Test #2 Flashcards
Environment of Evolutionary Adaptivenesss (EEA)
Environment wherein natural selection designed our ancestors to deal with challenges around 200, 000 years ago. Ergo, small hunter-gatherer societies.
Young men & aggression
Men in particular seem to have mechanisms for aggression: these are activated when certain cues are present in certain contexts. According to ev. psych, this functions to: restore status, gain access to mates, and deter poachers.
Environment of evolutionary adaptiveness (EEA)
Environment wherein our ancestors were designed to deal with challenges (eg; predators, natural disasters) 200, 000 years ago. Ergo, small hunter-gatherer societies.
Sympathetic Nervous System as an example of natural selection
Limbic system detects and interprets threatening stimuli, and then activates SNS. If the threshold is too low, then the individual is constantly anxious and may be too anxious to forage/hunt, consequently starving. If the threshold is too high, then only extreme threats are detected and the SNS only activates too late.
Sexual selection
Hostile forms of nature are not the only impetus for evolution; passing genes requires reproduction. Some heritable characteristics have selective mating benefits.
Intrasexual competition
Members of the same sex compete for mating access. Winners’ genes are passed on.
Sexual dimorphism hypothesis
When sex differs in Minimum Parental Investment (MPI), then one sex sires more offspring than another.
Intersexual selection
If members have a consensus on what is attractive (traits), then those with said trait with be preferably chosen.
Genetic drift
Random change in makeup of a population.
Founder effect
Small, unrepresentative population establishes a new colony
Genetic bottleneck
Population shrinks due to a catastrophe
3 products of evolution
Adaptations, byproducts, and noise
Adaptations
Exist due to natural/sexual selection allowing carriers to survive and reproduce. Beneficial.
By-products
Do not solve any problem or have functional design.
Noise
Random effects.
Limits of evolutionary approach
It’s impossible to go back in time to the EEA, we don’t know as much as we’d like to about the environment, and today’s environment is actually quite different.
Buss et al. (1999)
Men find partner having sex with other worse than women, who find partner having an emotional connection with other worse.
Id
Dark, inaccessible part of personality. Desires. Irrational, no sense of time.
Ego
Negotiator, problem-solver. Rational, mediating between id and super-ego as well as env. affordances. For a healthy personality, ego must be strong and effective as a mediator.
Supergo
Inhibitor, source of guilt and shame. Societal rules and expectations- what “not to do”.
Erikson: First 18 mos
Trust vs mistrust, can I trust my caregivers to meet my needs?
Erikson: 2-3 yrs
Autonomy vs shame, development of sense of mastery over environment
Erikson: 3-4 yrs
Initiative vs guilt, learning to interact with others
Erikson: 4-12 yrs
Industry vs inferiority, sense of achievement and comparison
Erikson: 12-18 yrs
Identity vs role confusion, who are you?
Erikson: 18-25 yrs
Intimacy vs isolation, who can I turn to?
Erikson: 25-50 yrs
Generativity vs stagnation, what can I create that is of value?
Erikson: 60s +
Integrity vs despair, looking at life- was it worth it?
Erikson’s psychosocial model
Model of personality centre around how we develop a sense of self, who we are in relation to society. Self-view and world-view. Based on interactions with self and others.
Cognitive unconscious
Information gets into memory subliminally and can prime associated memories. Not necessarily threatening or unacceptable: over learned skills too!
Bargh et al. (2001) on unconscious priming
Those primed with ‘performance’ words vs neutral words (e.g., ranch, carpet, river) do better on subsequent word search puzzles
Ego depletion
Leads to decreased self-control
Oral stage (18 mos)
Erogenous zone is mouth, learning to delay gratification (develop ego). Success = trust, otherwise (in)dependent/develops fixation.
Anal stage (18 mos - 3 yrs)
Erogenous zone is anus, learning to develop self-control (through toilet training). Success = mastery & self- control, otherwise anal-retentive, under-controlled, fixation.
Phallic stage (4 - 6 yrs)
Erogenous zone is genitals, learning appropriate gender roles (identifying with same-gender parent). Success = masc/fem, otherwise fixation.
Latency stage (6 - 12 years)
No erogenous zone, quiet period. Task is to transform drives through sublimation.
Genital stage (Puberty)
Erogenous zone is genitals, learning how to attach libido to real and external objects. Learning to love others and contribute to society through meaningful work.
Karen Horney
Criticism of notion of penis envy, women want power. People are not motivated by sex and aggression, rather need for security and love.
Motivation model
Deficit-need-desire, leading to either satisfaction or fantasies
Press
Needs do not operate by themselves and require a situation in order to emphasize them. This situation is called the “press”.
Alpha press
Objective situation
Beta press
Perceived situation
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
Person interprets ambiguous situation in way that reflects most pressing needs
Three fundamental needs according to self-determination theory
Autonomy, Competence, Relatedness
