3.4 Evolutionary Psychology and 3.5 Contemporary Issues: Polygenic Risk Scores and Predicting Your Future

evolutionary psychology

subdiscipline of psychology interested in looking at behaviors and psychological processes through the lens of evolution and natural selection

mismatch theory

idea in evolutionary psychology that says there is a mismatch between motivations and behaviors shaped by evolution and the environment we live in now

eg cravings for food with high sugar, fats, and salts

young male syndrome

fact that aggression in human males tends to peak during adolescence and is likely influenced by human evolution

polygynous mating strategy 

one male mates with several females 

the greater the polygyny

the greater the sexual dimorphism

sexual dimorphism

difference in size, shape, and features between the sexes for that species

altruism 

behaviors that help others but harm the individual doing the behavior 

reciprocal altruism 

type of altruism where one member of a group helps another with the assumption that help will be returned in the future 

costly signaling

explanation of altruistic behavior in modern humans where one benefits from being altruistic as long as other people see and value that behavior

sexual selection

difference between sexes of animals in what they find sexually attractive is often linked to sexual dimorphism or differences in the physical and behavioral characteristics of the two sexes

sweaty t-shirt experiment 

an experiment that shows people are attracted to odor of people who have different genes (HLA genes) connected to the immune system than themselves 

behavioral ecology

branch of zoology interested in how animals’ behaviors have been shaped by evolution to meet their particular needs

evolutionary psychology is the 

study of how psychological traits are affected by the pressures of natural selection 

mismatch theory is the

idea that genetically influenced behaviors that were adaptive to our ancient ancestors may motivate behaviors that are maladaptive today

our cravings for foods that are high in simple sugars, fats, and salts are highly affected by

genetically influenced reward systems that evolved in our ancient ancestors. This has contributed to high rates of obesity today

aggressive behavior is higher in men, which is influenced by 

sexual dimorphism and male-male competition for mates

altruism is behavior that is self-sacrificing to help others.

Genes for altruism can be selected if the altruistic act saves close relatives

sexual selection is the

idea that males and females find different physical and behavioral attributes attractive

a person’s odor can provide information about HLA genes associated with their immune system.

the sweaty t-shirt experiment supports these findings 

comparative psychology and behavioral ecology are both

disciplines that are interested in the evolution of learning and behavior

polygenic risk score PRS

assessing a person’s SNPs for different psychology and health disorders can provide an estimate of the risk of that individual developing the disorder