psihologia evolutionara si abordarea comparativa Flashcards
Why do we study evolution?
To provide explanations for human behaviour
Behaviour is the product of the evolutionary environment
Explain changes over time
What is evolution?
The way in which living things change and develop over millions of years.
What did Tinbergen do in the herring gull chick experiments?
He studies animal behaviour in natural environment (ethology)
Tinbergen studied newly hatched chicks to see if they exhibit behaviours they could have no opportunity to learn yet.
Herring gull chicks are born with a fixed action pattern of pecking that is triggered by a pre-programmed releasing stimuli (spot on beak)
He concluded that the stimuli does not need to be a fully realistic adult head.
It must: be moving; be long and pointed; have strongly contrasting foreground and background shades toward point.
What did Hailman find?
Hailman found accuracy of laughing gull chicks pecking rapidly improved in 2 days after being born
What did Darwin propose?
That living things have gradually changed over time, rather than having been created in one moment and remaining static from then on.
Others have proposed that life has been changing across time, but Darwin was the first to propose a viable mechanism by which evolution could take place: natural selection
What is natural selection?
Differences in biological traits may lead to some individuals in a population being better adapted to their environment.
If they are better adapted they may be more likely to survive or win in competition over limited resources.
They may in turn be more reproductively successful.
If their young inherit the trait, they may also be more reproductively successful.
More and more babies will have that trait so the trait will increase in frequency in the population, and the population will change over time
What is biological fitness NOT measured in terms of?
Physical fitness
Physical strength
Dominance or aggression
Physical health
Personal survival
The above characteristics are only relevant if they contribute to long-term reproductive success.
What is the best measure of reproductive success?
How many grandchildren you have.
What did Gregor Mendel propose?
Darwin did not know about genes so he was an advocate of the blending theory stating that biological traits are blended like paint pigments.
But Mendel later proposed the theory of genetic inheritance. Different versions of genes (dominant and recessive) can be expressed, but both are kept within the genetic pool.
What is the comparative method?
Strategically compare species that are closely related in order to:
- Identify unique features - humans are intelligent and technologically sophisticated
- Detect evolutionary trends
What did Carl Von Linne do?
He classified human beings as a kind of primate in 1758
What did Darwin argue?
We don’t only look like primates, we share common ancestors with them.
Insight from living relatives.
We can learn a limited amount about mind and behaviour from fossils.
Further insights can be made by studying our extant (non extinct, living) primate relatives
What makes a primate?
Relatively binocular vision
Grasping hands
Relatively long period of parental dependence
Primitive dentition
Relatively big brained
Relatively long-lived
Tend to be highly social
What was used to construct a primate family tree?
Genetic comparisons, the fossil record, and carbon dating.
