PSYC 385 Chapter Notes - Chapter 9: Baldwin Effect, Inbreeding Avoidance, Genetic Assimilation
27 Mar 2015
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9. 1 conditions for the evolution of phenotypic plasticity. When we expose our skin to sunlight, we produce more pigment and our skins become darker tanning. Does not account for all of the variation in human skin coloration there are differences in baseline pigmentation between populations too but it does seem to be an important evolved ability. Even if conditions 1-4 are met, plasticity will not necessarily evolve because plasticity has costs as well as benefits. The mechanism needed to produce plasticity are more complex than those required to produce a fixed phenotype. Plastic mechanisms can be triggered inappropriately or cues can prove unreliable, meaning that the wrong phenotype ends up being activated. We should expect plasticity to emerge where conditions 1-4 are all met, and the benefits of being plastic outweigh the costs of the extra complexity and energy expenditure, the slower the development, unreliability of cues, etc.
