PSYCH 1XX3 Lecture Notes - Ground Squirrel, Gene-Centered View Of Evolution, Kin Recognition
14 Apr 2013
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Document Summary
Organisms evolved to maximize their fitness and reproductive success. Many examples in humans and social animals where individuals appear to behave altruistically; helping others to a cost to themselves. Examples: bees spend their lives in the service of the colony helping to raise eggs laid by the. Queen and many bees often die defending their colony from predators. Also, in belding"s ground squirrels, individuals will frequently give alarm calls to warn others that there is a predator in the area, giving everyone a chance to flee and hide. However, the whistle blower draws attention to itself, alerting the predator to its exact location. Finally, humans cooperate by helping their family, friends and strangers. Evolution acts at the level of genes and those genes that contribute to an individual"s fitness will consequently get replicated more often, increasing in frequency in successive generations. Natural selection will favour the genes that best serve their own interest.
