lecture 9 Flashcards

1
Q

what is the purpose of natural selection?

A

to reduce variation to identify the most adaptive trait for the environment the individual is in

characteristic is passed on

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2
Q

how do traits show fitness, indicating adaptation?

A

fecundity
survivorship

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3
Q

what is fecundity?

A

the number of offspring an individual has

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4
Q

what is survivorship?

A

whether the offspring lives for long enough to reproduce

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5
Q

who proposed what sexual selection arises from?

A

Andersson, 1994

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6
Q

what does sexual selection arise from?

A

differences in reproductive success caused by competition for access to mates

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7
Q

what is the difference between inter sexual and intra sexual competition?

A

intersexual competition= competition between members to attract the opposite sex

intrasexual competition= members of one sex choose members of the other sex

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8
Q

what is directional selection?

A

favours traits which are overall positive, want more of that trait

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9
Q

what is stabilising selection?

A

want the mean level of the trait

extremes are selected against

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10
Q

what is disruptive selection?

A

extreme traits are favoured

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11
Q

what is heritability?

A

proportion of phenotypic variation in the population that is due to genetic variation

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12
Q

what is the formula for heritability?

A

h^2=Gv/(Gv+Ev)

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13
Q

what does Gv stand for?

A

genetic variation

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14
Q

what does Ev stand for?

A

environmental variation

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15
Q

is all genetic variance transmitted from one generation to the next?

A

no

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16
Q

who suggested three possible mechanisms for the evolution of personality?

A

Penke, Denissen and Miller, 2007

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17
Q

what are the three possible mechanisms for the evolution of personality?

A

selective neutrality

mutation selection

balancing selection

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18
Q

what is the most plausible mechanism for the evolution of personality?

A

balancing selection

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19
Q

what is selection neutrality?

A

mutations build up, but as these are removed by natural selection, they do not make significant contributions to variation within the species

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20
Q

how is reproductive success measured?

A

how many children people have

how many children live to age 5

these children’s bmi

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21
Q

what did Alvergne et al (2010) find out about personality and reproductive success in women?

A

greater reproductive success is linked to average levels of neuroticism

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22
Q

what did Alvergne et al (2010) find out about personality and reproductive success in men?

A

higher extraversion in men is linked to greater social status and more children

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23
Q

what is the mutation selection balance idea?

A

natural selection (decreasing trait variance) balances the effects of mutation (increasing trait variance)

everyone wants beneficial traits, but inbreeding doesn’t increase this trait

traits should be sexually attractive

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24
Q

is there evidence for assortive mating?

A

yes, but only for openness and conscientious personality traits

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25
Q

what is assortive mating?

A

individuals with similar traits are more likely to mate

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26
Q

what was found for husbands for assortive mating?

A

husbands who wanted kind, considerate wives got wives with high agreeableness and extraversion

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27
Q

what was found for wives for assortive mating?

A

didn’t match
wives who wanted kind, considerate husbands got husbands who were submissive, unmasculine and unsociable

28
Q

what is balancing selection?

A

extremes of a trait are favoured to the same degree by different environments

29
Q

what is environmental heterogeneity?

A

fitness varies across time and space

on average neutral across contexts

30
Q

what is frequency dependent selection?

A

positive= favours traits with high frequency

negative= favours traits with low frequency

31
Q

who investigated trade off models?

A

nettle, 2006

32
Q

what are the issues we can see from trade off models?

A

as environment changes, associations between trait and behaviour change

so adaptibility of a trait depends on context

33
Q

what does variable optima mean?

A

traits have an optimum fitness that varies across situations and time

34
Q

what does it mean if traits are polygenic?

A

affected by multiple mutations at multiple different sites

35
Q

what is quantiative trait loci?

A

specific parts of DNA linked to traits

help scientists understand which genes influence these traits

36
Q

how can we investigate genetic and environmental influence?

A

twin studies

37
Q

what are identical twins called?

A

monozygotic

38
Q

what are non identical twins called?

A

dizygotic

39
Q

what do twin studies assume?

A

share the same environment

gene environment correlation is minimal

twin scores are equivalent to population trait scores

mating occurs at random

zygosity

40
Q

what is concordance?

A

degree of similarity between related individuals

41
Q

what is the heritability for height?

A

.90

42
Q

why is it nature and nurture not nature vs nurture?

A

genetic effects only emerge due to environmental exposure

43
Q

what is an example of how genes and environment interact dynamically?

A

Wrasse fish

females turn into males

change in sex in response to how many of each sex there are

44
Q

how does the environment impact gene expression?

A

gravitate towards environments which favour gene expression

45
Q

what are behavioural reaction norms?

A

examine how people change their expression of behaviour according to the environment they are in

46
Q

what is personality?

A

the average behavioural response across contexts

47
Q

what is behavioural plasticity?

A

flexible expression of the trait

people have an average response, but vary behaviour depending on context

48
Q

what is the density distribution approach?

A

traits reflect the accumulation of everyday personality states

describe the distribution of an individual’s traits and dynamic interaction with context

49
Q

how does experience sampling methodology work?

A

assess people at different time points

use over time to calculate an average score for a person

50
Q

what was the first finding for experience sampling methodology?

A

as much variation in personality within individuals as between individuals

51
Q

what is the second finding for experience sampling methodology?

A

individuals have a mean personality state, which is very stable
(.8 to .9)

52
Q

what is the third finding for experience sampling methodology?

A

stability in the amount of variability
.5
so variation is fairly stable and part of personality to be studied

53
Q

how can phenotype and phenotypic expression be shown as a function of high and low trait scores?

A

scores from someone high in a trait can overlap with scores for someone low in a trait, but we should consider the average

54
Q

who proposed the socio genomic model of personality?

A

Roberts and Jackson, 2008

55
Q

what is the socio genomic model of personality?

A

integrates both social and genetic factors to understand complex behaviours and traits

social experiences and environmental factors interact with genetic predispositions to influence various outcomes

56
Q

who investigated how personality can change over time?

A

Jackson et al, 2012

57
Q

what did Jackson et al find out about changing personality over time?

A

looked at the impact of military training on personality

for the civilian community service group, compared to the military service group, their agreeableness levels increased over time

58
Q

what is intersexual sexual selection?

A

the traits which make a mate more desirable

59
Q

what is intrasexual sexual selection?

A

dominance hierachies and aggression

60
Q

who proposed the two stage lens model?

A

Miller and Todd, 1998

61
Q

what is the Two Stage Lens Model?

A

categorisation stage= individuals categorise incoming information into broader categories/dimensions, acts as a lense which allows them to interpret the information

integration stage= individuals integrate the categorised information to form a judgement/decision, consider how information from different categories interacts and influences their overall perception/evaluation

62
Q

who investigated male generosity as a mating signal?

A

Iredale et al, 2008

63
Q

how did Iredale et al, 2008 investigate male generosity as a mating signal?

A

participant plays economic games, and indicates how much they would like to donate to charity

either played on their own, or were watched by someone of the opposite sex

64
Q

what did Iredale et al, 2008, find about male generosity as a mating signal?

A

women always give around 40-50% to charity

men gave more if there was a female observer

65
Q

what do people look for in a relationship?

A

good genes- fitness indicators/low mutations

good partner- benefits for long term sexual relationships

good parents- traits for parental care

66
Q

what is costly signalling theory?

A

animals may send honest signals about desirable personal characteristics and access to resources through costly biological displays, which would be hard to fake

eg) peacock’s tail

67
Q

what does Darwin describe fitness as?

A

having children that live long enough to have children