Intro to evolutionary theory and psychology II Flashcards
What is the main concept described in ‘The Origin of Species’ (1859)?
Natural selection, whereby advantageous traits are retained over generations due to increased likelihood of survival and reproduction.
What does ‘The Descent of Man’ (1871) focus on?
Sexual selection, where traits are selected based on the choices of sexual partners.
Define Darwinian Anthropology.
A field that studies human behavior and culture through the lens of Darwinian evolution.
What is Gene-Culture Coevolutionary Theory?
A theory positing that culture and genes co-evolve, influencing each other’s adaptations.
What does Evolutionary Psychology measure?
Behavior through surveys and questionnaires; it posits cognitive adaptations and domain-specific cognitive modules.
True or False: Evolutionary Psychology asserts that natural selection shapes behavior.
False; it states that natural selection shapes psychological traits, not behavior.
What instincts did Sigmund Freud identify?
- Life-preserving instincts
- Sexual instincts
- Self-preservation
- Reproduction
- Death
List some human instincts identified by William James.
- Sucking
- Biting
- Crying
- Walking
- Vocalizing
- Jealousy
- Parental love
What is Classical Conditioning?
A learning process where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a meaningful stimulus, eliciting a conditioned response.
Fill in the blank: In Classical Conditioning, UCS stands for _______.
Unconditioned Stimulus
What is the role of the social environment according to the Standard Social Science Model (SSSM)?
The social environment shapes individuals; the causal arrow is from society to individuals.
What did John B. Watson believe about psychology?
Only observable behavior constitutes the proper subject matter of psychology.
What is the Equipotentiality principle?
All mechanisms of learning are the same, regardless of specific stimuli or responses.
What is Radical Behaviorism?
The view that what happens inside the head is also behavior.
What are the three societies studied by Margaret Mead in ‘Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies’ (1935)?
- Gentle Arapesh
- Violent Mundugumor
- Female-dominated Tchambuli
What is a central critique of the SSSM according to Tooby and Cosmides?
Nature/Nurture is a false dichotomy, and biological factors and environmental factors are not mutually exclusive.
What does the term ‘Combinatorial Explosion’ refer to?
The exponential increase in the number of possible behavioral sequences as the number of actions increases.
Fill in the blank: The Frame Problem involves choosing the appropriate response in diverse circumstances, such as whether to _______.
Run like hell?
What are the proposed domains of the human mind according to Geary and Huffman (2002)?
- Social
- Ecological
True or False: The SSSM asserts that adult behaviors must be acquired from the social environment.
True
