Chapter 3 Flashcards
(22 cards)
What is evolutionary psychology?
Emphasize the evolutionary mechanisms that might help explain commonalities in human behaviour, cognition and emotion
What is behavioural genetics?
Looks for his genes interact with environments to create individual differences
What is evolution?
How does it occur?
A change in gene frequency within a population that typically takes place over many generations
One way is during the division of cells that produce sperm and eggs, an error can occur copying the original DNA and produce a mutation, if the mutation if favourable, it will continue on, if it’s not, the species won’t survive
What are the two kinds of sexual selection?
Intersexual selection- member of one sex chooses mate from other sex on basis of certain characteristics
Intrasexual selection- members of same sex compete for a partner of the same sex
How do psychologists track down how evolutionary traits come out?
They first look at the organism past and see what challenges it faced
Then draw inferences on the behavioural tendencies that were selected
Then do research to see if the tendencies exist
What are mental modules?
A collection of specialized and independent sections of the brain
Developed to handle specific survival problems
Ex: locate food or find a mate
Are all traits adaptations?
No
Example: freckles, baldness, pimples
What are the 5 innate human characteristics?
- Instant reflexes
- An interest in novelty
- A desire to explore and manipulate objects
- An impulse to play and fool around
- Basic cognitive skills (mental modules)
These are adaptations
What is sociobiology?
An interdisciplinary field that emphasizes evolutionary explanations of social behaviour in animals, including human beings
What are the four challenges to the conclusion that men just want to reproduce and women just want a good rich man? (Sex difference theory)
- Stereotypes versus actual behaviour- actual behaviour does not always match stereotypes
- Convenience versus representative samples- research samples are not always representative
- What people say versus what they do- mating behaviour varies widely across cultures
- The fred flinstone problem (significant evolutionary changes have occurred)
What is heritability?
A statistical estimate of the proportion of the total variance in some trait that is attributable to genetic differences among individuals within a group
Expressed as a proportion (4/10, 0.60, etc)
If heritability is .4 then the environment is .6
High heritability- community with all rich kids that go to super expensive school, the mental ability heritability would be high since they all have same education
Low heritability- community with rich, poor and inbetween, mental ability heritability would be low since the environment could affect any of them
What are the three important facts about heritability?
- An estimate of heritability applies only to a particular group living in a particular environment
- Heritability estimates do not apply to individuals, only to variations within a group
- Even highly heritable traits can be modified by the environment
Can doctors estimate the heritability of a trait?
No they can only infer it
What’s the difference between fraternal twins and identical twins?
Fraternal (dizygotic)- twins that develop form two separate eggs and diff sperm (not alike at all)
Identical (monozygotic)- when egg divides into two parts that develop into separate embryos
What is one way to infer heritability?
To take two identical twins with the same genes and switch them at birth and see how the environment affects them
Or study adopted children to see how the environment of their new parents affected them
What is an intelligent Quotient?
IQ
A measure of intelligence through a standardized intelligence test
Who is more likely to have higher intelligence heritability from their parents, identical twins or fraternal twins?
Identical has around .85 heritability while fraternal has .60
What is the one fatal flaw in genetic explanations when saying one group is better than the other?
The heritability estimates used are based mainly on samples of white people to estimate the role of heredity in group differences
What are the 4 influences associated with reduced mental ability?
- Poor prenatal care- smoking, etc can lower IQ
- Malnutrition- eating right can have a huge role in IQ
- Exposure to toxins- air pollution, lead can lower IQ
- Stressful family circumstances- father who ran off, limited work skills
What are epigenetics?
The study of changes in gene expression due to mechanisms other than structural changes in DNA
What led to greater reproductive success in males vs females?
Males: survival, stronger, more population
Females: a strong partner to protect from nature, picks good genes in partner
What is social Darwinism?
The notion that the wealthy and successful are more reproductively fit than other people
