Exam 2 original studying Flashcards
Essay on the Principle of Population
written in 1798 by Thomas Malthus; influenced Darwin; because more individuals are born than environmental resources can support, there is a struggle for survival and only the fittest survive
Francis Galton
developed first word-association test to measure intelligence systematically; first to define and use concepts like median and correlation; Darwin’s eugenics-loving cousin
William Whewell
originated the idea that a scientific theory is considered to be strong when a “conciliation of induction” occurs
consiliency
agreement between the approaches to a topic of different academic subjects
uniformitarianism
school of geology developed by Charles Lyell that emphasizes slow, gradual changes in the Earth’s development; heavily influenced Darwin because it suggested similar laws regarding changes in organisms over time
Alfred Russell Wallace
developed a theory of evolution almost identical to Darwin’s at pretty much the same time - they presented it together and were co-discoverers
Lewis M. Terman
revised Binet’s IQ test to be more compatible for US use. Also did longitudinal study on gifted children finding that gifted children tend to be healthy, gifted adults
Theodore Simon
collaborated with Binet to develop the first test designed to directly measure intelligence
William Stern
coined the term “mental age”; suggested IQ as a way of quantifying intelligence
Alfred Binet
didn’t follow Galton’s methods for quantifying intelligence because it classified blind and deaf children as dumb. Instead, Binet attempted to directly measure cognitive abilities that he thought constituted intelligence
Carl Linnaeus
developed a taxonomic model for the classification and description of organisms in his attempt to describe and classify all of “God’s Creation”; father of taxonomy
What did Darwin deduce would result in competition for scarce resources?
Competition would ensue because populations of organisms increase faster than the resources available in the environment
island biogeography
discipline which studies how speciation occurs through organisms becoming geographically isolated on islands
William Herschel
an astronomer who argued that one can determine the causes for most events through actual observation and analogy
spontaneous generation
the idea that life originates magically and then progresses along a set path [Lamarck]
Enlightenment
time in which Newton’s explanations of physical phenomena led to an increasingly scientific worldview
natural selection
the nonrandom element to Darwin’s theory of evolution; when there are more organisms than an environment can support, nature selects those with characteristics most conducive to survival under the circumstances
social darwinism
a misunderstanding by Herbert Spencer who applied the phrase “survival of the fittest” to culture and ethics
blue footed booby
bird living on Galapagos Islands that displays its feet as part of a mating ritual
archaeopteryx
an extinct example of a transitional species; part reptile and part bird
tiktaalik
another extinct transitional species; part fish and part amphibian
intelligence quotient
developed by Stern who suggested a procedure for quantifying intelligence. it is calculated by dividing mental age by chronological age
artificial selection
aka selective breeding; practice of intentionally developing particular phenotypic traits in domesticated animals or plants
“great chain of being”
scala naturae; a strict, religiously based hierarchical structure for all matter and life. it is a poor metaphor for the process of evolution because 1) it’s wrong and 2) it’s predicated on the idea that life is progressive and has been steadily marching toward the advent of mankind
Lamarckian evolution
Lamarck believed that offspring inherit acquired characteristics (like accrued strength) from parents. He also believed in spontaneous generation
formal theory of natural selection
A. Populations increase indefinitely at a geometric rate
B. Populations stabilize at a certain level in a natural environment (carrying capacity)
C. Given A and B, there is competition for scarce resources
D. There is natural variation between individuals in every species
E. Given A, B, C, D, there is differential reproductive success and individuals more suited to the environment will pass on their genes
eugenics
the misguided idea of using artificial selection to create ideal humans and increase the general intelligence of the population
proximate causation
biological function in terms of immediate physiological or environmental factors (e.g.: birds produce song because daylight in spring triggers hormone release which pushes them to sing)
ultimate causation
biological traits and functions in terms of evolutionary forces acting on them and how they tie into reproductive fitness (e.g.: birds produce song because its an advantage on evolutionary time scale to sing and be better at communication and mate selection)
What does evolutionary theory suggest about humans and other hominids?
Humans and other hominids share a common ancestor and humans did not “come from apes”
design [Dawkins]
something that we change, make, or alter to fit an idea that we have; human manipulation (like Mount Rushmore)
designoid [Dawkins]
something that occurs naturally but appears to be intentionally designed (like a rocky outcropping that happens to look like JFK)
differential reproductive success
individuals with variations that are better adapted to the environment leave behind more offspring than the individuals that are less well-adapted
allopatric speciation
speciation resulting from geographic separation of one original population
