PSYC 3100 Study Guide - Fall 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Genetics, Phenotype, Natural Selection
12 Oct 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
PSYC 3100
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
LECTURE 1: INTRODUCTION
• Nothig i Biolog Makes “ese Eept i the Light of Eolutio – Theodosius
Dobzhansky
o Evolution helps us to understand how all of biology ties together
o A theory unites the facts
Evolutionary Theory
• Unites the biological sciences
• Makes sense of disparate facts in nature
• Is extraordinarily powerful at predicting new findings
What is Evolutionary Psychology?
• Use of evolutionary theory as the foundation for studying brains and behaviour
• Link between the natural sciences and psychology (ideally with the social sciences too)
• Draws from biology, zoology, psychology, anthropology, economics
• NOT a sub discipline of psychology – it’s a paradig for all of psholog
• Evolutionary theory unites the old psychological findings and helps predict new ones
• Argue that othig i psholog or ultures akes sese eept i the light of
eolutio
What topics are covered in this course?
• Kinship, Cooperation, Mating, Parenting, Individuality, Conflict, Uniquely human
behaviours
Gee’s Eye Perspective
• Genes replicate information; they are replicators
o Tell us how to build proteins
• Genes that are more prevalent now are the ones that were best at propagating
themselves in prior generations
• What can a gene do to aid its own propagation?
o Help build a good od a ehile, possil iludig a good rai
o Extract information from the environment and respond appropriately
o Help its body – or other bodies carrying a copy of itself – to survive and
reproduce
Possible isiterpretatios with Gee Laguage
• Shorthand talk
o A gene for X
▪ A gene or set of genes that code for proteins that act as a part of a
developmental process that, given a relatively normal rearing
environment builds (possibly with crucial input from the environment) a
brain or body in which X is more likely to occur than would have been the
case had the organism possessed an alternate gene or set of genes at
those loci
o A gene or organism wants X
▪ A gene that causes (however indirectly) X to occur is more likely to be
passed on than a gene that does not cause X
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
▪ Example: X is a good strategy; therefore, we expect to find genes that
cause X
o A gene (or organism) should do X
▪ X is a successful strategy that a gene could follow to spread copies of
itself therefore e predit that e’ll see organisms doing
o Beware of the Naturalistic fallacy
▪ Tede to ofuse hat is ith hat ought to e
▪ Evolutionary theory helps to predict and explain what will evolve of has
evolved, it does not justify it
o Genes are selfish
▪ Successful genes act as though they look out or themselves (i.e. they aid
their own propagation at the expense of alternatives)
▪ The genes that are more prevalent today are the ones that aided their
own spread in past generations
How to Do Well in This Course
• For each proposed adaptation, ask:
o What problem does it solve?
o Why is that a problem that needs solving?
o What solves that problem?
o How does it solve the problem?
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
