What is paternity uncertainty?
A problem faced only by males, where they are uncertain whether a child is there’s or not. Whereas, females never have to face this problem
What is the sexual over-perception bias?
When males tend to assume incorrectly that women are sexually attracted to them
How do evolutionary psychologists explain murder?
They explain murder as a form of ‘differential reproductive success’. To improve your reproductive success, you can either better yourself, or diminish your competition.
What group of people typically murder what other group of people?
Men murdering men
What are some characteristics that both men and women desire in their partners?
- Intelligence
- Kindness
- Understanding
- Healthy
- Similar personality, attitudes, and religious beliefs
What things make women attractive to men?
- Youth
- Health and fertility (healthy hair, skin, facial features indicative of high estrogen)
- Waist to hip ratio of 0.7
- Ideal curvature of the spine (wedge-shaped lumbar) for pregnancy
What things make men attractive to women?
- High social status
- Financial resources
- Physical formidability
- Masculine facial features
- Willingness to invest in children
- Different immune system (via smell of sweat)
What has research found in terms of the effect of the contraceptive pill on female’s preferences for male’s sweat?
Research has found that when on the contraceptive pill, women prefer the sweat of a man with a more similar immune system. Children of mothers who were on the pill at the time of meeting their partner were more likely to get infections, needed more medical care, experienced more sickness, and were perceived as less healthy in general.
What is the naturalistic fallacy and how do evolutionary psychologists feel about it?
The naturalistic fallacy is the belief that what is natural is good. While evolutionary psychologists attempt to explain the natural origins of various negative behaviours, they don’t necessarily believe they are good.
What is the perpetual, antagonistic coevolutionary arms race between stalking and anti-stalking behaviours?
Stalking adaptation > decrease in victim fitness > defense against stalking > decrease in stalker fitness > stalking adaptation
What are the 8 hypothesised functions of stalking?
- Acquiring a new mate
- Guarding an existing mate to prevent defection
- Fending of potential mate poachers
- Poaching away someone else’s mate
- Strategically interfering with competitors for mates
- Reacquiring an ex-mate
- Sexual exploitation and predation
- Guarding female mates and kin to prevent them from being sexually exploited
How much more are women likely to victims of stalking than men?
2.5 times more likely
What are some of the false beliefs often maintained by stalkers?
- Their persistence is truly desired by their victims
- Their victim’s lack of reciprocation is actually a ‘test’’
- Any attention the victim gives the stalker signals deeper romantic feelings than actually exist
- Their stalking behaviours do not inflict serious, lasting, or any other costs on their victims
How does error management theory relate to anti-stalking defenses?
- In social situations, one can either underestimate or overestimate the likelihood that another individual with engage in a particular behaviour
- Error management theory says that there is asymmetry in the costs associated with either over or underestimating
- In the case of stalking, overestimating the likelihood that a stalker will inflict damage is less costly than underestimating the damage they will cause (ie: if you overestimate, you just avoid stalkers more, but if you underestimate, you could become a victim of stalking)
- So, it is hypothesised that stalking victims tend to overestimate the threat posed by their stalkers.
When might blended families typically separate according to blood relations?
In situations of crisis or increased family stress
What is one of the most critical factors that can effect the success of a blended family?
The age of the children - younger children adjust quicker and more successfully than older children to the new family structure and living arrangements
What are some of the benefits experienced by members of blended families?
- Decline in depressive symptoms of children of divorced parents
- Availability of new support and experiences within the blended family structure
- Refinement of emotional resilience
- Increase in independent coping skills
What are some of the challenges experienced by members of blended families?
- Creating new family relationships
- Adjusting to new living arrangements and potential relocation
- Adjusting to new family and house rules
- Reviewing and co-parenting and contact arrangements with children’s other parent
- Dealing with loss of previous family structure and lifestyle
- Potential parental conflict regarding parenting and family values
Is a genetic tie with one’s child socially and culturally constructed or innate?
Socially and culturally constructed
What are the main reasons heterosexual couples undergo fertility treatment?
- Their expectation of becoming parents
- Complications associated with the adoption process
Therefore, they don’t do it because they innately believe a child needs a mother and a father
What are the 3 broad groups the Australian population can be divided into based on views towards ART use among hetero and homosexual couples?
1) Majority - consistently comfortable with same-sex and hetero use of ART (mostly female, uni educated, left-wing, non church attendees)
2) Minority - comfortable with hetero but not same-sex use of ART (mostly men, retired, conservative voters, frequent church attendees)
3) Small minority - not comfortable with ART use by anyone (mostly frequent church attendees)
What are some of the challenges faced by siblings of children with special needs?
- Reactions from the public
- Feel the need to be a perfect child to compensate for their sibling
- Taking on more roles and responsibilities at home
- Feeling isolated from their sibling with special needs
What are some aspects of positive growth that may come from being a sibling of a child with special needs?
- Increased maturity
- Greater self-control
- Empathy for others
- Acceptance and compassion for those with special needs
What is the Signposts program?
- Equip parents with skills to manage or prevent difficult child behaviour, encourage appropriate behaviour and teach new skills
