Unit 1 - LAA4 - Evolutionary Psychology Flashcards
Evolution: the changes in a) _________________ characteristics in a biological b)_____________ over successive c)___________________.
a) inherited
b) population
c) generations
What does evolution mean?
the changes in inherited characteristics in a biological population over successive generations
Charles Darwin emphasised two main concepts in evolutionary theory:
natural selection
sexual selection
Darwin’s theory of natural selection is based on
three main assumptions.
What is one of the three main assumptions of Darwin’s theory of natural selection?
- Only a small proportion of each generation survives to reproduce.
or - Offspring are not identical to their parents, and so each generation has a degree of variation, and that at least some of this variation can be passed on through genes
or - Some characteristics give the animal an advantage over others in the ability to survive and reproduce.
What are all living things a result of?
natural selection
Why do plants have the characteristics that they do?
Because their traits enabled them to survive the environment they are in.
Genome lag
The idea that our minds are still adapted to the EEA. It takes thousands of years of evolutionary pressures to change the human genome (collection of genes). But the world around us changes much more quickly than that.
AO3: What supports the genome lag because it shows that behaviour increases our survival?
Research into partner preferences has found that over the past 100 years, as women have been more involved in the workplace, there has been emphasis on seeking a partner that has resources.
AO3: One weakness of our understanding of evolution is that the EEA concept implies that significant changes in human characteristics stopped over 10,00 years which is not the case. Give an example of this.
For example, a gene allows us to digest milk was passed onto offspring which is advantageous for survival. However, more and more people are becoming lactose intolerant due to digesting less milk.
AO3: Another weakness is that much of the research is based on men meaning it is gender bias. Use fight or flight to explain this.
When looking at the fight or flight response most of the participants were men. This neglects the female response to stress such as trend and befriend which is more nurturing than confrontational.
Evolution: the changes in inherited characteristics in a biological a)_____________ over successive b)___________________.
a) population
b) generations
Evolution: the changes in inherited characteristics in a biological population over successive a)___________________.
a) generations
- Some characteristics give the animal an advantage over others in what?
the ability to survive and reproduce.
AO3: What bias does the EEA have?
Gender bias
