitness cost to the donor’
is helping behaviour adaptive
yes, because we see helping behaviour now so it must have a survival advantage to be passed on through generations
-BUT why when altruism involves cost?
what are the problems with altruism
-evolutionary processes normally selfish/ have something in it for you
-helping may impact own resources, adversely affecting own fitness
what is selective altruism
targeted helping improves survival of own genes
-reproductive success enables continuation of genes
-relatives share genes so it is beneficial to help relatives to enhance survival of shared genes (inclusive fitness)
burnstein et al 1994 study
-pp given hypothetical scenarios
-pp varied in degree of relatedness, age, gender etc
-more likely to help relatives than someone unrelated
-more likely to help relatives in life or death situ than everyday situ
-very young or elderly most likely to be helped
-in life or death children much more likely than elderly to receive help
according to dawkins how does selective altruism evolve
gene for selective altruism more likely to survive than wholesale altruism
what is hamiltons model for altruism
as relatedness increases so does tendency for self sacrifice
why hasnt helping non relatives become extinct
because of reciprocal altruism/ mutual helping
what is the prisoners dilema
Axelrod and Hamilton prison simulation
- police caught prisoner A and B
- if A betrays B, B gets 3 yrs, A goes free
- if A and B remain silent, 1 yr prison each
- if both betray each other, 2 yrs each
what was axelrod and hamiltons conclusion about the prison dilema
-best strategy is tit for tat
-start by cooperating
-betray as soon as you are betrayed
-cooperate if they begin to
-this tends to form cooperation over time
-working with others is most effective (reciprocal altruism)
what did trivers say about reciprocal altruism
reciprocal altruism improves fitness when favour is likely to be returned
what is the social contract theory
Cosmides and Tooby
-reciprocal altruism requires detection of cheats
-cheat detection has genetic basis
-humans detect cheats within social exchanges
what is the bystander effect
-more potential helpers, less likely to help those in need
what did thompson state about bystander effect
in small communities, help is more likely as it is more likely they will help you back (likely to return the favour in smaller group)
cooperative coalitions
-humans band together in cooperative groups
-how has evolution maintained cooperative coalitions in the face of free riding?
-how has evolution maintained cooperative coalitions in the face of free riding?
punishment
-Boyd et al: cooperation increases where free riders are actively punished
-Price et al: highlights and evolved punitive sentiment, encourages social censure of slackers, enhances cooperation and removes free riding
