Lecture 2 Flashcards
What does psychology say about cultural traditions and beliefs?
- Not necessarily true
- Can be tested for the validity of statements or ideas about the world
Define folk knowledge
Ideas not justified by scientific procedure
Define psychological knowledge
Ideas justified by scientific procedure
- Two major methods of justification: correlational and experimental
– Correlational: finding relationship between 2 variables or events
– Experimental: finding causal relationships
What was an example of folk knowledge being tested psychologically?
“Absence makes the heart grow
fonder” vs “out of sight, out of mind”
- Robert Pelligrini asked 720 young adults about seperations
- 2/3 indicated seperation was more fond
What is an example of folk wisdom that has been substantiated by scientific research?
“birds of a feather flock together”
- Decades of research point to importance of similiarity
- In het dating and married couples, they last longer when similar in
– demographic characteristics
– intelligence
– attitudes
– personality
– physical attractiveness
Why do people have sex according to psychological research?
- Research published in 2007, found 4 major reasons
– physical: pleasure, stress reduction
– goal attainment: social status, revenge
– emotional: love, commitment
– insecurity: self-esteem boost
Why do people have sex according to an evolutionary perspective?
Perpetuation of one’s genes
- Mating
- Can be acheived by promoting reproductive success in people genetically related to us
What is the difference in age preference between men and women?
- Men prefer: younger than myself (but about 50/50)
- Women prefer: older than myself (90% say this)
What is the difference in desire for home and chidren between men and women?
- Women: most say important
- Men: about 60%/40% important/not important
What is the difference in preference for good looks between men and women?
- Women: some say not important
- Men: non say not important
What is the difference in preference for good financial prospect between men and women?
- Women: most say important
- Men: most say not important
What do men usually want in their mates?
- High reproductive potential
- Observable traits for this
– Youthfulness
– Physical attactiveness
– Health
What do women usually want in their mates?
- High resourcefulness
- Observable traits for this
– Ability to harvest resources
– Willingness to contribute resources
– Physical strength
What is the scientific evidence for mate preferences?
- evolutionary hypotheses tested in 37 cultures
- by David M. Buss (1998)
- Replicated by Bech-Sorensen & Pollet (2016)
- Findings from study with chinese (Change et al. (2011))
What is the difference in desire for a good parent between men and women?
- Women: slightly higher desireability rating
- Men: slightly lower (but very close)
What is the difference in desire for a good provider between men and women?
- Women: higher desireability rating
- Men: lower rating
What is the difference in desire for good genes between men and women?
- Women: lower desireability rating
- Men: higher rating
What is the parental investment model?
- Displays the sex differences in parental investment (Trivers, 1972)
- Females –> high-investing sex: choosy
- Male –> low-investing sex: casual
- Physiologically competent WOMEN are preferred
- Economically competent MEN are preferred
Because women have low reproductive rate they invest a lot more physiologically but then the men are expected to invest economically
How does intersexual selection work?
- Females who possess traits that show physiological competence – more likely to be chosen by males
—-> more likely to reproduce successfully
—-> desirables traits more likely to pass to offspring - Males who possess traits that show economic competence – more likely to be chosen by females
—-> more likely to reproduce successfully
—-> desirables traits more likely to pass to offspring
these traits facilitate reproductive success in the other sex
What is the scientific conclusion about sex differences in mate selection?
- strong biological basis
- BUT
- also modulated by cultural factors
- source: Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology (2015)
What is social role theory?
- Eagly, 1987
- Differences in the social positions and roles of men and women
- Preference for individuals who fit their stereotypical gender role
– basically people still want provider man and caregiver woman and look for looking for their partner
What is biparental investment?
In love and relationships….
- Women invest physiologically
- Men invest economically
Why do people fall in love?
Love is a phychological solution to problems of reproduction
- According to Buss, 1988, love serves the following functions:
– providing sexual access
– signaling sexual fidelity
– providing signals of parental investment
– displaying commitment
Is love universal?
If love is an evolved psychological solution –> should be universally observed
– According to Buss (2006):
- love also exists in cultured with arranged marriage and polygyny (more than one wife)
- across 166 varied cultures, evidence of romantic love was found in 147
