Lecture 4 Evolutionary Perspectives

Question 1

proximate explanations

Answer 1

late, immediate cause

Question 2

ultimate explanation

Answer 2

early, adaptive causes

Question 3

Scott-Philips

Answer 3

wrote article on which they gave a lot of ultimate and proximal explanations for various actions

Question 4

4 levels of explanation by Niko Tinbergen

Answer 4

• causation
• ontogeny
• adaption
• phylogeny

Question 5

causation

Answer 5

why, proximate mechanisms. in the brain

Question 6

ontogeny

Answer 6

how did it develop. how does it change throughout the lifetime.

Question 7

adaptation

Answer 7

why did it evolve, what was it that allowed this trait to come about

Question 8

natural selection

Answer 8

1. variation
2. selection
3. inheritance

Question 9

phylogeny

Answer 9

how did it evolve in the species

Question 10

sexual selection

Answer 10

individuals with traits that help reproduction propagate. some traits aren’t adaptive but to reproduce.
- the fact that you can survive with a thing that goes against your survival can show your fitness
- helps fighting
- attractiveness

Question 11

mismatch hypothesis

Answer 11

says that we are adapted to the environment we lived in for thousands of years, but now live in a very different environment

Question 12

using evolution as explanation

Answer 12

it can not explain everything and need to be careful with it.
may overemphasize sex/gender differences and differences within groups are often larger than between groups.

Question 13

fundamental motives framework

Answer 13

core motives that helps solve recurrent challenges in evolutionary past.
- self-protection
- disease avoidance
- affiliation
- status
- mate acquisition
- mate retention
- kin care

Question 14

self-protection

Answer 14

personal safety
buy products for protection, value safety, value trustworthiness

fundamental motives in consumer behavior

Question 15

disease avoidance

Answer 15

travel more locally, value cleanliness, premium for “natural” products

fundamental motives in consumer behavior

Question 16

affiliation

Answer 16

buy products to share, gift-giving, communication/social media, conformity

fundamental motives in consumer behavior

Question 17

status

Answer 17

buy luxury/prestige, costly altruism, less price sensitivity

fundamental motives in consumer behavior

Question 18

mate acquisition

Answer 18

buy luxury, prestige, impulsive purchasing, more prosocial improve appearance

fundamental motives in consumer behavior

Question 19

mate retention

Answer 19

buy products to signal bond to each other and others

fundamental motives in consumer behavior

Question 20

kin care

Answer 20

buy kid-specific products, pay more to benefit kids

fundamental motives in consumer behavior

Question 21

idea behind the fundamental motives

Answer 21

their strength in determining behavior varies across people and across situations.

Question 22

signaling theory

Answer 22

some traits/behaviors can propagate because of their signaling function.
seems similar to sexual selection, but sexual selection doesn’t require to be a signal

Question 23

requirements of a signal within the signal theory

Answer 23

• associated with an unobservable & desirable trait
• easy to observe
• hard to fake
• beneficial to rely on for the observer

Question 24

conspicuous consumption

Answer 24

can fit into the signaling theory. you signal that you have money with the underlying idea that you are a desirable mate.

Question 25

error management theory

Answer 25

humans have to deal with uncertainty and errors are unavoidable.
some errors are costlier than other and we want to avoid costly ones
in this theory biases can be adaptive. bias leads to systematic errors and this is good when it systematically avoids the costlier error.