Chapter 2 Flashcards
(31 cards)
creationism
“intelligent design,” the idea that a supreme deity created all of the plants and animals, from the largest whales to the smallest plankton in the ocean, from the simple single-celled amoebas to the complex human brain.
seeding theory
According to seeding theorists, life did not originate on earth. In one version of this theory, the seeds of life arrived on earth via a meteorite. In a second version of seeding theory, extraterrestrial intelligent beings came down from other planets or galaxies and planted the seeds of life on earth.
What virtues does the evolution by natural selection theory have that scientists seek for?
(1) it explains known facts
(2) it leads to new predictions
(3) it provides guidance to important domains of scientifc inquiry.
Among the three theories - creationism, seeding theory, and natural selection - natural selection is the only _______ theory
Scientific
function of an adaptation
Refers to the adaptive problem it evolved to solve, that is, precisely how it contributes to survival or reproduction.
efficiency
solving the problem in a proficient manner
economy
solving the problem in a cost-effective manner
precision
all the component parts specialized for achieving a particular end
reliability
performing dependably in the contexts in which it is designed to operate
mutation
a copying error in a piece of DNA
environment of evolutionary adaptedness (EEA)
refers to the statistical composite of selection pressures that occurred during an adaptation’s period of evolution responsible for producing the adaptation
period of evolution
refers to the time span during which it was constructed, piece by piece, until it came to characterize the universal design of the species.
By-products
characteristics that do not solve adaptive problems and do not have functional design.
Random effects
can be produced by forces such as mutations, sudden and unprecedented changes in the environment, or accidents during development.
On the basis of the hypothesis that women prefer men who have resources to offer, we could make the following predictions:
(1) Women will value in men specific qualities known to be linked with the acquisition of resources such as social status, intelligence, and somewhat older age
(2) on internet dating sites, women will respond more to men who appear to have resources than to men who do not
(3) women whose romantic partners fail to provide economic resources will be more likely to break up with them than women whose partners do contribute economic resources.
An evolved psychological mechanism is a set of processes inside an organism with the following properties: (this is a long flash card)
(1) An evolved psychological mechanism exists in the form that it does because it solved a specific problem of survival or reproduction recurrently over evolutionary history.
(2) An evolved psychological mechanism is designed to take in only a narrow slice of information.
(3) The input of an evolved psychological mechanism tells an organism the particular adaptive problem it is facing.
(4) The input of an evolved psychological mechanism is transformed through decision rules or procedures into output.
(5) The output of an evolved psychological mechanism can be physiological activity, information to other psychological mechanisms, or manifest behavior.
(6) The output of an evolved psychological mechanism is directed toward the solution to a specific adaptive problem.
Why do anatomists identify as separate mechanisms the liver, the heart, the hand, the nose, and the eyes?
Function
What might be a general solution to these two selection problems, and how effective would it be at solving them?
One general solution would be “select the frst thing that comes along.” This would be disastrous because it might lead to eating poisonous plants or marrying an infertile person. If anyone had implemented such a general solution to these adaptive problems in human evolutionary history, he or she would have failed to become an ancestor.
specific selection criteria
qualities that are part of our decision-making mechanisms
problem specificity of adaptive mechanisms tends to be favored over generality because:
(1) general solutions fail to guide the organism to the correct adaptive solutions
(2) even if they do work, general solutions lead to too many errors and thus are costly to the organism
(3) what constitutes a “successful solution” differs from problem to problem.
If you go back to the definition of evolved psychological mechanisms, you will note that:
(1) environments featuring recurrent selection pressure over deep time formed each mechanism
(2) environmental input during a person’s development is necessary for the emergence of each mechanism
(3) environmental input is necessary for the activation of each mechanism.
Now what is the nature of these learning mechanisms?
(1) people learn to avoid having sex with their close genetic relatives (learned incest avoidance)
(2) people learn to avoid eating foods that may contain toxins (learned food aversions)
(3) people learn from their local culture which actions increase social status and prestige (learned prestige criteria).
Lippa’s cross-cultural study found two key fndings:
(1) the gender differences in mental rotation ability were universal across cultures
(2) contrary to social role theory, the gender differences were actually somewhat larger in cultures with more gender equality.
paternity uncertainty
Never “knowing” with complete certainty whether they are the genetic father of their mate’s offspring.
