PSYC 2600 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Facial Symmetry, Social Exclusion, Phallic Stage
19 Jun 2018
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Week 5 Notes:
Chapter 8: Evolution
- Good book is the Naked Ape
Natural Selection and Reproductive Success
- There are two basic facts that we all have in common:
1. We all come from an unbroken line of ancestors
2. They did two things successfully:
They survived until the reproductive age
They also found a mate and reproduced
Natural Selection: describes a process by which all living beings that reproduce do so at a rate
that will allow naturally occurring variations in giving them the advantage to survive and
reproduce
- There is random variation in every species (naturally occurring), the process of natural
selection explains the process of some the variations dying, and some variations helping
survival
- This is a very time-consuming process
Adaptations: an inherent solution, traits that help survival
- Example: a problem for our ancestors would have been danger
Sexual Selection
- Natural selection doesn’t explain all adaptions
- Ex. the peacock
The peacock’s feathers make it stand out to predators
Females choose mates with the best plumages
Sexual Selection: the process of attracting mates, or developing certain traits that are attractive
to mates
- Some traits that don’t increase survival rate, develop because they increase the
individual’s success in attracting a mate
Intersexual Competition
- Same sex competition
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- Members of the same sex (usually males) compete with each other to have access to
the opposite sex
- Noticeable characteristics provide some with advantages.
Example: the antlers of a deer
Intersexual Competition
- Members of one sex choose mates based on what they like, by constantly choosing the
mates based on those traits, those traits get passed on
- Female choice
Example: females choose males who are physically stronger so they can protect them
Females choose men with facial symmetry (good health, young)
Genes and Inclusive Fitness
- The discovery of the gene shifted focus from the individual to the gene
Indirect Fitness: individuals want their relatives with whom they share genes to survive as well
Directive Fitness: someone is very invested in the survival of their own offspring, protection of
offspring
Inclusive Fitness Theory: making decisions that will help the survival of direct descendants, and
relatives
- This theory explains human altruism
- The gene is the most important part of survival
- People given scenarios of saving either their 10-year-old sister, 55-year-old aunt,
grandma, or friend from a house fire
According to the theory, the correct answer is to save their 10-year-old sibling, people
choose this
- Our ancestors survived in groups- they wanted to protect people in their group for their
own survival
Adaptations
- A solution that has provided our ancestors with the tools to overcome the hostile forces
of nature (disease, earthquakes, food shortage)
- Members of the species that survive carry the solutions, they pass them down
Example: stray dogs in Moscow
- Face food shortages, shelter, cold
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- The dogs choose specific trains to get on, and get off at specific stops
- They have learned to identify the voice of the conductor, they follow certain people,
they know the train routes
- They have learned how to navigate the Moscow subway stations
- Some dogs had beggar personalities: friendly, very good at figuring out the subway
system
- Some dogs have wolf like properties: bigger, aggressive, leader of the pack
Human Nature
Need to Belong
- This is a universal feature
- Social exclusion, rejection, shaming is experienced as strongly as physical pain
- It was crucial for survival to be a part of a group for survival for our ancestors
Helping and Altruism
- Helps survival
- Universal
Emotions
- There are universal emotions
- Fear, sadness, anger, disgust, and surprise
- These are called primal emotions
- They are elicited from the ancient part of the brain (fight or fight response)
- More complex emotions (disappointment) are thought to have developed later, they
develop the cohesiveness of the group
Depression
- A serious mental health condition
- Different types of depression cause different types of problems
- Depression following a break up represents a loss of social support- it is important to
hurt, then you will not seek the same level of support in someone with similar
characteristics
- It is important to feel this pain- depression is adaptive
Sex Differences
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find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
There are two basic facts that we all have in common: we all come from an unbroken line of ancestors, they did two things successfully: Natural selection: describes a process by which all living beings that reproduce do so at a rate that will allow naturally occurring variations in giving them the advantage to survive and reproduce. There is random variation in every species (naturally occurring), the process of natural selection explains the process of some the variations dying, and some variations helping survival. Adaptations: an inherent solution, traits that help survival. Example: a problem for our ancestors would have been danger. The peacock"s feathers make it stand out to predators. Sexual selection: the process of attracting mates, or developing certain traits that are attractive to mates. Some traits that don"t increase survival rate, develop because they increase the individual"s success in attracting a mate.
