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human cognition exam #1 > Human Cognition Exam #1 > Flashcards

Human Cognition Exam #1 Flashcards

1
Q

What is the difference between “proximate” and “ultimate” explanations for something? How would you illustrate this with the example of sugar tasting sweet?

A

Proximate cause = immediate mechanism/stimuli that triggers a pattern of behavior
Sugar tastes good - eat more
want to eat more because sugar is beneficial to the brain

Ultimate causation = explanation for behavior of an organism that reveals its adaptive value, (why is the system set up like this in the first place?)
want to eat more because sugar is beneficial to the brain

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2
Q

How would you defend the argument that if our bodies evolved, our behavior and cognition should also have evolved?

A
  1. Behavior is partly influenced by genes
  2. reproductive fitness and cognition are positively correlated
  3. Evolutionary changes in DNA lead to evolutionary change in behavior
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3
Q

Explain the idea underlying the statement that “is” does not imply “ought”

A
  1. Just because you can do things does not mean you should
  2. Morals
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4
Q

What are the dangers of assuming there are no evolutionary influences on behavior, according to Prof. Schoenemann?

A
  1. dismisses the idea of change
  2. understanding biological impact of morally bad behavior helps us change it
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5
Q

What does an evolutionary perspective predict about mating choices?

A

They should be biased toward traits that suggest increased likelihood of reproductive success.

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6
Q

What are some predictions from an evolutionary perspective about mating preferences in humans?

A

mates select individuals with high fitness

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7
Q

What is the evolutionary perspective on sex differences in mating choice?

A
  1. Men are providers
  2. Women are caretakers
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8
Q

What is the cultural/sociological perspective on sex differences in mating choice?

A
  1. Culture promotes rules of clear, overt differences between sexes
  2. Behavior is rewarded and others are punished
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9
Q

Are the evolutionary and cultural/sociological perspectives on sex differences in mating choice mutually exclusive (meaing: only one can be correct)?

A

No

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10
Q

What evidence was presented in lecture of the development of sex differences in behavior in children

A

Children often will shift to more masculine or feminine hobbies over time

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11
Q

The early development of some behavioral pattern (like sex differences in behavior) is interpreted differently by those taking a biological/genetic perspective vs. those taking a cultural perspective. How are they different?

A
  1. Biological/Genetic perspective: Cultural influences build over time; The earlier the patterns appear, the more likely genetic influences play a key role
  2. Cultural perspective: The earlier the patterns appear, the stronger the cultural influences are
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12
Q

What did Buss find in his cross-cultural study of mating preferences?

A

All hypotheses were supported by most cultures [women valuing earning potential and ambition in men; men valuing physical attractiveness, chastity (least supported at 62%), women being younger]

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13
Q

How does natural selection work? What is required for it to operate?

A

Whoever survives and breeds passes their genes, survival of the fittest

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14
Q

According to the lecture, what is the best metaphor or the role of the environment in evolution by natural selection?

A

Filter

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15
Q

What is an “adaptation”, from an evolutionary perspective?

A

A trait that was selected for which aids in survival

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16
Q

What are some ways to assess whether something is an adaptation?

A

It has a benefit to fitness

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17
Q

What is the EEA (Environment of Evolutionary Adaptiveness)? Why is it important to an evolutionary perspective on cognition?

A

The adaptive mental mechanism, solve problems

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18
Q

Why is it expected that natural selection will often result in imperfect adaptations?

A

mutations are random

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19
Q

How does sexual selection differ from natural selection?

A

Mates choose each other on traits not on fitness

20
Q

What are the categories of evidence that biology really does influence behavior?

A
  1. Similarity with other species
    Same behavior
  2. Chemicals and how they affect our brain
21
Q

What is “heritability”?

A

Variation between individuals accounted for by genetics 0-1 1 being highly genetic

22
Q

How can heritability be estimated?

A

h^2 = (variability attributable to genetic differences)/((Variability attributable to genetic differences) + (Variability attributable to environmental differences))
If h^2 = 0, there is no evidence that genetic differences influence variability.
If h^2 = 1, genetic differences explain ALL the variability.

23
Q

If something is strongly heritable within some study population, does this mean population differences are also strongly heritable? Why or why not?

A

Heritability is the estimate of how much variability in the trait across a population is because of genetic differences

24
Q

Why does comparing monozygotic (“identical”) twins vs dizygotic (“fraternal”) twins on some trait help us estimate heritability (what is the logic behind this comparison)?

A

Dizygotic - same environment different genes
Monozygotic - same environment same genes

25
Q

What is Lewontin’s basic argument in “The Legitimation of Inequality”?

A

People are fundamentally different and therefore should not be treated the same

26
Q

From an evolutionary perspective, what is the problem of basing ones support for “equality” on the idea of “identity”? (Hint: Ernst Mayr)

A

“An ideology based on such obviously wrong premises can only lead to disaster. It’s championship of human equality is based on a claim of identity. As soon as it is proved that the latter does not exist, the support of equality is likewise lost.”

27
Q

What are Buller’s “four fallacies”?

A
  1. Analysis of Pleistocene Adaptive Problems Yields Clues to the Mind’s Design
  2. We Know, or Can Discover, Why Distinctively Human Traits Evolved
  3. “Our Modern Skulls House a Stone Age Mind”
  4. The Psychological Data Provide Clear Evidence for Pop EP
28
Q

What is the argument for holding biological (and hence, evolutionary) research and theorizing to a higher standard of proof than cultural/sociological research and theorizing? What is Prof. Schoenemann’s argument for why he thinks this is mistaken?

A
  1. Nazi Germany and Hitler, Italian fascists, Slavery in the US and elsewhere , Neo-Nazi’s and white supremacists today, Scientific Racism
  2. Prof. Schoenemann says that there are also bad things that happen when cultural/social research and theorizing isn’t held to the same standards. “Environmental determinism”
    Soviet Union, Communist China, Khmer Rouge in Cambodia(1970s)
29
Q

What is the danger of assuming there is no such thing as “human nature”, according to Robin Fox?

A

Without human nature, any social system is equal because there is no baseline. Meaning men can live in any kind of society

30
Q

Roughly how long ago is it estimated that the human lineage split off from the chimpanzee lineage, according to the lecture?

A

5-6 million years ago

31
Q

is evidence of our ancestors exclusively fossils

A

no, stone tools and art

32
Q

What do the earliest stone tools suggest about our ancestors?

A

learned how to adapt to the environment

33
Q

How would the shift to meat eating have influenced our social environment?

A

Allowed for more dense energy which increased brain size drastically.
Team work to hunt
Sharing with others
Importance in cooking

34
Q

Allowed for more dense energy which increased brain size drastically.
Team work to hunt
Sharing with others
Importance in cooking

A

Become more complex as brain sized increase

35
Q

Was our environment fairly constant over time during human evolution?

A

relatively Yes until our brain was big enough to change our environment

36
Q

How are brain size and body size related in mammals, on average?

A

Bigger size bigger brain

37
Q

Taking into account body size, how would you characterize primate brain size?

A

relatively larger then animals of the same size

38
Q

Why does Prof. Schoenemann think that absolute brain size is likely a better measure of cognitive ability across species than is relative brain size (i.e., factoring out body size)?

A

More brain does not equal better cognition
EQ is brain size adjusted to body size
Whales have the smallest EQ but are not the most simple

39
Q

In order for the brains of our ancestors to have evolved larger over time by natural selection, what must have been true within populations of early humans about individuals who had larger or smaller brains, on average?

A

larger brained individuals reproduced more often

40
Q

What are some of the explanations that have been suggested for why humans evolved larger brains?

A

Beneficial to surviving
Selected for
better able to problem solve

41
Q

What are some general expectations of evolutionary change discussed in lecture?

A

Small changes over time
pre - existing circuitry is inferior to a system built from scratch
Big brain = more time learning

42
Q

Adapting to a social environment has been suggested to be a particularly important driver of human cognitive evolution. What evidence is consistent with this?

A

social interactions are like a chess game, strong players need to be clever

43
Q

What is “categorical perception”? Is categorical perception of speech sounds unique to humans?

A

categorical perception allows us to identify sounds as indentical if theyre in the same sound category, not exclusive to humans

44
Q

What does a lowered larynx have to do with the evolution of language?

A

Allows us to generate different frequencies to communicate with others

45
Q

Can animals understand that some pattern of sounds can represent different concepts?

A

Yes they can, monkeys

human cognition exam #1 (2 decks)

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