David M. Buss chapter 12
Terms
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- predecessor of evolutionary psych, the systematic study of the bio basis of social behavior, including humans
- Sociobiology
- uses Darwinian and neo-Darwinian evolutionary principles to generate hypotheses and explanations of psychological phenomena
- Evolutionary psychology
- adaptation, survival of the fittest, natural selection, sexual selection, firness(measured in terms of differential reproduction)
- Darwin\'s theory of evolution
- Humans are \'collections of mechanisms\', each one of which was forged over evolutionary time by the process of selection. Some behaviors are adaptive because they solve problems-not b/c they perpetuate genes.
- Buss\'s view on behavior over the course of evolution
- what characterizes a person at any given point in time is a function of what that person has experienced in their lifetime. (John Locke and Tabula Rasa)
- Empirical theory/ Social science model
- the human mind has been shaped by evolution and is predisposed to act in some ways and avoid acting in others
- Evolutionary Psych Theory of human nature
- differences between males and females attributed to bio rather than social factors
- sex differences
- an evolved, multi-faceted solution to a recurring adaptive problem, also called a mechanism or circuit. (finding food, warmth, mates etc)
- Strategy
- expanded notion of gene reproduction where individuals help relatives, who share their genes, survive and reproduce
- Inclusive Fitness
- proposal that the sex w/ greater investment in reproduction (females) will be more selective in choosing a mate while the sex w/ less investment (males) will be more competitive
- theory of parental investment
- Buss and Schmitt\'s proposal that mating strategies differ due to sex and whether a short-term or long-term relationship is sought
- Sexual strategies theory
- 1)Self promotion: use tactics that display youth, beauty, health, commitment and fidelity (make-up,cosmetic surgery, don\'t be promiscuous) 2)competitor derogation: pointing out their rival\'s flaws and smearing their reputation
- Long-term strategies: Females attracting Males
- 1)Self-Promotion: brag about income, career, and athleticism. Show commitment w/ understanding, common interests, love and devotion 2)competitor derogation: criticize a rival\'s resources, athletic prowess, and fidelity
- Long-term strategies: Males attracting Females
- prefer men who are physically attractive 1)Self-promotion: wear sexy clothing & make sexual advances 2)comp. derogation: Identify rivals as teases, infected w/ std\'s, smelly, frigid etc
- short-term strategies: females attracting males
- prefer women who consent to sex after a short period of time 1)self-promotion: make an immediate show of their wealth and status 2)comp. derogation: Identify rivals as gay or bi, infected w/ std\'s, or in a committed relationship
- short-term strategies:
- occurs when a person employs a particular strategy to achieve a goal and another person interferes w/ successful enactment of that strategy
- strategic interference
- helps to bind couples to one another through sickness and health, for richer or poorer
- Love
- an evolutionary adaptation that protects long-term relationships
- Jealousy (increases likelihood of making false- positive mistakes, lets your partner know you care)
- proposal that humans are predisposed to make those types of errors for which costs are minimized. Focuses primarily on errors in judgment
- Error management theory *men are jealous and intolerant of sexual infidelity *women are \" & \" of emotional infidelity (him falling in love w/ another woman)
- the cost of making a false-negative could be very high (always about making a mistake)
- losing one\'s life or finding out partner is cheating
- the cost of making a false-positive are relatively low
- just an inconvenience for a little bit
- a behavior that risks our resources, including our own physical safety to benefit others
- altruism
- offering help to genetically related individuals (altruism towards our family members) * increases our \'inclusive fitness\' *based on a genetic cost-benefit analysis
- Kin altruism
- B= benefit gained by recipient C= cost incurred by actor r= proportion of genes shared by actor and recipient *benefit to your child must be at least twice in proportion, in order for you to help them
- Hamilton\'s Rule: rB > C benefit to a distant relative is more costly
- 1) ourselves 2) children & immediate family 3) more distant relatives 4) non-relatives
- In order, the people who we most likely act for
- fear or distrust of strangers. Evolutionarily, unless ancient humans had abundant food, water, & shelter, outsiders were looked at as competitors for resources
- Xenophobia
- mistaken belief that what naturally \'is\' is also what \'ought\' to be
- Naturalistic fallacy
- willingness to help people genetically unrelated to you with the explicit or implicit expectation that someday the favor will be repaid or returned
- reciprocal altruism *if you help someone, they are more likely to help you in the future...which enhances both of your survivals
- consuming more than one\'s share of benefits and/or paying less than one\'s share of costs
- cheating
- Ex: 4 cards in front of you -if a card has a vowel on one side, then there is an even # on the other side -face-cards: A,B,4, and 7 -task is to turn over only the cards you need to, to determine if the rule is true
- turn A and 7 -if there is an even # on the opposite side of A, the rule is true -if there was a vowel on the opposite side of 7, the rule is false
- activation of an evolved mechanism by stimuli or situations other than those for which it evolved. The result is that behavior is not suited to the envi or context in which it is expressed and may therefore be socially inappropriate, dangerous, or self-d
- context failure
- a measure of how frequently a person can potentially reproduce: low variance(between Zero and once per year) for women; high variance (between zero and potentially many times per year) for men
- reproductive variance
- greater reproductive variability in males than in females. In other mammals and primates, it can lead to fierce competition among males-including a propensity to engage in risky/violent behavior in order to gain access to mates. (homicide)
- effective polygyny
- fears that are wildly out of proportion to the realistic danger, are typically beyond voluntary control, and lead to avoidance of the feared situation
- phobias (according to David M. Buss)
- occur when an ancient adaptation manifests itself in distinctly different ways in contemporary organisms Ex: a bird\'s feathers first evolved to regulate their body temp but were later used for flying
- exaptations
- occur when an original adaptation has several unforeseen side effects in contemporary organisms Ex: the increased capacity of the human brain over the course of evolution
- spandrels
- In development of the psychological construct, a relationship b/t: 1) the theoretical framework for the construct 2)an empirical framework for how the construct is measured and 3)empirical relationships b/t these 2 frameworks
- nomological network
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Short-Term Mating Strategies
(Men seeking females) -
Self-Promotion->brag about income, career and athletics, immediate show of wealth
Competitior derogation->identify comepetitors as gay, STDs, or already in a committed relationship.