M3. Lesson 2: Biological-Evolutionary Theories

Question 1

What is an artificial selection?

Answer 1

Artificial selection (otherwise known as “breeding”) occurs when humans select particular desirable traits in a breeding species.

Question 2

What is a natural selection?

Answer 2

Natural selection is the process by which evolution happens and is simply a more general form of artificial selection in which nature rather than people select the traits. More specifically, it occurs when traits become either more or less common in a species over long periods of time because they do or do not lead to greater survivability (D. Buss, 1999; D. Buss & Greiling, 1999).

Question 3

What is a sexual selection?

Answer 3

Sexual selection operates when members of the opposite sex find certain traits more appealing and attractive than others and thereby produce offspring with those traits.

Question 4

What are adaptations?

Answer 4

Adaptations are evolved strategies that solve important survival and/or reproductive problems.

Question 5

What are adaptations often a product of?

Answer 5

Adaptations are often the products of natural or sexual selection and must have a genetic or inherited basis to them.

Question 6

What are by-products?

Answer 6

By-products are traits that happen as a result of adaptations but are not part of the functional design. By-products “come along for the ride” of natural or sexual selection.

Question 7

What is “noise”?

Answer 7

Noise, also known as “random effects,” occurs when evolution produces random changes in design that do not affect function. Noise tends to be produced by chance and not selected for.

Question 8

What is evolutionary psychology?

Answer 8

The term evolutionary psychology can be defined as the scientific study of human thought and behavior from an evolutionary perspective and focuses on four big questions.

Question 9

What is the process of evolution by natural selection?

Answer 9

The process of evolution by natural selection has produced solutions to two basic problems of life—survival and reproduction—and they are called mechanisms.

Question 10

What are mechanisms?

Answer 10

More specifically, mechanisms operate according to principles in different adaptive domains, number in the dozens or hundreds (maybe even thousands), and are complex solutions to specific adaptive problems.

Question 11

What are physical mechanisms?

Answer 11

Physical mechanisms are physiological organs and systems that evolved to solve problems of survival.

Question 12

What are psychological mechanisms?

Answer 12

Psychological mechanisms are internal and specific cognitive, motivational, and personality systems that solve specific survival and reproductive problems.

Question 13

What are the categories that psychological mechanisms can be grouped into?

Answer 13

Psychological mechanisms relevant to personality can be grouped into three main categories: goals/drives/motives, emotions, and personality traits. They are adaptive because they help solve problems of survival and reproduction.

Question 14

What does Buss’s model of personality resemble?

Answer 14

Buss’s model of personality very closely resembles the Big Five trait approach of McCrae and Costa but it is not identical in structure.

Question 15

What is the structure of Buss’s model of personality?

Answer 15

Surgency/extraversion/dominance, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional stability, and Openness/Intellect. Buss argues these behavioral dispositions have adaptive significance.

Question 16

What are the two main sources of the origin of personality?

Answer 16

The two main sources of the origin of personality are environment and genetics.

Question 17

What are the numerous misunderstandings of evolutionary theory?

Answer 17

There are still numerous misunderstandings of evolutionary theory, including the idea that evolution implies genetic determinism or that mechanisms are always optimal designs.

Question 18

Who laid the foundation for the modern theory of evolution?

Answer 18

Charles Darwin (1859) laid the foundation for the modern theory of evolution, even though the theory itself has been around since the ancient Greeks.

Question 19

What was Darwin’s major contribution?

Answer 19

Darwin’s major contribution was not the theory of evolution but rather an explanation for how evolution works, namely through selection (natural and sexual) and chance.

Question 20

How does chance occur?

Answer 20

Chance occurs mostly through random genetic mutation, and we won’t have much to say about chance. Instead, we focus on selection of three different kinds.

Question 21

What is an example of artificial selection?

Answer 21

For example, the differences between the very large Great Dane and the very small Chihuahua have come about by humans selecting these qualities in these breeds. Humans have been breeding plant and animal species for thousands of years.

Question 22

What does natural selection involve?

Answer 22

Natural selection involves “evolved strategies” for a species’ survival.

Question 23

What must be understood about evolved strategies?

Answer 23

Understand that these strategies are not conscious with a plan or foresight in mind, but rather are blind (nonconscious). Traits get “selected” simply because they lead to greater survivability and hence more offspring with that trait survive to reproductive age. These individuals, in turn, have more offspring.

Question 24

Darwin was the first to do what?

Answer 24

Darwin’s genius was being the first (along with Alfred Wallace) to recognize this (evolved strategies’ process) was the process that drove evolution of all life forms.

Question 25

What did Darwin realize about certain traits?

Answer 25

Darwin realized there were certain traits that contradicted natural selection because they directly made survival less, not more, likely.

Question 26

What is an example of sexual selection in animals?

Answer 26

For instance, in the example of the peacock, only males with the healthiest and brightest plumage are most attractive to peahens. But plumage cannot be faked—that is, not just any male can pretend to have the brightest plumage. In fact, the brightest plumage is a true marker of fitness, that is, these really are the strongest and healthiest males in the cluster/pride (Zahavi & Zahavi, 1997). In fact, these traits are handicaps that only the truly strong and healthy can pull off. They signal to peahens, “Hey, select me; I am the strongest and healthiest.” By mating with these peacocks, peahens are unconsciously producing the strongest and healthiest offspring.

Question 27

How does sexual selection work in humans?

Answer 27

In humans, strength, physical beauty, dominance, intelligence, and status are qualities many find attractive and are therefore sexually selected for. For example, a recent study of over 400 individuals, many of whom were creative artists and poets, revealed a positive correlation between creativity and sexual success. That is, more creative people were also more sexually active (Nettle & Clegg, 2006). The researchers argue that their findings support the theory, first proposed by Darwin and more recently by Geoffrey Miller (2000), that human creative ability is a sexually selected trait because it is a quality that increases one’s attractiveness to members of the opposite sex.

Question 28

What outcomes does the evolutionary process result to?

Answer 28

The evolutionary process (natural and sexual selection and chance) results in three distinct outcomes: adaptations, by-products, and noise (D. Buss, 1999; Tooby & Cosmides, 1992).

Question 29

What are examples of adaptations?

Answer 29

Sweat glands, for example, are adaptations because they solve the problem of thermal regulation. Taste preferences and sexual attraction are also adaptations. We like sugary and fatty foods because they are good sources of energy and in earlier evolutionary times were relatively scarce. Human intelligence and creativity are adaptations because they facilitate adaptive solutions to problems of survival (Feist, 2006; Miller, 2000).

Question 30

What are examples of by-products?

Answer 30

Scientific ability or driving skill is each a by-product of adaptations. We clearly did not evolve to do science or drive cars, but one by-product of the evolution of human intelligence is the capacity to think scientifically (Feist, 2006). Similarly, driving a car is not an evolved strategy, but having quick reflexes, hand-eye coordination, and motor (muscle) control allows us easily to transfer evolved skills to new, modern applications, such as driving.

Question 31

What is an example of noise?

Answer 31

An example of noise is the shape of a belly button, that is, whether it is an “innie” or an “outie.” The belly button itself is a by- product of an adaptation, namely the umbilical cord (Buss, 1999).