Lecture 9 - Evolution Of Personality

Question 1

Describe the ongoing selective sweep

Answer 1

• there are ideal personality types with the optimal reproductive success, but different personalities are optimal in different times and spaces.
• your a castors are all from different places and times and therefore the modern world is the first time they’re all mixing.
• we now have an optimal personality type for the modern day, and we’re all moving towards it but people are all at different points on the spectrum

Question 2

Describe the premise of balancing mutation hypothesis

Answer 2

• there is no optimal personality type over time.
• therefore, as selection changes the balance of personality types, it then changes the direction of selection itself.
• so the ideal type oscillates

Question 3

Describe how guppies relate to the balancing mutation idea of personality

Answer 3

You have shy guppies and brave guppies. If you select for shy guppies then, selection begins to favour the brave ones because they take their chance and get more food even though there is a risk of predators.
But then when you have lots of brave ones. Then the shy ones avoid being eaten by predators and still get some food so selection begins to favour that personality.
Oscillation.

Question 4

Why is balancing mutation slightly difficult to believe?

Answer 4

There are not a limited number of personality types, its possible to adapt / evolve to have one that’s a combo of the two types, so why wouldn’t that be selected for.

Question 5

What are Eysenck big 3 personality variables ?

Answer 5

Neuroticism
Extraversion
Psychoticism

Question 6

What are Costa and McCrae’s big 5 personality variables ?

Answer 6

Openness
Conscientiousness
Extraversion 
Agreeableness
Neuroticism

Question 7

What big 5 traits do you split psychoticism into?

Answer 7

Conscientiousness and agreeableness are very highly correlated with psychoticism , they are the opposite side to it.
Openness does correlate a bit but quite weakly

Question 8

Who came up with GFP?

Answer 8

J. Philippe Rushton

Question 9

What does GFP stand for?

Answer 9

General factor personality

Question 10

What’s the main idea behind GFP?

Answer 10

It’s basically the overall emotional stability of a person. In a similar way to “g” being the underlying level of a persons intelligence. GFP is the underlying correlation of each of the big5 personality characteristics together.

Question 11

What is the analogous continuum of GFP?

Answer 11

Pro social —> asocial

Question 12

Describe 5 personality characteristics someone would be high in if they had high GFP

Answer 12

Friendliness 
Placid 
Cooperative 
Self-controlled 
Hard-working

Question 13

The high GFP personality was most reproductively successful when? What does it mean is happening now?

Answer 13

Most successful in agricultural society.

But now in post-industrial society it is not as favoured.

Question 14

How does GFP correlate with health?

Answer 14

High GFP positively correlates with increased life expectancy and better mental and physical health overall

Question 15

How does GFP correlate with earnings

Answer 15

High GFP predicts higher social status and better earnings

Question 16

How does GFP correlate with fertility

Answer 16

In modern society higher GFP predicts lower fertility, and therefore lower reproductive success.
Therefore those with low GFP have highest reproductive success in modern society.

Question 17

Name two theories that explain why natural selection hasn’t led us all to have one optimum personality ?

Answer 17

1) ongoing selective sweep - Miller and Penke

2) Balancing Mutation - Daniel nettle researches it