PSY BEH 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Outsourcing, Dictator Game, Conjunction Fallacy

• School: UC-Irvine
• Department: Psychology and Social Behavior
• Course: PSY BEH 100
• Professor: Shariff

Document Summary

Maladaptive to engage in religious beliefs and behaviors. Diversity in how religion"s interpret evolution and vice versa. Lancet fluke (microorganism that enters the brain"s of the ant) We are the ant and the lancet fluke is religion. What is adaptive for religion itself and less adaptive for the individual (genes) Religion is a parasite on the human species. Genetic evolutionary account religion evolved because it was adaptive for the individual. Mind virus account religion is a cultural idea, not genetically evolved to be adaptive, maladaptive. Cultural evolutionary account culturally spread because it was actually adaptive to us and our groups. Humans have the tendency to presume agency, even when it doesn"t exist. Presume agency first, ask questions later - pay special attention to the possibility of agency. Has the consequence, as a byproduct, to lead us to believe in supernatural agents. Imagining leads to simulations of possibilities; it is difficult for the human brain to imagine nonexistence.