Psycho 104 - Ch. 4 Cont. Flashcards
What is Evolutionary Psychology?
Studies how behaviour and tendencies have evolved in response to environmental demands.
What is Evolution?
Change over time in frequency with which genes and the characteristics they produce occur within an interbreeding population
- Changes occur due to heritable genetic mutations
- Natural Selection & adaptations are crucial concepts for the study of evolution.
What is Natural Selection?
Characteristics that increase the likelihood of survival and ability to reproduce within a particular environment will be more likely to be preserved in the population and therefore will become more common in the species overtime
Products of natural selection are ADAPTATION
What are Adaptations?
Products of natural selection
How has the Human Brain evolved?
Greatest growth in areas linked w higher mental processes - attention, memory, thought, and language
Culture is important to evolution of behaviour as well (Cultural Evolution)
What are the types of adaptations?
BROAD
-Learn language, reason logically
DOMAIN SPECIFIC
-Solve particular problem (Mate selection, choosing safe food, avoiding certain environmental hazards.)
-Mind Composed of specialized and independent modules
Examples of Evolutionary Snapshots
- Innate ability to acquire language (Whether thats sign if theyre deaf)
- Newborns more responsive to human faces (Compared to pictures with the facial features arranged in a random pattern)
- Need to belong to a group. (Social anxiety, the fear of social disapproval, may be an adaptive mechanism to protect againts doing things that will prompt group rejection.
- Some basic emotions like smiling are universal
What are the BIG FIVE personality dimensions?
Universally you can find
- Extraversion (Social)
- Neuroticism (Anxious)
- Conscientiousness (Responsible)
- Openness to experience (Imaginitive)
- Agreeableness (Helpful, cooperative)
These exist because of survival and reproduction
Twin studies result w agreeableness (0.42) to openness (0.57)
What are the three categories that Reared Apart studies are divided into?
- Variation attributable to genetic factors
- Variation due to a shared family environment among those reared together
- Variation attributable to other factors, such as unique individual experiences.
These studies have shown that identical twins are far more similar in personality traits than are fraternal twins
Family environment had little influence on personality differences in these REARED APART studies
Elaborate on Parental Investment
- Time, effort, energy, risk associated with caring successfully for each offspring
- Humans invest a great deal i a small number of offspring
- Other species produce large numbers of offspring and offer little care
Sex differences in parental investment explain mating systems – Trivers (1972)
Two parents do not make equal parental investment
Competition for sex with highest parental investment (usually the female)
Gender with highest parental investment will be more discriminating in mate selection
What are the types of Mating Systems?
MONOGAMOUS
- Two parents have equal parental investment
- Little sexual dimorphism between males/females (Birds prefer this because one usually gets food while the other protects the nest from predators)
POLYANDRY
-One female, many males
POLYGYNOUS
-One male, many females
(This system would lead to larger and stronger males, since increased size and strength would confer an advantage in male-male competition)
POLYGYANDRY
Many males, many females
(Found amongst chimpanzees, one of the possible ways to reduce competition for a mate and may help bonobos be the most peaceful of all primates)
What do men and women want?
MEN & WOMEN
- Mutual attraction
- Dependability
- Emotional stability
MEN
Physical attractiveness,
Health
WOMEN
Earning potential
Status
Ambition
The ideal mate worldwide
WOMEN
- Older (3.5 yrs older)
- Symmetrical face
- High parental investment
MEN
- Youth and health
- Symmetrical face
Cooperation VS Altruism
COOPERATION
-One individual helps another and gains some advantage
(Group school project)
ALTRUISM
-One individual helps another but there are costs involved
(A squirrel will yell when a predator is near by to warn its relatives)