week 3- the new science of evolutionary psychology Flashcards
what are the 3 products of evolution?
- adaptations
- by products
- noise
explain what adaptations are
Heritable characteristics, that efficiently, economically, precisely, and reliably help an organism to survive and/or reproduce.
explain what by-products are
Characteristics that come along with adaptations, but
do not function to assist in survival or reproduction.
explain what noise is
Characteristics produced either genetically
(mutations) or environmentally (including culturally),
that are neutral with respect to survival and
reproduction
explain the 4 facets of adaptations and what they mean
Efficiently – does it do the job well?
Economically – does it do the job without imposing too
high a cost on the organism?
Precisely – is it specialized to do this job?
Reliably – does it do the job in most contexts?
give a biological example of an adaptation and apply the 4 facets to it.
Human bipedalism (walking on two feet)
Bipedalism is:
Efficient, allowing fewer calories
to be spent travelling long
distances
Economical, imposing costs that
do not generally affect survival
and reproduction
Precise, in that it helps for
walking, but not other activities
(e.g., climbing)
Reliable, in that it develops in
childhood across the world
give a psychological examples of human adaptations
evolved food preferences for foods that are high in fat and sugar
what are the 3 necessary things a by product has?
For us to claim that something is a by-product,
we need to:
– Make sure it actually has no functional (adaptive)
purpose
– Identify the adaptation that it is carried along with
– Explain why it co-occurs with that adaptation
give a psychological example of a byproduct
evolved food preferences for alcohol
-no purpose at all, it was carried along with adaptation for food high in sugar, ripening fruit produces sugar but also ethanol (bad)
give a psychological example of noise. what are most examples of noise variants of?
Many examples are like different variants of
by-products
ex. evolved food preference for what TYPE of alcohol you prefer
what is the period of evolution in adaptations?
The time span during which the adaptation was
created, beginning with a mutation in a single
individual, and being built, piece-by-piece
what is the environment of evolutionary adaptiveness
The environments in which the adaptation evolved.
– Not (just) a physical place but also includes a
description of the selection pressures (the adaptive
problems that it helped to solve) that lead to the
creation of the adaptation.
how are psychological mechanisms NOT instincts? give an example
We should try to specify the sets of procedures
that take in specific information and, via decision
rules, create output (feelings, thoughts, actions) to
help solve a specific adaptive problem
-we operate on an “if, then” basis
ex. if threat is far away, then freeze, if its close, fight
There are a large number of specific, adaptive problems, and correspondingly, a large number of specific, but interacting ____________
psychological adaptations to them
*BASICALLY, we have several psychological adaptations that constantly interact
explain the 3 ways that evolutionary psychology acknowledges the fundamental role of culture and learning
- Our evolved psychological mechanisms have
been shaped by the pressures from the
environment, which includes cultural pressures - Our evolved psychological mechanisms may
express themselves differently in different
cultures - Sometimes, our cultures change so fast, our
evolved psychological mechanisms are out of
date, resulting in environmental mismatches
what 2 things do we have psychological adaptations to that was shaped by cultural differences
we monitor our own and others’ social status and seek social status
what are the criteria for learned prestige? what does this mean?
-we have an evolved
psychological adaptation to pay attention to who is getting the attention.
* Thereby, this psychological adaptation allows
us to learn how to acquire social status within
the group.
* Acquiring social status thus has a contribution
from an evolved psychological adaptation and
a contribution from learning and culture
give an example regarding food of the mismatch of between a psychological adaptation and a person’s current environment
People tend to crave high-fat and/or high-sugar
foods. These are high-calorie foods that in our EEA
would’ve been scarce (e.g. meat or ripe fruit) but
very beneficial to eat. (“Eat them when you can!”)
– But in many modern environments, these foods
are no longer scarce, and this mismatch, means
the adaptation can cause problems.
give an example involving sleep of the mismatch of between a psychological adaptation and a person’s current environment
-Our sleep patterns are
adaptations designed to restore resources expended in the day, as well as to conserve energy and avoid increased predation risk at night
-so the concept of insomnia is a mismatch
what is the essence of the modern evolutionary theory
basically, all adaptations must by definition be things that helped reproduction whether
directly, or indirectly (e.g., through aiding your
survival or that of your offspring or other
genetic relatives)
guidance from the modern evolutionary theory suggests that our ancestors faced these 4 problems of adaptation
- Problems of survival and growth: becoming capable of reproduction
- Problems of mating: selecting, attracting, having sex with, and retaining a partner.
- Problems of parenting: helping offspring survive to be capable of reproduction
- Problems of aiding genetic relatives: helping others who carry copies of your genes
guidance from knowledge of universal human structures assumes all humans live in groups, and groups have hierarchies. what 3 things does this guidance say our ancestors had problems in adaptation with?
– How not to get ostracized from the group.
– How to compete with others for resources and
status.
– How to manage one’s place in the hierarchy
what two things does guidance from traditional societies say our ancestors faced problems of adaptation with?
we require cooperation/coordination to survive
guidance from paleoarcheology and paleoanthropology suggest what regarding adaptation problems?
Bones indicate that some diseases (e.g., Leprosy,
Tuberculosis) have been problems for a long
time
guidance from current mechanisms explain what in terms of adaptation problems?
The most common fears we currently have might
tell us something about the sorts of things that
have frequently been dangerous in our
evolutionary history (ex. spiders, snakes, heights, etc.)
guidance from task analysis look at what must be involved for a human structure (hierarchy) or phenomenon (kin favouritism) to occur, such as the fact that people help relatives far more than non-relatives. what adaptive problem does this suggest?
how to recognise who is genetically-related to you,
and how closely
