Evolution of Human Behavior Exam 1 (Rutgers)

Evolution

Change over time

Evolution as both a fact and a theory:

~Fact is an observation about the universe

~theory is how it got to be that way

Replicators (reproduction with inheritance, mutation)

things that make copies of themselves

Variation Selection: natural, sexual, artificial, and social

Variation: Differences in genetics

Natural Selection

Differential survivial leading to differential reproduction

Sexual Selection

Differential mating success

Artificial Selection

Like us breeding wolves to become dogs. Not natural, something from the outside is acting on them

Social Selection

Organisms choose partners for other purposes besides reproductive reasons.

Differential Reproduction

organisms that vary, have to be heritable, will allow to reproduce at different rates

Survival vs. Reproduction

~survival only important for means of reproduction

~Survival is on the individual level and reproduction is the survival of that individuals genes.

The "for the good of the species" fallacy

no selfishness, leave a few behind for the better of the evolution of reproduction

Adaptationism

an emphasis on the fact that natural selection designs organisms to be adapted

Phylogenetics

~Relation to the evolutionary development and diversification of a species or group of organisms, of of a particular feature of an organisms

~natural selection can only work with what it already has

Phylogenetic constraint

an organism's phylogeny is its past and how its ancestors got them to where they are today. because natural selection can only work on something that already exists, it isn't very creative, aka it is constrained on how far it can evolve.

Convergent evolution

provides evidence of power of natural selection, if the selection is similar it can cause convergence (because of the species' environment)

The human male urogenital system

The male urogential system has design error and is not designed as effectively as it could be (the testis is super long), but because evolution process is not perfect it cannot change past mistakes and suddenly evolve perfect structures (magically make the testis shorter). Thus, making it avoid things like testicular cancer.

Examples of convergent evolution

~fish, ichthyosaurs, and dolphins

~Thylacines (Tasmanian tiger)

~Nectar-feeding birds

~Cetaceans (whales and dolphins)

~Cichlid fishes in Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika

Vestigial Organs

Vestige: held over from the past.

Focus on phylogeny, but not very imperative to their existence

"Waterworld"

Film that Doesn't understand phylogenetic constraint

The vertebrate eye vs. the squid eye

both camera eyes, phylogenetics, lack of perfection in an organism. characteristics that we have that is extremely well-adapted, but it could be better based on other species and their adaptions of those certain characteristics. no blind spot

Problem of novel environments

when you have a species in an environment that is unprecedented. all bets are off. doesn't belong there, new environment. we are drastically changing our environment and that is not good for the species

Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness (EEA) (same as ARE)

whatever environment that helps you understand an adaptation, where it came from. ex: our skeletal structure shows we have evolve from fish. addressing our past environments and how they have helped us evolve to this day.

The "problem" of sperm banks

Sperm banks request sperm donors for money because men are not accustomed to donate sperm based on their ancestry, although men always want to extend their reproduction

Melatonin

Example of an EEA. Melatonin is a chemical that allows organisms to sleep properly it is found in many organisms because we all adapted to living on earth. Melatonin's role in day/night cycles probably

originated more than 700 million years ago in the common

ancestor of humans and this marine worm.

Deep time

we are products of evolution from very long time ago. Humans are recent compared to the time organisms have been around. (football field)

Human Ability to detect animals and humans vs. objects

People are better at spotting people and animals than artificial objects such as cars. This could be because of an adaptation that evolved in ancestral environments where humans and animals could be threats so we had to notice them. Man-made objects are new so we haven't adapted to it yet.

"Can racism be erased" study

Coalitional psychology vs. racial categorization...

we may be stuck with a tendency to create us/them distinctions, but we may not be stuck with a tendency to do so on the basis of external phenotypic differences

Memory Confusion Protocol

Show statements about coalitional memberships associated with photographs of people of different races and wearing team uniforms. People sorted people by coalition (shirt color) not race!

Coalitional psychology

at the drop of a hat we are most willing to team up with others (in opposition to someone else)

Different types of explanations (proximate, ontogenetic/developmental,ultimate/distal, phylogenetic/evolutionary)

~Proximate: How the organism is functioning in the moment you are looking at

~Ontogenetic/Developmental: How did the organism grow to do that thing (starting at fetus to now)

~Ultimate/distal: Why was that evolution chosen to perform that way? What was the adaptiveness of it (Our Class)

~Phylogenetic/evolutionary:The evolutionary history of the organism. The raw material that the organism had to evolve. Why did we evolve this and not something else?

Evolution, culture, and behavior

The three are a triangle. Evolution and culture interact to produce human behavior

Hume's "ought" vs. "is" dictum

~"is": generated by science, descriptive and non-judgemental.

~"ought": good or bad, should or shouldn't be. fundamentally separate endeavors. cannot go from is to ought because it will not give correct or enough information

Naturalistic Fallacy

The fallacy that what is natural is always good. Even though men have evolved to what to reproduce as much as possible, it does not give men the free card to be unfaithful.

Behavior Genetics

Identify specific genes that are associated with specific behaviors. Can say interesting things about the behavior of the individuals, but can't say much about the group.

Adult Lactose absorption and fresh milk drinking

a way to explain how different groups of people behave in different populations.

genetic difference in vitamin D

Human Behavioral Ecology

very closely related to evolutionary psychology, trying to say genetically human beings are pretty much the same. we've got a natural environment happening with similar species sprawled across multiple environments (social, cultural, historical, economical, etc.)

Mutualism among 3-toed sloths, moths, and algae

Two parties evolving together in a complementary fashion, one providing benefits for the other. moth lives in the fur of the cloth and lays eggs in it's poop, so the sloth slowly descends from the tree so the moth can local the poop to lay its eggs.

Differential reproductive success

brought about by the possession of heritable variants that increase or decrease an individual's chances of surviving and reproducing.

(bottom line of natural selection)

Genetic Drift

Random changes in the genetic make-up caused by mutation, founder effects, or genetic bottlenecks

Founder Effects

Decreases genetic diversity because a founder (random member of a group) "founds" a new area for the species and then they only have the founder's genetics to pull from.

Genetic Bottleneck

Small population (again, random sample) survives some sort of a catastrophe and are therefore not representative of the whole original population.

Modern Synthesis:

Unification of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection with the discovery of gene inheritance.

Ethology

The study of the proximate mechanisms and adaptive value of animal behavior

Tinbergen's 4 "whys"

essentially the same as the four levels of explanation described in class.

Adaption (defined be Williams)

Argued that adaptations are RELIABLE, EFFICIENT, and ECONOMICAL.

Adaptations

Inherited + reliably developing characteristics born of NS because it solved a problem or survival or sexual selection. Usually happens in groups of genes vs. individual genes.

by-products

Dont' solve a problem and aren't functional, just sort of carried along with the genes. Think belly button.

random effects

Aren't linked with adaptation and accompanying by-products. Can be helpful, neutral, or negative. Usually caused by sudden change in environment or accidents during development.

(Evaluating and hypothesizing adaptation) Efficiency

Solving the evolutionary problem in a proficient manner.

Economy

Solving the evolutionary problem in a cost effective manner.

Precision

All components of the adaptation are specialized for preforming the end result.

Reliability

The idea that the adaptation will actually function and solve the problem.

EEA

Environment of evolutionary adaptedness. Statistical composite of selection pressures.

Belly Buttons as by-products

just a side effect, not useful and doesn't serve an adaptive purpose

Levels of analysis in EP

the way science works, we have a large evolutionary theory, go from the theory to actually doing work. move through steps to do that

Middle-level evolutionary theories

Still pretty broad, must be compatible with evolutionary theory but not derived from it.

Specific

More specific than Middle-level Evolutionary Theory?

General Evolutionary Theory

Looked at from "gene's eye view"

Top-down (deduction)

starting with a broad theory, make predictions and get data to test it

Bottom-up (induction)

induce a theory, test that with other data and build a theory from the bottom

Evolved psychological mechanism

A set of processes inside an organism that has certain properties.

Domain Specific vs. Domain General

domain specific is made of up modules that all do specific jobs. domain general is general jobs. domain specific in this world

Adaptive Problems

1. Problems of survival and growth

2. Problems of mating

3. Problems of parenting

4. Problems of aiding genetic relatives

Symbiosis

Living together in harmony, similar to mutualism