Evolutionary social psychology

Question 1

Evolutionary psychology perspective

Answer 1

• Residents in disease-prone areas show specific personality traits.
• Women alter communication with fathers during menstrual cycles.
• Fathers invest more in resembling children.
• Gossip promotes cooperation.
• Aligns with evolutionary psychology.
• Examples include low extraversion in disease-prone areas, altered communication during fertility, paternal investment, and gossip for cooperation.

Question 2

Historical background

Answer 2

• Emerged in the 1970s, influenced by E. O. Wilson’s “Sociobiology.”
• Controversy due to the prevailing “blank slate” view.
• Unifies diverse findings in social psychology.
• Gained prominence over time.

Question 3

Evolutionary social psychology

Answer 3

• Meta-theoretical perspective.
• Acknowledges biological processes’ role in shaping behavior.
• Supplements traditional social psychology.
• Governs the study of human psychology.
• Complements traditional social psychology.

Question 4

Key assumptions

Answer 4

• Reproductive fitness is a driving force.
• Examines recurrent social problems.
• Adaptations are functionally specialized.
• Ultimate goal is reproductive fitness.
• Identifies adaptive problems in survival, reproduction, disease avoidance, and social interactions.
• Specialized adaptations enhance efficiency.

Question 5

Evolutionary social psychology by domains

Answer 5

• Foundation is differential reproductive success.
• Tasks involve making friends, negotiating status, forming relationships, and parenting.
• Adaptationist reasoning suggests fundamental motives.
• Organized around five key domains: coalition formation, status, self-protection, mating, and parental care.

Question 6

Coalition formation and cooperation

Answer 6

• Social beings with a need for belonging.
• Cooperation increases survival and reproduction chances.
• Exclusion imposes heavy costs.
• Kinship psychology plays a role.
• Nepotism rooted in inclusive fitness theory.
• Empathy and oxytocin related to prosocial behavior.
• Alliances with non-kin based on reciprocal altruism.

Question 7

Status

Answer 7

• Societies hierarchically organized.
• High status brings rewards and reproductive success.
• Dominance and prestige paths to high status.
• Implications for leadership and conflicts.
• Gender differences in fitness payoffs.
• Men motivated for high social dominance; women prioritize status in long-term partners.

Question 8

Self-protection

Answer 8

• Protection from harm is a fundamental motivation.
• Mechanisms for detecting and avoiding threats.
• Evolved fear module identifies threats.
• Intergroup processes affect threat perception.
• Disease avoidance mechanisms impact behaviors and sensitivities.

Question 9

Mating

Answer 9

• Reproductive success is crucial.
• Divided into relationship selection and maintenance.
• Selection involves choosing partners and prioritizing relationships.
• Maintenance includes protecting relationships and avoiding temptations.
• Influenced by evolutionary processes and reproductive goals.

Question 10

Relationship selection

Answer 10

Sociosexual Orientation:
* Inclination towards committed or short-term relationships.
* Unrestricted orientation for short-term mating; Restricted for long-term.
Sex Differences:
* Men more inclined to short-term; women seek long-term.
* Attributed to differences in parental investment.
Variability in Sociosexuality:
* Influenced by evolutionary history.
* Individual and sex differences exist.

Question 11

Relationship maintenance

Answer 11

Polygamy and Temptation:
* Humans tend towards polygamy.
* Attraction to alternatives threatens commitment.
* Mechanisms like devaluing alternatives help.
Romantic Love:
* Reduces interest in alternatives.
* Priming with thoughts of love suppresses thoughts of alternatives.
Jealousy:
* Men and women experience jealousy differently.
* Men more distressed by sexual infidelity; women sensitive to emotional infidelity.

Question 12

Parental care

Answer 12

Parental Investment:
* Human offspring need extensive care.
* Investment influenced by genetic relatedness and perceived benefits.
Sex Differences in Parental Investment:
* Mothers invest more than fathers.
* Maternal grandparents invest more than paternal.
* Biological parents invest more than stepparents.
Male Offspring and Investment:
* Male offspring exhibit higher variability.
* Investment in sons more beneficial with abundant resources.