Evolutionary Theories Flashcards
on the scale of proximal to distal, what is proximal and what is distal?
proximal = behaviour, distal = evolution
when did humans migrate out of africa?
1.8 million years ago
when did humans migrate to europe?
0.78 million years ago
what is natural selection?
characteristics that are adaptive for survival are more likely to be passed on
what is sexual selection?
characteristics that are desirable to a mate; characteristics that win intrasexual competition
what are 3 factors that show how some psychological features are adaptive for survival and reproduction?
functional, domain specific, numerous
in evolutionary psychology, what do we test hypotheses for?
design features of mechanisms eg. memory for evolutionary relevant info - Nairne, et al. 2009
what are the three levels of explanation?
evolved characteristics of human nature; evolved group differences and structure of individual differences (nomothetic approach); individual uniqueness (idiographic approach)
describe female mating strategies
more parental investment, more selective, value partners ability to protect, provide, and be faithful. look for resources, status, ambition, maturity, dependability, intelligence, compatibility, commitment, strength, health…
describe male mating strategies
lower parental investment, more short-term mating, in long term mates, value features indicating fertility and fidelity. look for youth, beauty and faithfulness
what is the traditional evolutionary view of the evolution of individual differences?
individual differences reflect random variation and can be discarded as irrelevant “noise”
what is the modern view of the evolution of individual differences?
traits reflect range of equally adaptive strategies - no single optimal combination across contexts/time
name the 4 different types of selection
stabilising, directional, fluctuating, negative frequency-dependent
what is the life history theory?
Wilson, 1975. diff individuals use diff strategies to axioms survival and reproduction. due to finite energy, there is trade-off between cost and benefit, eg. mating effort vs parental investment (MacDonald, 1997). usually applied to look at species and some sex differences
what is the ‘K’ factor?
underlying personality dimension reflecting mating effort vs parental investment (Rushton, 1985)
describe low K
“cad” - mating effort
describe high K
“dad” - parental investment
how does high attachment to own father relate to K value?
leads to higher K value
how does high attachment to partners relate to K value?
leads to higher K value
how does high effort to attract mates relate to K value?
leads to lower K value
how does high machiavellianism relate to K value?
leads to lower K value
how does high risk-taking relate to K value?
leads to lower K value
describe the Big Five personality traits.
openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism. universal, seen in other species, moderate-high heritability estimates, relevant for challenges of survival and reproduction in context of group living
what is the extra personality added to the Big Five to made HEXACO?
honesty/humility
how is extraversion linked to sexual partners?
higher extraversion is related to a higher number of sexual partners
how is extraversion linked to infidelity?
higher extraversion is related to a higher likelihood of infidelity
describe the costs of extraversion (and the main researcher)
Nettle, 2005. infidelity and children by multiple partners reduces investment in children. more likely to be hospitalised. higher criminal/anti-social behaviour. more grandchildren!
who has a higher K-factor in general, males or females?
females.
how does very high psychoticism relate to K value?
leads to low K value
how does high neuroticism relate to K value?
leads to low K value (not as low as psychoticism though)
how does high extraversion relate to K value?
it does not.
