Evolutionary Psychology > Core Concepts > Flashcards

Core Concepts Flashcards

(25 cards)

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1
Q

3 products of evolutionary processes

A
  1. Adaptation
  2. By-products
  3. Noise
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2
Q

Definition of Adapation

A

Inherited and reliably developing characteristics that came into existence through natural selection because they helped to solve problems of survival or reproduction

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3
Q

Characteristics of Adaptation

A
  1. Inheritance by genetic transmission
  2. Develop reliably to solve adaptive problems
  3. Some adaptations are species typical; others are sex or in subsets of the overall population
  4. Functional
  5. Shaped by natural selection
  6. Has a unique environment of evolutionary adaptedness (EEA)
  7. Each adaptation has a period of evolution
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4
Q

Adaptations are functional if they are…

A
  1. Efficient
  2. Economic
  3. Precise
  4. Reliable
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5
Q

The Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness (EEA) is…

A

Selective forces or adaptive problems responsible for shaping the adaptation over the organism’s evolutionary history

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6
Q

Definition of By-products

A

Characteristics that do not solve adaptive problems and do not have functional design; they just happen to be coupled with specific adaptations

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7
Q

Definition of Noise

A

Random effects that are produced by forces such as chance mutations, sudden, and unprecedented changes in the environment, or chance effects during development.

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8
Q

Characteristics of Evolved Psychological Mechanism

A
  1. Exist because they solved a recurrent problem of survival or reproduction over our evolutionary history
  2. An evolved psychological mechanism is designed to take in only a narrow slice of information as inputs
  3. The input of an evolved psychological mechanism tells an organism the particular adaptive problem it’s facing
  4. The input of an evolved psychological mechanism is transformed through an algorithmic decision rule or procedure into outputs
  5. The output of an evolved psychological mechanism can be a physiological activity, information about other psychological mechanisms, or manifest behavior
  6. The output of an evolved psychological mechanism is directed toward the solution to a specific adaptive problem
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9
Q

The output of an evolved psychological mechanism can be…

A
  1. Physiological activity
  2. Information about other psychological mechanisms
  3. Manifest behavior
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10
Q

Important notes about Evolved Psychological Mechanism

A
  1. Evolved Psychological Mechanisms are problem-specific
  2. Humans possess a complex array of evolved psychological mechanisms
  3. Evolved Psychological Mechanism confers a high level of behavioral flexibility to humans
  4. The process of learning, socialization, and cultural influence is similar to the evolved psychological mechanism
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11
Q

Levels of Analysis in Evolutionary Psychology

A
  1. General evolutionary theory
  2. Middle-level evolutionary theory
  3. Specific evolutionary hypothesis
  4. Specific prediction derived from hypothesis
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12
Q

What is ‘General evolutionary theory’?

A

Describes the evolutionary principle that natural selection is the core engine of the evolutionary process by which adaptations emerge

Also known as Evolution by natural selection

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13
Q

What is ‘middle-level evolutionary theory’?

A

When the core principle of natural selection is applied to specific domain of life it becomes middle-level evolutionary theories

Ex) Kin selection theory
-> An extension of natural selection to the context of altruism amongst kin

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14
Q

What is ‘specific evolutionary hypothesis’?

A

Specific hypotheses about the operation of evolved psychological mechanisms that are generated by using middle-level theories

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15
Q

What is ‘specific prediction derived from hypotheses’?

A

Testable empirical predictions that are derived from hypotheses

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16
Q

2 approaches to hypothesis generation

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A
  1. Top-down / theory-driven
    -> Developing hypothesis from existing theory
  2. Bottoms up / Observations driven
    -> Developing hypotheses by observing behavioral, physiological, or psychological phenomenon
17
Q

Process of the top-down approach

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A
  1. Identify an adaptive problem
  2. Hypothesize an adaptation via task analysis
  3. Make predictions regarding the core design features
  4. Conduct empirical studies to test predictions
18
Q

Process of the bottom-up approach

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A
  1. Observe a phenomenon
  2. Hypothesize an adaptation via a reverse task analysis
  3. Make predictions regarding the core design features
  4. Conduct empirical studies to test predictions
19
Q

Useful tools & heuristics in identifying adaptive problems

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A
  1. Existing knowledge about the ancestral environment
  2. Applying middle-level theories to the EEA to identify who is most likely to face adaptive problems
  3. Must-solve vs. beneficial to solve adaptive problems
  4. Threats vs. opportunities
  5. Magnitude of impact & frequency of encounter
20
Q

Explain must-solve vs. beneficial-to-solve adaptive problems

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A

Must-solve:
The adaptive problem that, if not solved, will singlehandedly result in organisms failing to survive and reproduce

Beneficial-to-solve:
Problems that did not necessarily have to be solved but whose solution would nonetheless have increased the organism’s fitness

21
Q

Explain how magnitude of impact & frequency of encounter

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A

Low impact, high frequency:
Weak selective pressure, but occurs often enough to be beneficial to overcome

Low impact, low frequency:
Unlikely to shape adaptation

High impact, high frequency:
Extraordinary strong selection pressure; often shapes complex adaptations

High impact, low frequency:
Strong selective pressure; adaptation emerges even if an organism did not encounter the adaptive problem in its lifetime

22
Q

Process of task analysis

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A
  1. Specify the relevant end state (the solution to the adaptive problem)
  2. Detailing the specific design feature of the psychological mechanism capable of producing that end state

In other words, ‘How would an evolved psychological mechanism operate to solve this adaptive problem?’

23
Q

Applying task analysis on the stages of If-Then processing

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A

Input:
Identifying the social, cultural, or other environmental inputs that the mechanism is expected to process

If-Then rule:
Describing the algorithmic processing of these inputs

Output:
Predicting the mechanism’s psychological, physiological, or behavioral outputs

24
Q

Data for testing hypotheses and predictions

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A
  1. Paleontological
  2. Anthropological
  3. Sociological / psychological
25
What is Triangulation in research
Using multiple methods, data sets, and theories to increase scientific validity
Evolutionary Psychology
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