Chapter 8: Evolutionary Perspectives

Question 1

The biological domain

Answer 1

How much of human nature today is the result of behaviour patterns that evolved as our ancestors solved the problems of surviving and reproducing?

Question 2

Evolution and Natural Selection

Answer 2

All humans today come from an unbroken line of ancestors who accomplished two tasks:
—They survived to reproductive age
— They reproduced

We carry adaptive mechanisms that led to our ancestors’ success

Human nature and human personality made up of a collection of evolved mechanisms

Question 3

Before Darwin, two features of evolution were recognized:

Answer 3

Change over time

Apparent adaptation to environment

Question 4

Natural Selection
Darwin revolutionized biology

Answer 4

Proposed a theory of the process by which adaptations are created and changes take place over time—natural selection

More offspring produced than can survive and reproduce

Changes or variants that better enabled an organism to survive and reproduce lead to more descendants

Descendants inherit variants that led to their ancestors’ success

Thus, successful variants are selected and unsuccessful variants are weeded out

Over time, successful variants come to characterize entire species

Adaptations:
Inherited solutions to survival and reproductive problems posed by hostile forces of nature

Question 5

Sexual Selection

Answer 5

Darwin noticed that many mechanisms seemed to threaten survival

Darwin proposed evolution by sexual selection as a solution

These traits evolved because they contributed to an individual’s mating success

Success at same-sex competition leads to success at mating

Traits that help to win these battles are passed on in greater numbers; hence evolve in the population

Question 6

Two forms of sexual selection

Answer 6

Intrasexual competition:
Members of the same sex compete with each other for sexual access to members of the other sex

Intersexual competition:
Members of one sex choose a mate based on their preferences for particular qualities in that mate

Question 7

gene

Answer 7

Packet of DNA inherited by children from parents; discrete unit inherited without being broken up

Discovery of the gene as a unit of inheritance led to key discovery
—That natural selection and sexual selection are different forms of the same process

Differential gene reproduction:
Reproductive success relative to others

Question 8

Inclusive fitness theory (Hamilton, 1964)
Inclusive fitness:

Answer 8

Personal reproductive success (number of offspring you produce) plus effects you have on the reproduction of your genetic relatives, weighted by genetic relatedness

Question 9

Products of the Evolutionary Process
Adaptations

Answer 9

The primary products of selection

Defined as:
“reliably developing structure in the organism which, because it meshes with the recurrent structure of the world, causes the solution to an adaptive problem”

Question 10

Adaptive problem:

Answer 10

Anything that impedes survival or reproduction

Question 11

Byproducts of adaptations

Answer 11

Byproducts are incidental effects of adaptations not properly considered to be adaptations
e.g., whiteness of bone is a byproduct of calcium in bones

Question 11

Hallmark of adaptations are special design, including

Answer 11

efficiency, precision, and reliability

Question 12

Noise or random variation (for adaptation)

Answer 12

Neutral with respect to selection
e.g., shape of the human earlobe

Question 13

Evolutionary Psychology
Premises of Evolutionary Psychology

Domain-specificity:

Answer 13

Adaptations are designed by evolutionary process to solve specialized adaptive problems

Question 14

Evolutionary Psychology
Premises of Evolutionary Psychology

Numerousness:

Answer 14

Expectation is that there are many psychological adaptations, because different adaptations are required to solve different adaptive problems

Question 15

Evolutionary Psychology
Premises of Evolutionary Psychology

Functionality:

Answer 15

Psychological adaptations are designed to accomplish particular adaptive goals

Question 16

Empirical Testing of Evolutionary Hypotheses
Hierarchy of levels of analysis in evolutionary psychology

Answer 16

General evolutionary theory
Middle-level evolutionary theories
Specific hypotheses
Specific, testable, falsifiable predictions

Question 17

Two modes of conducting empirical research

Answer 17

Deductive reasoning approach:
“Top down,” theory-driven method

Inductive reasoning approach:
“Bottom up,” data-driven method

Both equally valid modes of conducting research in any area of science

Question 18

Human Nature

Answer 18

Human nature is a product of evolutionary process

Psychological mechanisms that are successful in helping humans survive and reproduce out-replicate those that are less successful
e.g., mate guarding

Over evolutionary time, successful mechanisms spread through population and come to characterize all humans

Humans evolved to live in groups

Consequently, an individual who is shunned by a group will feel anxious

Question 19

Human nature

Examples of evolutionary analysis at the level of human nature

Answer 19

The Need to Belong (may lead to social anxiety)
Helping and Altruism
Universal Emotions

Question 20

Human nature

helping and altruism

Answer 20

Tendency to help kin under life-or-death versus everyday conditions

Genetic overlap predicts the tendency to help, especially under life-or-death conditions

Question 21

universal emotions

Answer 21

All these evolutionary perspectives on emotions hinge on the proposition that they are universal and universally recognized in the same way

Ekman pioneered the cross-cultural study of emotions

Photos of the seven emotional expressions that are correctly identified by people from many diverse cultures.
Happiness, disgust, anger, fear, surprise, sadness, and contempt

Question 22

sex differences

Answer 22

Evolutionary psychologists expect that males and females will be the same or similar in all domains where sexes have faced the same or similar adaptive problems

Expect sex differences in those domains where
Sexes recurrently faced different adaptive problems

Question 23

Examples of differences between men and women that are attributable to recurrently facing different adaptive problems:

Answer 23

Aggression
Jealousy
Sexual Variety
Mate Preferences

Question 24

Individual Differences

Answer 24

Most challenging and difficult level of analysis for evolutionary psychologists Three evolutionary perspectives on individual differences Reactively heritable:

Question 25

Individual Differences Three evolutionary perspectives on individual differences

Answer 25

Environmental triggers of individual differences Heritable individual differences contingent on other traits Frequency-dependent strategic individual differences

Question 26

The Big Five and Evolutionarily-Relevant Adaptive Problems

Answer 26

Big Five personality traits as clusters of key features of “adaptive landscape” of other people Humans have evolved “Difference-detecting mechanisms”: Designed to notice and remember individual differences that have most relevance for solving social adaptive problems

Question 26

Individual Differences Reactively heritable

Answer 26

Is a secondary consequence of heritable body build There is some evidence to support this idea that body build enters into a man’s decision of whether to pursue an aggressive strategy

Question 27

limitations of evolutionary psychology

Answer 27

Adaptations are forged over long expanse of evolutionary time Learning more about our evolved mechanisms is a tool for overcoming limitation of sparse knowledge of ancestral environments Evolutionary scientists have just scratched the surface of understanding the nature, details, and design features of evolved psychological mechanisms Modern conditions are undoubtedly different from ancestral conditions in many ways, and so what was adaptive in the past might not be adaptive today It is sometimes easy to come up with different and competing evolutionary hypotheses for the same phenomena—true of all science Evolutionary hypotheses are sometimes accused of being untestable and hence unfalsifiable This is no more true than for any other science

Question 28

Chapter 8 Summary and Evaluation

Answer 28

Selection is key to evolution, or change in a species over time Variants that lead to greater genetic replication spread through the population Evolutionary psychology has three premises: ---Adaptations are domain-specific, numerous, and functional Evolutionary psychology proceeds through both deductive and inductive research approaches Evolutionary psychology can be applied to all three levels of personality analysis ---Human nature, sex differences, individual differences Evolutionary psychology has several limitations, but this perspective adds a useful set of theoretical tools to the analysis of personality at levels of human nature, sex differences, and individual differences

Question 29

Evolved mechanisms

Answer 29

certain mechanisms or processes “have evolved because they solved particular adaptive problems” (Cloniger, 2008, p. 504) ---for example, sexual jealousy helps men “deal with” the problem of uncertain paternity certain mechanisms or processes have adaptive value in terms of promoting our survival and encouraging reproductive success

Question 30

In men and in women, higher socioeconomic status was linked with ________ success in mate poaching (schmitt et al., 2004)

Answer 30

more

Question 31

Sexual Strategies Theory (Buss & Schmitt, 1993; Schmitt, 2003)

Answer 31

men and women have evolved different mating strategies involving both short-term and long-term strategies in long term strategies men and women differ in their preferences for a mate: ---men: signs of fertility and reproductive value (e.g., youthful physical appearance) ---women: signs of status, maturity, and resources (e.g., lots of money!)

Question 32

Extraverted people appear _____ likely to engage in promiscuous behaviour (Shmitt et al., 2004)

Answer 32

more

Question 32

Conscientious people appear _____ likely to cheat (Shmitt et al., 2004)

Answer 32

less

Question 33

Mean likelihood of consenting to sex after knowing someone for 1 month across 10 world regions (source: Schmitt et al. 2004)

Answer 33

men are likely to consent in 8-10 countries, while only 1/10 countries women would consent. men eager yes, women eager no

Question 34

Parental Investent Theory (Trivers, 1972)

Answer 34

males and females differ in the relative proportion of parental investment parental investment: “the time and energy devoted to the care of individual offspring” (Schmitt, 2003, p. 86) in our species, women incur a greater cost to have offspring (e.g., gestation and lactation) men require only “the contribution of sperm” (Schmitt, 2003, p. 86)

Question 35

Good Financial Prospect: Buss (1989); Buss (2006); Bus et al. (1990)

Answer 35

women- higher indispensable level

Question 36

Mate Poaching (Schmitt et al., 2004)

Answer 36

mate poaching = “trying to attract someone who is already in a romantic relationship” (Schmitt et al., 2004, p. 560) short-term mate poaching long-term mate poaching

Question 37

Feminist Identity and Mate Poaching

Answer 37

“sex differences in the occurrence of short- term mate-poaching attempts tended to be smaller in regions with greater gender equality” (Schmitt et al., 2004, p. 577)