Quiz 4 - Evolutionary Psychology Flashcards
What is Evolutionary Psychology?
Evolutionary psychology is how minds work from perspective of how minds evolved to fit the ecological needs of that species ie human beings means looking at ancestory and environment that we evolved in
How does evolutionary psychology happen?
Evolution happens to populations over time - when things change incrementally over time - occurs when 3 things exist:
1. Generation of Diversity - mutation, crossover - mixing of two DNA’s - genes through eggs and sperms
2. Selective Reproduction - survival and reproduction of the fittest
3. Transmitted Change - genetics, taught, imitated
What are the 3 ways of biological evolution
- Natural Selection - some species reproduce more than others
- Sexual Selection - reproduction in sexual reproducing creatures based on choice of sexual partner
- Artificial Selection - breeding - humans manipulate who breeds with who by putting animals or plants together
What does evolutionary psychology explain?
Evolutionary psychology explains psychological traits as evolutionary adaptations
Adaptation is a change in a trait in a species in response to an environmental condition - makes it possible for species to survive
Adaptationism - theorizing about evolutionary causes for phenotypes (traits caused by evolution) ie. palm tree grows by ocean in the wind adapts by growing long thin trunk to survive strong wind in its habitat by the ocean
Evolutionary psychology generates hypotheses (theories) but must be tested scientifically - many people will believe without proof
What is Geneotype and Phenotype?
Geneotype - code that generates phenotype - gene determines eye colour
Phenotype - trait - the eye colour itself
Different kinds of genetic influence
Predetermined - mostly independent of environment ie eye colour - some traits are useless ie male nipples formed before sex is determined - vestigial organs ie appendix are remanants of previous adaptations
Exaptation - something evolved for one purpose is used for another ie jaw bone exapted to be inner ear bone in humans - hands from feet from flippers in humans
Overridable in culture - bitter foods/drinks ie coffee - doesn’t like at first but learn to like it
Baldwin Effect - predisposition - we evolved to learn something easily ie language or to be afraid of something ie monkey afraid of snake after seeing a monkey be afraid of a snake in a video
Cortical & Neural Recycling - we like the taste of asparatame which has no nutrient value - we like sugar as it was hard to get in environment humans evolved in
Cultural Feedback Loops - culture evolution - less hair (fur) leads to fewer pests - fire and clothing allowed hair to diminish
Neoteny - adult looks like baby - retention of juvenile traits well into adulthood, less developmental change - characteristics include small jaw, large forehead with lower set eyes, nose, upright posture, big head, less aggression, sexual and natural selection - more violent people get killed so genes not passed on - 10% of hunter/gatherer societies are killed through capital punishment which made humans more peaceful
Dmitry Belyaev - Soviet zoologist bred silver foxes to simulate process that turned fierce ancient wolves into domestic dogs loved today was very successful - selection for tameness (ones that matured the slowest) cascaded to other changes ie fur colour for environment changed from silver to brown
Describe the human mind from the perspective of evolutionary psychology
Our minds evolved mostly during Pleistocene/Paleolithic time (the Environment of Evolutionary Adaptation - EEA) from single celled organism
Our minds are a collection of special purpose mechanisms for dealing with specific kinds of problems - it is modular rather than general purpose - these adaptations might no longer be beneficial ie instincts could be wrong
What is the evolutionary explanation for morality?
People won’t steal from people but they will from an entity like a corporation
Trolley Problem - Train - People won’t push 1 person to their death in front of a train to save 5 because they are laying their hands on a live person - it feels wrong
Evolutionary Psychology and Mate Selection
Evolution predicts men are most attracted to healthy women that can bear children - reproduction
Men like waist to hip ration (0.7) hour glass figure and low ratio produce smarter healthier child - men want women that are ovulating
Testosterone makes men look more masculine (too violent)
Women should be attracted to male that would be best provider to raise offspring
Immune systems - opposites attract - produces offspring with better immune system
Women prefer high testosterone masculine faces when ovulating - women faces when not ovulating
Women guess masculine faced men are poorer parents
Testosterone is correlated to divorce, infertility, violence
Women prefer high prestige men for long term commitments and dominant men for short term sexual affairs - up to 4% babies are from affairs
Evolutionary Psychology and Memory
We should remember better things for survival - food, etc so we can be better in the future
Word memory test proved to be true
Words ie chair is less memorable than banana split - food related words
Selfish Genes and Kin Selection
Married people show modest correlation (.2) similarities for:
Ear lobe length, breadth of nose, wrist measurement, distance between eyes, lung volume, length of middle finger
Unconscious things affecting mate selection
Evolutionary Psychology and our taste in food
Fat, salt, protein, sugar are important nutrients for survival but that were rare in our past hunter/gatherer evolutionary history
Now society has abundance of fat and sugar
We didn’t evolve to deal with massive quantities of it as we never had to in the past - we want to eat up in large quantities
