Midterm 2 Flashcards
evolutionary psychology
human nature, sex differences, individual differences. Human nature as the product of the evolutionary process.
Darwin
His contribution was not in observing change over time nor in noticing the adaptive design of mechanisms. Rather he proposed a theory of the PROCESS by which adaptations are created and change takes place over time. Natural selection
hostile forces of nature
events that impede selection: food, diseases, parasites, predators, variants that helped organisms survive these hostile forces of nature led to an increased likelihood of successful reproduction.
Adaptions
inherited solutions to the survival and reproductive problems posed by the hostile forces of nature.
sexual selection
Mating benefits, members of the same sex compete with each other (intrasexual). and Intersexual members of one sex choose a mate based on their preferences for particular qualities.
Genes
packets of DNA, smallest discrete unites that are inherited by offspring intact,
Differential gene reproduction
reproductive success relative to others, the genes that reproduce more get passed down at a higher frequency.
The modern evolutionary theory based on differential gene reproduction is called inclusive fitness theory.
Selfish gene, the fact that characteristics that facilitate reproduction need not affect the personal production of offspring. They affect the survival of genetic relatives.
One’s personal reproductive success plus the effects you have on the reproduction of your genetic relatives.
evolution filter 3 things
Adaptions, byproducts of adaptions, and random variations.
adaptions
primary product of the selective process, The focus on reliably developing structure means that an adaption tends to emerge with regularity.
- The emphasis on reliable development suggests that evolutionary approaches are not forms of genetic determinism.
- Environment is critical
Adaption
environment must be recurrent: venomous snakes must be recurrently dangerous, caves must be protective, etc.
Adaptive problem
is anything that impedes survival or reproduction.
the hallmark of adaption is special design
Efficiency in problem solving, precision, and reliability are critical for special design of an adaptation.
*adaptations are like keys that fit only specific locks.
byproduct
incidental effects, Nose holding up glasses.
domain specific
specific adaptions for specific locks.
Numerousness
Evolutionary psychologists expect there to be large number of domain specific psychological adaptations to correspond to the large number of distinct adaptive problems humans recurrently confronted.
functionality
psychological mechanisms to accomplish particular adaptive goals..
*we can’t understand our preferences for certain mates, without inquiring about the function of such preferences.
deductive reasoning
top down, theory driven
inductive reasoning
bottom up, theory is developed to fit the observations.
Hogan: status and acceptance, need to belong
therefore, psychological mechanisms have been evolved to prevent exclusion. This would be the source of social anxiety.
- when resources are linked to group membership, ppl become bonded with the group.
- self-esteem functions as an internal tracking device that monitors social inclusion.
evolutionary predicted sex differneces
sexes will differ in domains where they have faced different adaptive problems.
intrasexual competition: aggression
men more often kill other men, how to expliain?
- parental investment, sexual selection, males compete,
- males are more prone to violence because they are apart of a lone line of effective polygyny.
- the fact that men die 5 to 7 years earlier than women is an example of the intrasexual risk taking strategy.
Effective polygyny
Few males will have lots of kids, some will have none.
some males gain more copulations.
*therefore, this means that it selects for risky strategies, including those that lead to violent combat with rivals.
sexually dimorphic
high variance of reproduction within.
different in size and structure.
Therefore, the more intense the effective polygyny the more dimorphic the sexes. EX: elephant seals, males are 4 times larger than females.
agression
tendency toward aggression, is not directly heritable. rather it is reactively heritable it is a secondary consequence of heritable body build.
*Strength predicts extraversion,
unrestricted mating strategy
man’s level of commitment is irrelevant, it is the quality of genes that matter.
balancing selection
occurs when genetic variation is maintained by selection because different levels on a trait dimension are adaptive in different environments.
big 5
about 50% heritable…
Genes also affect occupational preferences, so environment doesn’t play a role here.
religion
zero heritability for beliefs in God, involvement in religious affairs, attitudes toward racial integration. Now evidence for heritable influence on religious attitudes.
marrige
a genetic proclivity to marry occurs at least in part through heritable personality traits that are desired by potential marriage partners.
Thus the marital satisfaction of both women and men seems partly to depend on the moderately heritable personality dispositions of the wives.
shared and non-shared environment
The SHARED environment has either little or no impact. siblings who share environment, but not genes, 0.05 heritability.
*this means that the critical influences on personality are unique to each person.
Therefore different peer influences could be critical here.
Shared environmental influences
attitudes, religious beliefs, political orientation, verbal intelligence.
genotype- environment interaction
This refers to the differential response of individuals with different genotypes to the same environments. ex introverts and extroverts doing work in a busy room.
*exposure to the same environment produces different effects on personality.
Ex. violent parents may create violent kids if the kid has low levels of MAOA gene
genotype-environment correlation
parents may promote sports in athletic children.
3 kinds:
Passive genotype environment: parents pass on genes and environment, kids do nothing.
Reactive genotypic environment: when parents or others respond to children differently. A child who doesn’t like being touched will gradually not be touched anymore.
Active genotypic environment: they seek out environment. sensation seeking may sky dive. (Called niche picking).
molecular genetics
the specific genes associated with personality traits.
Gene: DRD4, codes for dopamine receptor, associated with novelty seeking,
BUT there are problems with replicability in these studies.