Chapter 2 9/27/2012 9:33:00 AM
Evolutionary perspectives
Use principals from evolutionary biology to explain why certain
patterns of social behaviour to explain why certain patterns of social
behaviour and psychological mechanisms have evolved in animals,
including humans
Sociobiology: the idea that some behaviours are a result of
evolution
Natural selection: the process by which individuals who are best
adapted to their environment are more likely to survive, reproduce,
and pass on their genes to the next generation
A major attribute that people look for while picking a mate is
physical attractiveness (physic and complexion)
o People that are more attractive are healthy, therefore they
can reproduce many healthy offspring
Pair-bond: is between the mother and the father
Attachment: between the parent and the infant
o An offspring’s chances of survival are greatly increased if the
parents bond emotionally and if the parents have a propensity
for attachment
Parental investment: refers to the behaviour and resources invested
in offspring to achieve this end
Men spend more money on their genetic children than their step
children form a previous marriage, but they spend the same
amount of money on their genetic children as children in their
current relationship
o Perhaps to cement a pair bond with the partner
Women react ta range of sexual stimuli, because if they were to
have intercourse with out vaginal lubrication, it could lead to
infection and death- natural selection favors that women respond to
more diverse sexual stimuli (even people that they really aren’t
attracted to)
Sexual selection: selection that results from differences in traits
affecting access to mates
o Consists of two processes: 1. Competition among members of one gender (usually
males) for mating access to members of the one gender
2. Preferential choice members of one gender (usually
females) for certain members of the other gender
men should show off things that will attract women, like there
material possessions, and personality traits like ambition
the waist to hip ratio has steadily decreased over time
Evolutionary Psychology
Evolutionary psychology: the study of psychological mechanisms
that have been shaped by natural selection
If a man had a good judge if a women was fertile, he will be more
successful in reproducing
Sexual strategies: females and males face different adaptive
problems in short term, or casual mating and in long term mating
and reproduction
Men generally relax their standards when it comes to looking for a
short term mate, women’s standards don’t differ that much
Psychological theories
Four major theories are relevant to sexuality:
1. Psychoanalytic theories
a psychological theory originated by Sigmund Freud; it contains
basic assumptions that part of human personality is unconscious
termed the sex drive the libido
ID, EGO, AND SUPEREGO
o Id: operates on the pleasure ego, is there at birth can be
irrational -> contains the libido
o Ego: operates on the reality principal, makes a person have
realistic, rational interactions with others
o Superego: is the conscience, contains the values and ideals of
society that we learn and operates on idealism
Erogenous zones: areas of the body that are particularly sensitive
to sexual stimulation STAGES OF PSYCHOSEXUAL DEVELOPMENT:
o Oral stage: pleasure derived from the stimulation of the
mouth and lips
o Anal stage: focused on elimination
o Phallic stage: focused on their genital stage
Development of the Oedipus complex: the sexual
attraction of a little boy for his mother
Boy feels castration anxiety because he fears that his
father will cut off his penis
Female Oedipus complex: the sexual attractio
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