If you were given t-shirts that a variety of males and females had worn for the last two days, which biological factor would be the reason for which you would be repulsed by some of the t-shirts and attracted to others?

The reason is related to genetics. It is the relationship between your genetics and those of the other person that determines your preferences.

What does the evolutionary perspective offer in relation to the variety of tasks that humans must solve?

The evolutionary perspective helps us to determine which of these tasks have been, and are, currently critical.

How did the Greeks view the earth and life 2000 years ago?

They say it as being stable and unchanging

In 1830, which book of Charles Lyell’s was published? What was the significance of this book?

Principles of Geology. It sparked the beginning of scientists realizing the age of the earth and the manner in which it had changed throughout history.

Who is most commonly credited with observing that not only the physical earth but organic life on earth was going through an evolutionary process?

Darwin

Around which time was did Darwin’s theory of evolution become known?

During the late 1800s

Many have conceptualized the history of psychology as an intellectual struggle between which two groups?

Those who stress the importance of nurture and its impact on the environment vs. those who stress nature and its impact on biological determinants

How do most current theories approach the issue of nature and nurture?

Current theories have focused more on the interactive nature of the two rather than either separately.

Did Darwin emphasize psychological processes in his theory that united life on earth and its connection with the environment?

No. However, he did touch upon the topic of recognition and expression of emotion.

How can psychology during the 20^th century be characterised?

Having studied in this manner, what became apparent near the end of the 20^th century and the beginning of the 21^st and, consequently, what changed?

In the Greek language, what does the word “ethology” mean?

manner, trait, or character

What is ethology?

: It is the study of animals and what they do (ex: Jane Goodall was an ethologist)

What are two examples of interactions that ethologists would be able to describe (according to the textbook)

·         The interaction of birds feeding on a common food – noting how their behaviour changes when other birds come to feed along with them

·         They would note the manner in which human infants imitate the facial expressions of human adults

: In the field of ethology, what is the assumption regarding behavioural processes?

It is assumed that behavioural processes have been shaped through evolution to be sensitive to environmental conditions. Thus, behaviour can only be understood within the context of a particular environment.

: In ethology, what does the word “environment” encompass?

It includes not only the physical characteristics of a particular setting, but also the social and cultural milieu in which the organism lives.

What has the field of ethology largely focused on?

It has largely focused on particular patterns of behaviour that have evolutionary significance and the possible mechanisms that produce these behaviours.

Who was Konrad Lorenz?

He was a pioneer in the field of ethology

What did Konrad Lorenz formally study?

He formally studied behavioural patterns. He focused on the patterns he considered characteristic of a species.

Why do most psychology students know of Konrad Lorenz?

Because of his imprinting studies

What is imprinting?

It is a built in pattern in which birds, such as ducks and geese, follow an object, usually their mother, which moves in front of them during the first 18 to 36 hours after birth.

What did Lorenz demonstrate through his series of imprinting studies?

: Lorenz showed that orphaned baby birds would follow any moving organism, including himself, as if it were their mother. Not only would they follow Lorenz, but they would also ignore members of their own species and, still later in life, attempt to court humans rather than other geese. If the baby birds did not encounter a suitable object during this critical first 18 to 36 hours of their lives, the birds would not imprint and would even show terror.

How did Lorenz understand imprinting?

He suggested that imprinting and other similar phenomena worked like a lock and key. The key in this case would be the characteristics of the mother, including the manner in which the mother moved in front of the babies. The lock would be an innate brain pattern or template, in which knowledge concerning the key would be encoded. Further, the lock and key would only work together for a critical period (in the case of the imprinting geese it was between 18 and 36 hours after birth).

Once imprinting has taken place, what is the long term outcome?

It is almost irreversible and cannot be changed

What is the technical term for what was referred to by Lorenz as the “key”?

A social releaser

: In terms of social releasers, what has recent research on imprinting revealed?

Recent studies have shown the social releaser to be somewhat specific, in that newly hatched birds prefer to follow females of their own species, as compared to other objects.

What did studies with newly hatched chickens suggest with respect to social releaser?

They suggest the characteristics of the object’s head serve as the social releaser

What is the technical term for what Konrad Lorenz referred to as the lock?

Innate schema or innate template

The limited temporal period during which the lock and key work is referred to as what?

The critical period or sensitive period

What is a prominent feature of imprinting that is not part of skilled learning? What is this feature referred to as?

That imprinting is learned quickly and does not require a number of occurrences as with various types of skilled learning. This feature is referred to as “one-trial learning”

In 1938, Lorenz and Niko Tinbergen experimented with what?

The egg-rolling movement of the Greylag goose. (If the goose sees an egg outside its nest, it will reach past the egg with its bill and roll the egg back with the underside of its bill, balancing it carefully into the nest.)

What did Lorenz observe about the egg-rolling behavior of the goose when he removed the egg once? What does this suggest?

The behaviour continued as if the egg were still there; however, the balancing movement was not seen. This suggests that the balancing movement is sensitive to ongoing stimulation and ceases in its absence, whereas the egg-rolling movement, once begun, does not require sensory stimulation to continue.

Which term did Lorenz use to refer to the egg-rolling movement?

Fixed action pattern

What are the five characteristics of the fixed action pattern?

1.       It is released by a stimulus

2.       It uses the same physiological mechanisms (e.g., muscles) to achieve the same sequence of actions

3.       It requires no learning

4.       It is characteristic of a species

5.       It cannot be unlearned

: A fixed action pattern, once released, will do what?

It will continue in the absence of the releasing or triggering stimulus

What was Tinbergen (1974) particularly interested in understanding?

Instinctual processes such as fixed action patterns in a variety of species. One particular interest of Tinbergen’s was the nature of the stimulus that brought forth the response.

EX: a newly hatched herring gull chick will beg for food by pecking at the tip of the parent’s bill. The bill is yellow with a red spot at the end of the lower mandible. To determine which characteristics of the bill resulted in the pecking behavior, Tinbergen created a series of cardboard dummy birds and varied the colour of the spot on the bill. He found that frequency of pecking was highest with the red dot and lowest when there was no dot at all. He also varied the color of the head and found that head color made no difference at all to the frequency of pecking.

An alarm reaction to a predator flying overhead is an example of what? Why?

Instinctual processes. Because the same bird of prey silhouette could produce a different reaction, depending on its direction, suggesting some complexity in the reaction.

How did Tinbergen determine the exact stimulus required for an alarm reaction, in birds, to a predator flying overhead?

Tinbergen varied the shape of the bird of prey. Using cardboard silhouettes of various birds, he discovered that short-necked silhouettes produced alarm reactions in ducks and geese.

Why would short-necked silhouettes produced alarm reactions in ducks and geese?

Because short necks are characteristic of predatory birds such as hawks or falcons, that prey on ducks and geese.

From the ethological perspective, what are the four “whys” that Tinbergen suggested should be considered when studying behaviour?

1.       Causation (What are the mechanisms that cause the behaviour?)

2.       Development (How does the behaviour develop in the individual?)

3.       Evolution (How has the behaviour evolved?)

4.       Function (What is the function or survival value of the behaviour?)

With respect to Tinbergen’s first “Why” – causation – what does “cause” refer to in this case?

It refers to physiological mechanisms that are activated by environmental cues

What does the direction of movement of stimulus determine in ducks and geese?

The presence of alarm reactions

What did Irenaus Eibl-Eibesfeldt do in the 1960s?

He extended the ethological perspective to include humans

Who is the author of the book, Human Ethology, published in 1989?

Irenaus Eibl-Eibesfeldt

What does human ethology seek to understand?

How and why specific behavioural patterns in humans evolved, including the physiological processes involved.

What was the initial criterion for the investigation of human ethology?

Fitness

What does the criterion of fitness ask?

How a behavioural pattern contributes to the survival of the offspring.

How does Eibl-Eibesfeldt argue that human ethology is more than just tending animal processes to humans?

He argues that human ethology as takes into account cultural behavioural patterns, which can include, for example, how we design uniforms or organize sports matches, as well as traditional cultural processes. Further, in the study of humans, speech plays an important role.

The research methods of human ethology may be broad and can range from what to what?

They may range from data sampling, to non-participant observation using current technologies, to approaches that examine behavioural patterns across species.

In human ethology, which type of research is initially emphasized?

There is an emphasis on initial research involving the behaviour displayed in its natural context. After this, more experimental studies are possible.

What is a famous broad question that was asked by Eibl-Eibesfeldt?

What is the manner in which life should be considered?

What was Eibl-Eibesfeldt’s answer to his question, “what is the manner in which life should be considered”?

He emphasized that life should be considered as an energetic process. (From this perspective, one task of all organisms is to extract energy from their environment in forms such as food, sunlight, and so on, in order to live and perform other functions. Thus, the overall goal is to acquire more energy than one must expend in its acquisition.)

Who influenced Eibl-Eibesfeldt’s belief that life should be considered as an energetic process?

Hass (1970)

The idea of maximizing energy input and limiting energy expenditure will have profound implications for understanding what?

Human functioning

Accomplishing the task of maximizing energy input and limiting energy expenditure in ever-changing environments requires what?

 Adaptations

According to Eibl-Eibesfeldt, what do adaptations reflect? Provide an example.

They reflect features of the environment relevant to survival

                Ex: characteristics of light transmission through water are represented in the construction of afish’s eye. However, the human visual system reflects the transmission of light through air.

The characteristics reflected in the structure and function of an organism are mainly those related to what?

Fitness

Lorenz suggested that the thought processes of humans also reflect what? Provide an example.

Environmental fitness adaptations. That is, our cognitive processes do not depict the external world as would a video recording; we process we process and store information according to basic instinctual processes.            

                Ex: After reading the newspaper in the morning, most people will only retain that which is directly relevant or interesting to them.

Do most human creations (ex: computers) result from situational adaptations to the environment or from rational planning?

Most human creations result from situational adaptations to the environment

Adaptation, over time, becomes a key to understanding what?

Human behavioural processes

What is one of the first tasks in human ethology?

To identify innate behavioural processes

: Provide two examples of innate behavioural patterns demonstrated by human newborns.

1.       Grasping movements of the feet and hands when touched (ex: human infants at birth can close their fingers and toes around an object such as a rope tightly enough to enable them to hold their own weight)

2.       Rooting reflex – when the lips and cheeks are touched

What is the best stimulus for eliciting the grasping response in humans? How can this be explained?

A clump of hair. It may be that the response is related to the non-human primate infant grasping his mother as she moves through the trees (which has a survival value).

Does research support the idea that an infant’s facial features, including large eyes and forehead, may serve as releasing mechanisms that bring forth positively valenced affectionate responses from adults? If yes, which popular television show does this relate to?

Yes, research does support this this idea. This idea relates to Disney and their depiction of Mickey Mouse of the past 50 years where both his eyes and head gradually appeared larger and larger. This was done to make him more appealing to humans.

Who published, The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection, in the 1930s? How is this book typically described?

R.A. Fisher. This book is often described as the first major work to provide a synthesis of Darwin’s theory of natural selection with Gregor Mendel’s genetic research.

Fisher was interested in putting natural selection on a more scientific footing by doing what?

By developing an underlying mathematical formulation. *(What Fisher, along with others, began to do was to articulate the concept of variation as developed in genetics and integrate this with evolutionary theory using statistical concepts.

What was Mendel able to demonstrate through his work with the pea plant?

He was able to show how traits such as flower color and height were passed on from generation to generation.

Though Darwin described the process of evolution, what was he lacking? Consequently, what could he not explain?

He lacked knowledge of the mechanisms by which it could take place. He could not explain the specific causes of variation that drove evolutionary theory.

In working to put natural selection on a more scientific footing, with whom did Fisher work?

He worked with Darwin’s son, Leonard Darwin, to accomplish this task and gain perspective.

What was one of Fisher’s most important mathematical demonstrations?

The understanding that natural selection progresses by the accumulation of many small changes in genes, rather than a few large changes.

Fisher related the meaning of a normal distribution (bell-shaped curve) to what? Why?

Fitness. He suggested that there must be an optimal value that relates to the physical characteristics of the organism as well as the environment.

                EX: length of bird’s wings. If too short, they won’t be able to lift the bird off the ground. If too   long, the bird’s muscles may not be strong enough to move the wings appropriately. Therefore,              there is an optimal length.

For Fisher, what was the optimal measurement equivalent to?

It was the same as the mean, or average value, exhibited by the species

Fisher concluded that a small advantageous change in gene structure can occur only a __________ number of times before it changes the entire ____________.

Small; Population

What did Fisher’s work help set the stage for?

For the integration of the study of genetics with the study of evolution through natural selection

Who wrote, Genetics and the Origin of Species, in 1937?

Theodosius Dobzhansky

After coming to America from Russia, with whom and where did Dobzhansky study fruit flies?

He first studied fruit flies with Thomas Hunt Morgan at Columbia University and later at the California Institute of Technology

Q: What had Morgan and his group shown in their laboratory fruit flies?

They showed spontaneous variation in genes

Dobzhansky integrated Morgan’s work on genetic variation with which other type of work?

 He integrated it with the work of those who studied species in the wild

What did one of Dobzhansky’s original questions have to do with?

It had to do with the genetic variability that determines the differences in populations of a species

Members of the same species can have different genetic variations (true or false)?

True. This was demonstrated in both researches on laboratory and wild animals.

Does each member of a species have an identical set of genes (true or false)?

False. Members of the same species can have different genetic variations.

According to Dobzhansky, what helps to define a species?

Dobzhansky suggested that it was sex. That is, a species is a group of animals or plants that mate among themselves.

In his book, Genetics and the Origin of Species, how did Dobzhansky initially explain ways in which species could come into existence?

He began with the idea that genetic mutation leads to variation. (REVIEW – MIGHT NEED TO ADD MORE)

Would the fact that genetic mutation leads to variation be enough to lead to changes necessary to produce a new species?

No. This in itself would not lead to the changes necessary to produce a new species.

According to Dobzhansky, what was necessary for conditions to change in some manner, and lead to the production of a new species?

Isolating Mechanisms

Factors ranging from what to what could help produce isolating mechanisms?

Factors ranging from changes in geography to changes in physiology.

As a result from changes either in geography or in physiology (factors that affect isolating mechanisms), what would result in a species?

A part of a species would become isolated and begin to breed with each other. In the process, these organisms would become genetically different from the larger population.

As additional variations developed in the isolated population, which mechanism would come into play which would cause the variations (traits) to become part of the isolated population, and thus be more dissimilar from the original population of animals?

The mechanism of natural selection

Do the genes of isolated populations would negatively or positively with genes of the original population? What would be the two potential outcomes of the interaction?

They would interact negatively. Either no offspring would be produced or they would die prematurely.

Which notable scientists helped to complete the modern synthesis of genetics and evolution, which highlighted the similarity of understanding in such apparently unrelated fields as genetics, zoology, botany, and paleontology?

·         Ernst Mayr

·         George Gaylord Simpson

·         Bernhard Rensch

·         G. Ledyard Stebbins

About how many years ago did the modern synthesis combining the study of evolution with the study of genetics begin?

It begun over 70 years ago

: Presently, there is a call for a new synthesis, what would it take into account?

It would take into account the complex ways in which organisms change over time

Since the original synthesis, a variety of important discoveries have been made in the study of genetics, what are they?

·         The discovery of the structure of DNA

·         The sequence of the human genome

·         The additional ways, such as epigenetic mechanisms, for information to be transmitted from one generation to the next

·         The critical importance of the environment and its ability to turn genes on and off

William Hamilton published two papers in 1964 that were to become a major part of what?

“The second Darwinian revolution”

What did Hamilton do with Darwin’s work?

He enlarged Darwin’s view of reproductive success

: What were two things that Darwin had not addressed in his work – one general and one more particularly?

Darwin had not addressed the question of social relations in general and altruism in particular

How many copies of each chromosome do most vertebrates have in each cell? What are the origins of the chromosomes?

They typically have two copies – one comes from the mother and the other comes from the father

Do be bees, ants, and wasps have two copies of each chromosome in their cells?

They may or may not have two copies – it depends on their sex. Unfertilized eggs (which turn into males) contain only one copy of each chromosome. Fertilized eggs (those that turn into females) contain two copies of each chromosome.  

Because all the sperm produced by male bees is genetically identical, how does this influence female worker bees?

Female worker bees have more genetic material in common with each other than is usually the case. (“Usual” compared to what?)

Are sister bees more genetically similar to their mothers or to each other?

They are genetically more similar to one another than they are to their mother.

Are sister bees more genetically similar to their mothers or to each other?

They are genetically more similar to one another than they are to their mother.

Approximately which percentage of genes do sister bees share?

They share approximately 75% of genes

Hamilton suggested that by acting altruistically, organisms ensure what?

The organism ensures that genetic material more similar to its own is passed on.

If a particular behaviour helps to ensure the passing on of genes similar to one’s own, then this behaviour would be _____________?

Favoured

Hamilton’s answer to the question of altruism came to be called what?

“Kin Selection” or “Inclusive Fitness”

How can Inclusive Fitness, as a property, be measured?

It can be measured by considering the reproductive success of the individual plus effects of an individual’s actions on the reproductive success of its relatives.

Given that we share different amounts of genetic material with our relatives, the relationship must be corrected by the degree of __________?

Relatedness

Altruistic behavior will be greatest or least among those individuals who share the most similar genetic material? Provide an example.

It will be greatest. EX: Female ground squirrels produce more alarm reactions to danger when their sisters are nearby than when unrelated squirrels are nearby.

Although a number of studies have demonstrated kin recognition mechanisms in animals, current research shows that humans have also evolved mechanisms for assessing what?

Genetic relatedness

Hamilton’s suggestion of kin selection is often presented in the form of a mathematical relationship or rule. What does this rule state?

It states that behaviour will evolve if the cost to the individual is outweighed by the gain to another multiplied by the degree of genetic relationship.

: How is Hamilton’s rule of mathematically stated?

“Cost to the individual is less than the degree of relationship times the benefit” or (C < R x B)

In considering the implications of Hamilton’s rule, in which way did he turn the question of evolution upside down?

It is not the individual or even the group who is benefiting, but the gene.

In a 1963 paper, Hamilton wrote what? What did this lead to?

·         That the ultimate criterion that determines whether a particular gene will spread is not whether the behaviour will benefit the individual, but whether it will benefit the gene.

·         This lead to the concept of the “selfish gene”

Who went on to articulate the concept of the “selfish gene” in 1974?

Richard Dawkins

What is the concept of the “self-gene”?

According to this view, even though the behaviour of an individual may be altruistic, it is really performed in the service of the gene

Two years after Hamilton’s introduction of the concept of inclusive fitness, who published the book, Adaptations and Natural Selection, in 1966?

George Williams

How did George Williams begin his book, Adaptations and Natural Selection?

By saying that its purpose is to purge biology of “unnecessary distractions that impede the progress of evolutionary theory and the development of a disciplined science for analyzing adaptation”

How did Williams view the concept of adaptation? Provide an example he used to illustrate his point

·         He believed that the concept of adaptation is often used in a loose manner and thus lacks any scientific power. He suggested that it only be used when truly necessary.

·         The fox (COMPLETE THIS LATER – pg 19)

In his clarification of what did William not only make an important contribution to biology, but also helped to set the stage for evolutionary psychology?

In clarifying the logic of adaptation

How did William’s articulate Hamilton’s formal description of inclusive fitness? Which views did this position contrast?

·         He emphasized that natural selection should be understood in terms of the individual and the manner in which the genes of the individual are passed on.

·         This was in opposition to the group selection approach which suggested that organisms displayed altruism as a means of benefitting the group.

: In modern times, do we follow the group selection approach or the inclusive fitness approach?

Today, we follow the inclusive fitness approach. The group selection approach has all but disappeared.

With whom did Robert Trivers do graduate work?

With the well-known biologist Ernst Mayr

Give a brief description of Trivers first important paper, written in 1971.

In this paper, he described his theory of reciprocal altruism (a.k.a. altruism among non-kin). The basic idea of reciprocal altruism is that our own fitness, in an evolutionary sense, can be increased if we can expect other to help us some time in the future. Trivers saw this tendency growing out of an evolutionary past in which humans lived in small groups. In a small group, it is possible to note who helped whom or who did not help. Those who helped were helped in return and thus had a greater chance of surviving and passing on the genes related to these processes.

Give a brief description of Trivers second important paper, written in 1972.

This paper was directed at the question of parental investment. The basic idea is that the sex that invests the most in its offspring will have evolved to be the most discriminating in selecting its mating partner and vice versa.

In terms of parental investment, what are “investments”?

Investments are factors such as time, energy, and effort that increase the offspring’s chances of survival.

What is the tradeoff between parental investment and mating success?

When an organism is investing in an offspring, this in turn reduces its ability to produce additional offspring.

Give a brief description of Trivers third important paper, written in 1974.

This paper addresses the question of parent and offspring conflict. Essentially, this paper considers the situation in which a parent and its offspring, who shares 50% of its genes, are both seeking to optimize their resources. EX: A mother wants to wean a child so that she can provide for her other children, but the nursing child does not want to be weaned.

In studying ants, what did Wilson focus on?

He focused on a variety of problems, including the manner in which ants invade new territories as well as respond to different environments and limitations.

: What was Wilson’s domain as a biologist who studied insects?

Wilson’s domain was insect societies and the pressures that influence them.

Having studied insect societies, what was the larger-scale question that Wilson concerned himself with?

The large-scale question Wilson next asked concerned the nature of all animal societies, ranging from termites to chimpanzees, to humans

Which book did Wilson publish in 1975, and which question did it answer?

He published the 700-page book, Sociobiology: The New Synthesis. It contained his answer regarding the nature of all animal societies.

Wilson’s synthesis, contained in Sociobiology: The New Synthesis, was grand and incorporated which disciplines?

Cellular biology, physiology, psychology, and ecology

What does, Sociobiology: The New Synthesis, begin with?

: It begins with quotations from the Hindu god Krishna and the French philosopher Camus

In Wilson’s Sociobiology: The New Synthesis, what does his basic theme focus on, recapitulate, and what does it place emphasis on?

·         His basic theme focuses  on social behaviour

·         It recapitulates Hamilton’s idea of inclusive fitness and kin selection

·         It places emphasis on genetic reproduction as the ultimate goal

Which chapter of Wilson’s book caused the most controversy? What was the idea of the chapter?

It was the last chapter, which focused on humans. This idea of the chapter was to point out the evolutionary origins of humans on this planet.

How does Wilson arguably describe how ecologically unique humans are?

·         There is only one species of humans – and we form high density communities

·         Erect posture and bipedal locomotion

·         Less hair, but more sweat glands

·         Continuous sexual activity

·         Language

·         Culture

: What is the real issue that Wilson became the straw man of?

The nature side of the nature/nurture argument

The 1970’s was a period in the social sciences in which many of the theories assumed what?

Many theories assumed that humans came into the world as a blank slate and that experience determined almost all the psychological and societal characteristics they displayed.

Wilson saw his critic’s objections as composed of two large issues. What were they?

1.       Biological determinism: His critics saw his work as trying to reduce everything to the level of biology (it did not help that Wilson suggested that sociobiology would replace a number of disciplines, including psychology)

2.       Genetic determinism: Wilson viewed this as an objection to sociobiology. Genetic determinism is the idea that all aspects of human behaviour can be explained by the presence of genes.

Wilson suggested that sociobiology would replace with fields?

A number of disciplines, including psychology

From what do the ideas of biological determinism and genetic determinism result?

They result from a misunderstanding of science and the manner in which genes influence behaviour.

Wilson approached humans from which viewpoint and with emphasis on what?

·         From the viewpoint of zoology

·         With an emphasis on description and behaviour

What was one important aspect of sociobiology that helped psychologists?

It helped them to consider new questions to ask

In which way did sociobiology fail to contribute to psychology?

It did not articulate a psychological perspective for understanding behaviour and experience in light of evolutionary theory

How do current evolutionary psychologists consider psychological mechanisms?

They consider them to be an important level of analysis that cannot be reduced to biological levels

What does the current evolutionary perspective emphasize in terms of biology and psychology?

It emphasizes the manner in which biology and experience play intertwined roles in the development and operation of psychological mechanisms, which manifest in behaviour and experience.

After the rise and influence of sociobiology, what happened next in the development of evolutionary psychology?

Psychologists considered humans from the standpoint of mind

When considering more instinctual processes, Bowlby and others suggest that we need to do what?

That we need to look back a few million years and also consider these processes in primates other than humans

Bowlby referred to the historical environment in which humans experienced difficulties, found food, mated, and raised children, and formed and lived with others in social groups as what?

Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness (EEA)

What do we use EEA for?

To inform our considerations of our present-day behaviours and experiences, especially in terms of survival values.

What did Bowlby use as a way of understanding relationship patterns between mothers and their infants?

EEA

Bowlby’s ideas of attachment were often studied in the 20^th century without direct reference to what?

An evolutionary perspective

Though Bowlby’s ideas of attachment were often studied in the 20th century without direct reference to an evolutionary perspective, what was the one exception to this?

One exception was an introductory psychology textbook based largely on evolutionary themes. It was written by Harry Harlow, James McGaugh, and Richard Thompson in 1971 à it included Harry Harlow’s work on attachment in primates and other evolutionary perspectives.

Around what time did the term evolutionary psychology begin to appear in psychological discussions?

the 1980s

Cosmides and Tooby (1997) view their work within the historical context of who?

Charles Darwin and William James

How did Cosmides and Tooby (1997) reconceptualise instincts?

: They reconceptualised instincts in terms of an information processing paradigm, to reflect specialized neural circuits developed through evolution for specific processes.

: They reconceptualised instincts in terms of an information processing paradigm, to reflect specialized neural circuits developed through evolution for specific processes.

neural circuits

In recent work, how have Cosmides and Tooby referred to these processes?

They have referred to them as computational

According to Cosmides and Tooby, what does computational refer to?

It refers to the manner in which such processes as cognitive, emotional, and motor functions are regulated by neural networks in response to internal and external behavioural processes

The view of human nature as an evolved set of predispositions based on the types of problems our ancestors needed to solve is contrasted with what Cosmides and Tooby (1997) call _______________?

Standard Social Science Model (SSSM

What is the metaphor for the Standard Social Science Model (SSSM)?

The blank slate (assumed that experience plays the major role in determining our behaviour)

According to the Standard Social Science Model (SSSM), the same mechanisms are thought to govern what?

·         How language is acquired

·         How one learns to recognize emotional expressions

·         How one thinks about incest

·         How ideas and attitudes about friends and reciprocity are acquired

= Everything BUT perception

According to Cosmides and Tooby, there are two characteristics to adaptive problems. What are they?

1.       Adaptive problems are the problems that have been with us throughout our history as a species

2.       Adaptive problems are the problems whose solution affects the reproduction of individual organisms

Most adaptive problems have to do with the basics of life. What are they?

·         How to provide food and shelter

·         How to communicate with others

·         How to have pair relationships

·         How to produce children

·         How to take care of children

Although Cosmides and Tooby use the term adaptive problems, technically natural selection results in the passing on of what?

Adaptive solutions

Current estimates suggest that the species Homo sapiens can be dated to about what time and where?

170, 000 – in Africa

About how many years ago did agriculture first appear?

About 10, 000 years ago

About 5, 000 years ago, about which percentage of people were engaged in agriculture?

about 50%

About how many years ago did written documents first appear?

About 5, 000 years about

Humans lived as hunter-gatherers at least how many times longer than anything else?

1,000

Cosmides and Tooby’s five principles are tools for thinking about what?

psychology

How can the rule of “If P then Q” be applied to the Wason Selection Task?

One should turn over the cards that represent the values P and not Q.

Does training in formal logic help to improve one’s ability to solve Wason problems?

No

Does training in formal logic help to improve one’s ability to solve Wason problems?

No.

For an individual’s chances of correctly answering a Wason problem, how must the problem be stated?

It must not be stated as logical problem, but as a social exchange. It stated as such, the number of people who correctly solve the problem increases drastically from 25% to as high as 80%.

Why would the number getting the social exchange problem correct be three times higher than the number getting the logic problem correct?

Out brains were not designed to generalize every problem into a single logical system. Rather, our cognitive processes have evolved in relation to domains of problems to solve.

The identification of specific domains and the manner in which humans process those domains is an important aspect of what?

Evolutionary psychology

In 1992, who wrote a book that sought to bring evolutionary psychology to a broader audience by asking a variety of scientists to discuss their area of expertise from the standpoint of evolutionary psychology? What the title of this book?

This book was written by Jerome Barkow, Leda Cosmides, and John Tooby. It’s title was, The Adapted Mind.

What is the central theme of the book, The Adapted Mind?

The central theme suggests that there is a universal human nature (there is a tendency of individuals to display predispositions in similar environmental situations throughout the world)

What are the three assumptions associated with the theme of the universality of human nature?

1.       Universal human nature results from evolved psychological mechanisms

2.       Evolved psychological mechanisms are adaptations, constructed by natural selection over evolutionary times

3.       The structure of the human mind is adapted to the way of life of Pleistocene hunter-gatherers and not necessarily to that of the current era (**this refers to Bowlby’s EEA)

What is a current challenge in distinguishing between adaptive behaviours?

There is a challenge in distinguishing the behaviours that have resulted from an evolved adaptive process from those that have not.

Pinker, 2002, suggested that evolutionary psychology is the only coherent theory that helps to explain which aspects of human nature?

·         Kinship

·         Morality

·         Cooperation

·         Beauty

·         Motherhood

·         Sexuality

·         Violence

: What is the distinction between culture and evolution? Are these opposing constructs?

·         The evolutionary perspective asks a “why” question related to time. Culture offers a different level of analysis.

·         No. They are not opposing constructs.

At this point in time, there is a rich discussion taking place concerning what?

The theoretical underpinning of the field

At this point, many scientists are searching for the appropriate ways to discuss the richness and complexity of what? Provide an example.

·         Of human behaviour and experience

·         EX: The manner in which an evolutionary understanding can inform the study of cognition, emotion, economics, art, and religion is beginning to be seen in major scientific journals

: Is the blank slate theory still predominant in the field of psychology?

No. The emerging view is that we come into the world ready to ask certain types of questions at established times. (*EX: The acquisition of language is one prime example. It is clear that we come into the world ready and wanting to express and acquire a language. This is so prevalent across humans that some researchers have referred to this as the “language instinct” à Pinker, 1994)

Some evolutionary psychologists have replaced the word “instincts” with what?

“Modules in the Brain” (They see the brain as composed of a number of modules or microcomputers)

What is the metaphor associated with “modules in the brain”?

The Swiss army knife – because it contains a variety of independent tools. Each of these tools, or modules, evolved to solve a specific problem related to human functioning, such as survival or reproduction. One characteristic of such a module is that it is able to function somewhat independently of other brain processes.

Do higher order cortical areas of processing have a specific or general purpose?

They appear to have a more general purpose and are able to solve a variety of problems

A crucial question for future research in evolutionary psychology might be what?

What modularity might mean, beginning at the level of the gene, especially in terms of its mapping to actual cortical processes

What do Tooby and Cosmides (1992), in their emphasis on universal suggest? Does the author of the Textbook (Ray) agree with this suggestion?

·         They suggest that individual differences were really “noise” without adaptive significance

·         The author, Ray, does not agree with this suggestion. He, in turn, suggests that some individual differences, such as the development of personality, may function in many ways like the development of language. As such, the development of specific personalities fits consistently with an evolutionary perspective and can be described in terms of genetic and human/environment interactions.

According to Dennis Krebs (2003), what are six misconceptions concerning the focus and nature of evolutionary psychology? In general, where do these misconceptions stem from?

1.       Evolutionary approaches adopt a theoretically reductionistic “gene-centered” level of analysis

2.       Evolutionary theorists attempt to explain ontogenetic processes or outcomes by appealing to the creative or designing role of natural selection

3.       Evolutionary theorists believe genes are the sole source of transgenerational inheritance

4.       Evolutionary theorists believe that genes are self-contained and impervious to extragenetic influences

5.       Evolutionary approaches are genetically deterministic

6.       Evolutionary theorists pay lip service to environment

·         In general, these misconceptions stem from a misunderstanding of genetics

Except for _________________ in humans, there are few traits that are not influenced by environmental interactions.

Blood type

: What are four examples of generational transmission of information in humans?

1.       Epigenetic transmission

2.       Imitation

3.       Learning

4.       Culture

: What is epigenetic transmission? Provide an example.

It is when the gene itself is not changed, but the way in which it is turned on and off is. EX: What a mouse eats can influence the hair color of her grandchildren.

Each means of information transmission requires a large ________________ component.

Environmental