Introduction to evolutionary psychology

Question 1

Darwinism

Answer 1

how species chance overtime through process called natural selection

Question 2

Natural selection (Darwin)

Answer 2

its a filter thet makes sure the traits that help organisms survive and reproduce are more common in future generations.

Variation
Survival and Reproduction
inheritance
adaptation

Question 3

Variation

Answer 3

Individuals have different traits. These differences come from random gene changes.

Question 4

Inheritance

Answer 4

traits are passed from parents to offspring through genes

Question 5

differential survival

Answer 5

Some traits help individuals survive and reproduce better. Those individuals are more likely to pass on their traits.

Question 6

Adaptation

Answer 6

Over time, helpful traits become common in the population, helping species adapt to their environment. (mostly inherited, can be learned)

Question 7

darwin’s observation

Answer 7

Heritable Variation
Ability of overpopulation
The stability of population

Question 8

Heritable variation

Answer 8

Individuals within a population show variation in their traits, and these traits can be passed from parents to offspring

Question 9

ability of overpopulation

Answer 9

Theoretically every species has the ability to grow in number so large that it exceeds the biological carrying capacity of its containing natural ecological system.

Question 10

The stability of population

Answer 10

Despite the ability to produce many offspring, population sizes generally remain stable over time because not all offspring survive.

Question 11

what prohibits species from overpopulating

Answer 11

Resources
food
water
tools
shelter
sexual patner

Question 12

what is heritabe variance good for?

Answer 12

Those individuals who adapt more successfully to their environment will accumulate more resources.
They will also have more surviving offspring

Question 13

Adaptive

Answer 13

a trait that facilitates ones survival or reproductive sucess
(giraffe neck, or riding bicycle)

Question 14

traits of adaptivity

Answer 14

• result of random mutation and not planned evolution
• heritable (etc: brown eyes)

Question 15

Functional adaptation

Answer 15

This is a trait that evolved because it provides a clear survival or reproductive advantage

yes its adaptive
yes its adaptation

Question 16

Dysfunctional Byproduct

Answer 16

trait that does not serve a functional purpose in terms of survival or reproduction (vestigial structures)

not adaptive
not adaptation

Question 16

Exaptation

Answer 16

trait that evolved for one purpose but was later co-opted for a different function. (feathers where used for temperature, later used for flights)

yes its adaptive
not adaptation

Question 17

Obsolete Adaptation

Answer 17

trait that was once useful for survival or reproduction but has become less relevant due to changes in the environment or lifestyle.

Not adaptive
yes adaptation

Question 18

2 main mechanisms of natural selection

Answer 18

Stabilizing selection
Directional selection

Question 19

Stabilizing selection

Answer 19

• purifying the selection
• gets rid of extreme phenotypes
• favors intermediate variants

Question 20

Directional selection

Answer 20

favors extreme phenotype

Question 21

Genetic Drift

Answer 21

change in the frequency of alleles in a population due to random chance.

Question 22

The bottleneck effect

Answer 22

it occurs when a population is drastically reduced in size due to a catastrophic event, leading to a loss of genetic diversity.

Question 23

The founder effect

Answer 23

When a new population is established by a small group of individuals, their limited genetic traits become the primary traits of the new population. This can lead to reduced genetic diversity compared to the original, larger population

Question 24

continuity hypothesis

Answer 24

• Humans evolved gradually from the animal kingdom
• Common ancestors with chimpanzees

Question 25

Analogy with primates

Answer 25

humans and primates show similar emotions and ways of expressing them

the way we express emotions have deep evolutionary roots shared with our primate relatives

Question 26

Cross-cultural similarities

Answer 26

people from different cultures express their emotions in same way

the way we show emotions is something we’re born with, not learned by our cultures

Question 27

Innate ability

Answer 27

blind people express the same way.
showing emotions is something we’re born with

Question 28

positive and negative eugenics

Answer 28

positive: encourage people with high fitness and intelligence to mate together

negative: attempt to prohibit reproduction among those who are considered unfit.

Question 29

Eugenics (Galton)

Answer 29

aims to improve the genetic quality of the human population through selective breeding

Question 30

Anthropology

Answer 30

study of human developmental in all aspects

Question 31

Cultural relativity

Answer 31

behavior needs to be understood in terms of culture

culture differences is NOT equal to genetic differences

Question 32

Standard Social Science Model (SSSM) Toody & Cosmides

Answer 32

1. Humans are born as Blank slates
2. Human behavior is infinitely malleable
3. Cultural is an autonomous force in evolution
4. learning processes are general
5. Biological is unimportant to understanding behaviour

Question 33

ethology

Answer 33

Darwin - Natural selection
- behaviors evolve because they provide survival and reproductive advantages.

Lorenz - Imprinting
- animals (e.g., ducklings) form attachments to the first moving object they see, which helps with survival and learning.

Tinbergen - Fixed action patterns (FAPs)
- instinctive behaviors triggered by specific stimuli. Developed the four questions framework to study animal behavior (Causation, Development, Function, Evolution).