Week 7 Evolutionary Psychology (Ch. 4)

Question 1

Who coined evolution by natural selection?

Answer 1

Charles Darwin

Question 2

What is evolution?

Answer 2

Change over time

A change of a time in the frequency with which particular genes- and the characteristics they produce-occur within an interbreedding population

Question 3

What are challenges against evolution?

Answer 3

• Why changes takes place
• How new species emerge
• What the functions are of parts

Question 4

What is artificial selection?

Answer 4

Selective breeding is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively develop particular phenotypic traits by choosing which typically animal or plant males and females will sexually reproduce and have offspring together.

Question 5

What is natural selection?

Answer 5

Characteristics that increase likelihood of survival and ability to produce offspring within a particular environment will be more likely to be preserved in the population

• Acts as a set of filters, allowing certain characterisitcs of survivvors to become more common and those of non-survivors to become less common and perhaps even extinct over time.

Question 6

When will evolution by natural selection occur?

Answer 6

These 3 aspects must be met:

1. There is phenotypic variation in the population *phenotype = observable characteristics produced by genes
2. This variation is heritable *heritable = Can be transmitted from parent to offspring
3. This variation increases the reproductive success of individuals (i.e., more offspring)

Question 7

What is evolutionary psychology?

Answer 7

Seeks to understand how behavioural abilities and tendencies have evolved over the course of millions of years in response to environmental demands

• Behavioral or mental traits vary
• Behavioral or mental traits are heritable
• Variation in behavioral or mental traits results in differential reproduction

Question 8

What is an adaptation?

Answer 8

Allows organisms to meet recurring environmental challenges to their survival thereby increasing their reproductive ability.

• Structural: physical characteristics
• Behavioral: how organism interacts in environment

Question 9

What are the products of natural selection?

Answer 9

Adaptations

Question 10

what important selections put pressures on the body during human evolution resulting in adaptations?

Answer 10

• bipodel locomotion
  
  • straighter spine and walking on two legs therby freeing the hands
• tool use
  
  • freed hands led to took use and weapons for hunting
• social organization
  
  • hunting was done in groups which lead to social organization and specialized roles developing language, communication and transmission of knowledge

Question 11

How has the human brain evolved?

Answer 11

Question 12

What are the two types of adaptations?

Answer 12

• Broad
  
  • Language ability, intelligence
• Domain-specific
  
  • Solve particular problem
  • Choosing safe food
  • Avoiding certain environmental hazards
  • Mate selection

Question 13

human brain compared to other animals

Answer 13

Humans do not have the largest brain in absolute terms and are exceeded in size by many cetaceans (whales, dolphins, porpoises) and the elephants.

They also do not have the most convoluted cortex. With a few exceptions, convolution of the cortex increases in proportion to cortical size.

Question 14

How big is the brain relative to the size of humans?

Answer 14

about 2% of body mass which is relatively large

Question 15

What are some of the possible changes seen in the human brain between the neanderthal and the modern brain?

Answer 15

modern brain is smaller but change happened was proportion and functionally and lead to higher brain areas

Question 16

What are the big 5 personality domains?

Answer 16

• extraversion
• neuroticism
• openness
• concioutessness
• agreeableness

Question 17

What makes the human brain unique?

Answer 17

• specialization
• tend to have more white matter
• consumes 20% of total body energy
• larger than expected for body size = more cognitively able

Question 18

describe the evolution of personality

Answer 18

suggests that human personality variation is a meaningful and relevant source of human diversity, and that different combinations of heritable personality traits biologically prepare individuals to exploit the different social niches they inhabit.

• pros and cons of personality traits may be more adaptive to certain environments

Question 19

Where was a study done to look at evolution in personality?

Answer 19

Tsimane: Isolated Indigenous Population in Boliva

• “Being more extroverted, open, agreeable and conscientious — and less neurotic — was associated with having more kids.” (5 domains)
• High reproductive rate - at least 9 children
  very isolated

Question 20

What is parental investment?

Answer 20

Refers to the time, effort, energy and risk associated with caring for each offspring successfully

Question 21

What does Robert Trivers mating system suggest?

Answer 21

Sex differences in parental investment to explain different meeting systems

• if parent investment is unequal, the parent who invests most in the offspring will be more vigourously competed for and will be more discriminating when choosing a mate.

Question 22

What are the different mating systems proposed by Robert Trivers?

Answer 22

• polygyny
• monogamous
• polyandry
• polygynandry

Question 23

What is polygyny?

Answer 23

one male mates with many females

• females have a high parental investment and males low.
• most mammals
• male-male competition
• males larger than females
• females discriminating in choice of male - how good are there genes going to contribute to offsprings survival

Question 24

What is polygandry

Answer 24

one female and many males.

• females are big and strong and male does parental control
• females compete with one another for access to male mates
• essentially opposite of polygyny

Question 25

What is monogamous mating?

Answer 25

both males and females have equally high parental investment

• situation where it would be almost impossible for only one parent to care for the young
• penguins

Question 26

What is polygynandry?

Answer 26

promiscuity in which all members of the group mate with all other members of the group

• some primates such a chimps