Midterm

Question 1

3 products of evolutionary process:

Answer 1

adaptations, by-products of adaptations, and random effects

Question 2

Define adaptation

Answer 2

• inherited and reliably developing characteristic
• exists due to natural selection because it HELPED SOLVE A PROBLEM OF SURVIVAL OR REPRODUCTION during the period of its evolution.

Question 3

Define by-products in evolution

Answer 3

• Characteristics that do not solve adaptive problems and do not have a functional design.
• “carried along” with functional characteristics.

Question 4

What does the function of an adaptation refer to?

Answer 4

refers to the adaptive problem it evolved to solve

Question 5

Is it an adaptation? How can I tell?

Answer 5

Is it EFFICIENT (solves a problem), ECONOMIC (solves in a cost-effective manner), and RELIABLE (performing dependably in the context in which it was designed to operate)?

Question 6

What is the EEA?

Answer 6

Environment for evolutionary adaptedness.
The selection forces, or adaptive problems, that were responsible for the shaping of the adaptation over evolutionary time.

Question 7

______ are the primary products of evolution by selection

Answer 7

adaptations

Question 8

Is bipedal walking an adaptation?

Answer 8

It is reliable (seen across species)
It is economical (more efficient, less energy use, faster)
It is efficient (ex: solved the adaptive problem of needing to run from predators faster and run for longer)

Question 9

2 strategies for generating and testing evolutionary hypotheses

Answer 9

1. Top-Down Strategy:
   - step 1: derive hypothesis from existing theory
   - step 2: test predictions based on hypothesis
   - step 3: evaluate whether empirical results confirm predictions.
2. Bottom-up Strategy
   -step 1: develop hypothesis about adaptive function based on a known observation
   step 2: test predictions based on hypothesis
   step 3: evaluate whether empirical results confirm predictions

Question 10

Which theory predicts psychological differences between men and women?

Answer 10

theory of parental investment

Question 11

Properties of an evolved psychological mechanism

Answer 11

-exists in its form because it solved a specific problem of survival or reproduction RECURRENTLY over evolutionary history.
-is designed to take in only a narrow slice of information (ex: human eye is only sensitive to electromagnetic waves within the visual spectrum).
-The input of an EPM tells an organism the particular adaptive problem it is facing.
-The input of an EPM is transformed through decision rules into output.
input –> decision rules (if then) –> output
-the output can be physiological activity, information to other psychological mechanisms, or manifest behaviour.
-the output is directed toward the solution to a specific adaptive problem.

Question 12

So, what is an evolved psychological mechanism? Define

Answer 12

In summary, an APM is a set of procedures within the organism designed to take in a particular slice of information and transform that info via decision rules into output that historically has helped with the solution to an adaptive problem.

Question 13

Broad adaptive problems:

Answer 13

1. problems of survival and growth
2. problems of mating
3. problems of parenting
4. problems of aiding genetic relatives

Question 14

Genetic drift can result from:

Answer 14

1. Mutation: random change in DNA
2. Founder Effect
3. Genetic Bottlenecks

Question 15

3 forms of natural selection:

Answer 15

1. Directional Selection
2. Disruptive Selection
3. Stabilizing Selection

Question 16

Define neophobia

Answer 16

strong aversion to new foods

adaptation found in rats and humans

Question 17

Evidence of Wrangham’s cooking hypothesis

Answer 17

1. cooking food provides a predictable increase in its net energy value
2. Cooking renders food more easily digestible
3. Cooking is a human universal
4. human brain requires tremendous amounts of calories to function (fibrous fruit and other raw foods rarely provide enough)
5. humans fare poorly on a raw-only diet. Some women lose ability to reproduce

Question 18

antimicrobial hypothesis

Answer 18

spices kill or inhibit the growth of microorganisms and prevent the production of toxins in food.
Allows humans to avoid food poisoning.

Question 19

In what climate are more spices used?

Answer 19

in hotter climates, where unrefrigerated foods spoil more quickly

Question 20

Theory predicts that women will have better ____ ____ memory as a gathering adaptation; men will be better at _________ abilities, map reading, and mental rotation abilities required for throwing a spear in space at a prey.

Answer 20

Theory predicts that women will have better SPATIAL LOCATION memory as a gathering adaptation; men will be better at NAVIGATIONAL abilities, map reading, and mental rotation abilities required for throwing a spear in space at a prey.

Question 21

Who scored higher in 3D rotational tasks? men or women?

Answer 21

men

Question 22

who scored higher in object location memory task?

Answer 22

women

Question 23

adaptive function of freezing as a result of fear:

Answer 23

stopping, becoming alert, watchful, vigiant, and on guard

Question 24

adaptive function of flight and fight:

Answer 24

flight: running away from threat
fight: attacking source of threat

Question 25

adaptive function of submitting (in response to fear):

Answer 25

appease or yield to member of same species to prevent attack

Question 26

adaptive function of “fright:”

Answer 26

becoming muscularly immobile, or “plying dead.”

Question 27

adaptive function of fainting:

Answer 27

losing consciousness to signal to an attacker that one is not a threat

Question 28

When syphilis patients were injected with malaria, what was found?

Answer 28

30 percent of them survived! The fever from malaria helped to cure the fatal effects of syphilis

Question 29

What is senescence?

Answer 29

Not a specific disease, but rather the deterioration of all bodily mechanisms as organisms grow older.

Question 30

Hamilton’s theory in which organisms help relatives

Answer 30

inclusive fitness

Question 31

Garcia effect

Answer 31

easier to pair food with nausea, but not a sound or visual stimulus

Question 32

In Hardle’s experiment, who did the monkey run to when scared?

Answer 32

To the cloth, not the wire-mesh “mom” with milk nipple

Question 33

2 EPM’s for food:

Answer 33

acquisition and selection

Question 34

an EPM developed for humans to crave these 3 food resources:

Answer 34

fat, sugar, salt

Question 35

T/F: humans have a mechanism to estimate caloric value of food

Answer 35

true

Question 36

All potential mates are not equally desirable. This creates ______ _______ which drives sexual selection

Answer 36

differential reproduction