Lecture 16: Evolution Flashcards
the environment that people have been evolved to live in (cognitive niche)
environment of evolutionary adaptation
not just a physical environment, but intellectual/flexible/mental space that we’ve been able to dominate
if environment is changing, imitation is cheap and learning is costly….
you should see imitation but you won’t see that much improvement
cultural racheting
keeping moving forward culturally without going back
biased transmission
when some variants are favored over others in an environment
look at relative success of two variants
filter in trying to figure out which variant is the best
any useful filter used in copying a person’s traits/behavior
biased transmission: prestige
Arnold swancherinager fit living + warren buffet schedule
copying people selectively for certain things
biased transmission : similarity
more likely to copy somebody who is similar to you rather than someone is different
celebrity suicide more likely for celebrities who are like you
side effects of biased transmission
certain things are easier to remember than others <- indirect bias
not necessarily better, just a matter of fact
i.e. mental parasites <- more likely to remember weird shit from our culture
guided variation
new variant introduced into society is non-random and that leads to some improvements over time
process of introducing new variation requires intelligent thinking
prisoners’ dilemma outcomes
no matter what the other player does, you’ll do better by defecting (saving yourself)
if both of you cooperate (help the other person), you’ll do better than if you both defect (save yourself)
tragedy of the commons (prisoner’s dilemma scaled up to the group level)
there’s a tradeoff between what’s good for me and what’s good for the group
why do people cooperate even if it may not individually benefit them? (GROUP SELECTION) (chicken example)
within group selection: the best chicken within each group is the one that’s the most compettive/violent because they are looking out for #1 (motivating at the individual level)
between group selection: motivating at the group level so the chickens wanna cooperate with each other
to make group selection work… you need low migration rates and strong group selection pressure
why do people cooperate even if it may not individually benefit them? (PUNISHMENT)
mentally taxing
a defector… one person gotta fuck them up
the one person that fucks them up isn’t getting individual benefit… but the group is gonna benefit the most
2nd order punishment dilemma
if you punish one person for the group, you put yourself at risk but the group is going to benefit
why do people cooperate even if it may not individually benefit them? (RECIPROCITY)
trying to benefit a long term relationship
repeated prisoners dilemma
<- always cooperate
tit-for-tat: reciprocal altruism : I treat you how you treat me
looking out for your own family: you’re gonna do the best
cooperate with people with shared values + identifiable
