Module 11

Question 1

evolutionary psychology

Answer 1

the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection

Question 2

natural selection

Answer 2

the principle that inherited traits that better enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations

Question 3

what is the simplified idea of evolutionary psychology

Answer 3

• organisms’ varied offspring compete for survival
• certain biological and behavioral variations increase an organisms’ reproductive and survival chances in their particular environment
• offspring that survive are more likely to pass their genes to ensuing future generations
• overtime a populations characteristics may change

Question 4

social scripts

Answer 4

our culture’s guide to how people should act in certain situations by watching and imitating others

Question 5

does natural selection explain our human tendencies

Answer 5

nature has indeed selected advantageous variations from the new gene combinations produced at each human conception

Question 6

what do the genes selected during our ancestral history provide

Answer 6

they provide us with a great capacity to learn and adapt to life in varied environments

Question 7

what did evolutionary psychologist Steven Pinker (2002) note

Answer 7

thanks to human evolution, our shared human traits - our emotions, drives, and reasoning have a common logic across cultures