PSY BEH 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Psychological Adaptation, Kin Selection, Steven Pinker
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Culture and cultural evolution: what makes us human: Kin selection fundamental, cooperative thing any species does (good to people with whom you share your genes) If you did not have anger, it would be maladaptive if you are constantly encountering prisoner dilemma type situations (being screwed over by others) If you didn"t feel embarrassment or shame, you would be a socially unpopular person. Sympathy - makes you able to reach out to someone in a situation of need (reciprocity) Gratitude (opposite of contempt) - maintain reciprocal relationships; sense of gratitude entices reciprocal behavior. Pride (opposite of shame) - motivates you to pursue those positive behaviors. In about 50k years, we colonized pretty much every corner of the world. We have this stone age mind that"s trapped in the modern world (mismatch hypothesis) We"re smarter than the average bear (so much smarter) Pinker we have these genius brains that can look at the environment and figure things out instantly.