EP Test 3

ancestral benefits of cooperation:

• Communal offspring care
• Reduced risk of predation & natural hazards
• ‘insurance’ against injury
• Cooperative hunting & resource sharing
• Defense (or offense) of resources or territory

Reciprocal altruism

cooperative and prosocial behavior in non-kin, contingent on reciprocity

Indirect reciprocity

helping others (cooperating) brings long-term benefits from third parties (‘paying it forward’)

Costly signaling

large displays of generosity or prosocial behavior signal value as an ally

Prisoner’s dilemma

how do people achieve cooperation and avoid temptation

2 keys to prisoner's dilemma

1. Iterating the dilemma multiple times
2. The use of tit-for-tat- reciprocity

For cooperation and altruism to work…

1. People need to identify when theyre being cheated
2. Avoid cheaters

Detecting deception

• people are not very good a consciously detecting deception (our bodies are better)
o heightened arousal, threat response
o this is how polygraphs work

Free riding

taking benefits from group without giving anything back

Abdication

giving away the choice

advantages of abdication:

• Makes you look generous, and the other person feel gratitude
• Typically, the person will give you the better reward

Emotions that facilitate cooperation:

anger, shame, gratitude

anger

facilitates desire for punishment

shame

when people violate an accepted social rule (cheating)

groups with lots of altruists would...

cooperate very well

groups without altruists would...

go extinct

Problem with group selection:

• Free riders and cheaters undermine the benefits of altruism
• Group selection gets overwhelmed by individual selection

Sociometer theory

Self-esteem reflects perceived level of social acceptance

Social reconnection hypothesis

Social exclusion motivates people to form and solidify social connections (satisfy the need to belong) EX: frisbee video

Social monitoring theory

when people are worried about being rejected, they monitor the social environment very closely

The role of social anxiety:

• Effects of exclusion on social reconnection are reduced by social anxiety
• Effects hinge on perceived possibilities for reconnection
• Social anxiety blocks those perceptions

Highly anxious people DID NOT....

increase perceptions of sociability

Functions of violence

• Co-opt others’ resources
• Defend against attack
• Deter future aggression
• Negotiate hierarchies
• Deter mates from cheating

Men judge their own and others’ fighting abilities ...

more frequently than women

Sexual dimorphism is considered what kind of agression?

physical aggression

indirect aggression is most common in...

women

women tend to use what kind of aggression?

derogation

Young Male Syndrome

• Aggression
• Risk-taking
• Competitiveness

those who engage in warfare have...

4x as many wives & more affairs

Raids:

when male war parties go out and launch a sneak attack on several males from rival coalition

raids happen because of...

• Failed agreement
• Suspicions of adultery

is social hierarchy universal across species and cultures?

Yes, (chicken example)

Dominance

use of formal authority, fear, coercion, and power

Prestige

being a role model, wielding admiration and respect (based on knowledge and expertise)

noble savage hypothesis

NOT TRUE; society makes us less violent, people are inherently violent.

male warrior hypothesis

the presence of warfare increases cooperation between men

cons of dominance:

selfishness, narcissism, thirst for power, prioritize their own capacity for power over the group, engage in malicious envy

dominance across species:

biggest, strongest, and most willing to act aggressively rises in social rank

dominance across humans:

use of power, resources (money), formal authority

social rank in ancestral groups is based primarily on...

prestige (egalitarian)

cons of prestige:

o desire for approval & sensitivity to possible rejection
o behaviors aimed at protecting social approval

pros of prestige:

 works well for creative tasks
 provides team members with voice and autonomy

pros of dominance:

o Works well for task that require coordination/cooperation
o Potential for punishment discourages selfishness
o Preferred during intergroup conflict

is dominance universal?

Yes, from crickets to chimpanzees

Challenge hypothesis:

male T increases during mating season

during intrasexual competition

T increases aggression and confidence (shows women they're a good mate)

Social ranking matters for everyone, but more for men.. . why?

Women prefer high social status in potential partners

Pride:

emotion experienced after gain in social rank

Envy:

experienced by people relatively low in social rank

Schadenfreude:

experiencing pleasure in another’s misfortune

Authentic pride-

o Based on genuine accomplishment
o Confidence and high-self esteem

Hubristic pride-

o Arrogance, Narcissism, entitlement, sense of superiority

Benign envy-

o Desire to emulate role model
o Positively motivating--> raise your social rank

Malicious envy-

o Desire to bring down high status person
o Negatively motivating reducing other people’s social rank

how does an evolutionary perspective affect the way we think about mental disorders?

Understanding the ultimate causes behind psychological disorders (based in evolved mechanisms)

Darwinian Medicine:

Application of evolutionary principles to issues of health & disease

darwinian medicine led to new insights about...

• Infectious diseases
• Cancers
• Autoimmune diseases

Organizational behavior-

how people work in groups and teams to conduct business
• leverages the psychology of social hierarchy, leadership, cooperation

Business leadership-

• traditional approach: top-down, ‘command and control’
• newer approach: team-based

Business teams-

• cooperation in teams essential for success
• relies on psychology of reciprocal altruism (tit-for-tat)

Negotiating-

• making joint decisions to divide resources

Advertising & consumer behavior

• marketing products requires understanding the motives of the consumer
• influence heuristics

social proof

if others are doing it, it must be good

scarcity

if something is rare, it must be good

during ovulation women purchase more sexy clothing because...

SEX SELLS

fundamental motives that drive people:

sex, social status, self-protection

example of good marketing:

using fear to stop people from smoking

marketing:

leveraging people’s evolved motives to sell products