PSY287 Evolutionary Psychology S1 Exam Study

What are the 5 core social motives

belonging, understanding, controlling, enhancing, trusting

Why is belonging a core social motive

helps survival

Why is understanding a core social motive

to predict and make sense of everything

Why is controlling a core social motive

we want control, and it encourages cooperation

Why is enhancing a core social motive

we feel good about self, we are more likely to help group

Why is trusting a core social motive

encourages group cohesion

What are the key differences between individualist and collectivist cultures?

individual vs group identity, valuing personal vs group goals, decisions based on self vs group, assertive vs avoidant

What is evolutionary psychology?

how human thoughts, emotions and behaviours have been shaped by evolution

What are the three components of a psychological mechanism?

input, processing, output

Do social or cultural inputs influence the output (e.g., behavior) produced by psychological mechanisms?

Both. Culture and social learning shape how we interpret and how we respond

What is the relationship between universal psychological mechanisms and cross-cultural variability in behavior?

universal mechanisms produce variable behaviours due to cultural inputs that create norms for what is appropriate behaviour to an input

Are sociocultural explanations and evolutionary explanations in conflict with one another?

Evoloution explains why a mechanisim or trait evolved, sociohistorical explains how norms, enviornment and context shape that mechanisim or trait

What is conceptualisation?

forming a hypothesis based on theory and application to problems

What is operationalisation

the methods you're using to measure the abstract concept

What is a main effect

the effect of 1 IV on the DV, independent to the influence of any other IV's

What is an interaction

1 level of the IV has a different effect on the DV than a different level of the same IV

What is the 3 things that determine causality?

association, temporal priority, no alternative explanations

What are the 4 things that make a good theory?

1. Causal relationships

2. coherance

3. simplicity

4. falsifiable

what is a meta-analysis

taking all the studies on a subject and finding the average effect

What is reproducibility

if another person wanted to they could replicate your experiment

Why is reproducibility important

validates your findings, guides research, encourages open science

Cognitive structure and process are two foci of what type of social psychological research?

Social cognition

What is the positivity bias?

Our tendency to focus on the positive aspects

What is the negativity bias?

the tendency to focus on the negative aspects as they are more influential

What is a normative model of decision making?

How people should make decisions

What is a descriptive model of decision making?

How people actually make decisions

Describe the different levels of self (body, inner, interpersonal, societal).

1. Body self - all parts that are you and connected to you

2. Inner self - individual, self-reflective true self

3. Interpersonal self - who you are in relation to others

4. Societal self - your social identity

What is an isolated self-concept?

the self is a distinct, autonomous individual with focus on personal goals, traits and rights

What is an interrelated self concept?

the self in relation to relationships and social roles

Name 2 phenomena that describe how people think that others notice much more about them than they actually do? What do these phenomena refer to?

1. The spotlight effect - people are paying more attention to you than they really are

2. Illusion of transparency- that your internal state is more apparent to others than it really is

According to Higgins' (1987) self-discrepancy theory, what are the three self-guides that are used to regulate behavior? List and define all three.

Actual, ideal and ought self

Name the four contexts described in the chapter that guide people's self-presentations.

personal goals, audience, immediate situation and society

What is "focalism"

overestimating how you'll feel in response to an event

What is "affective forecasting"

predicitng how you'll feel in response to future events

Self esteem is an evolutionary adaption, that tells a person what?

How much they are valued or not valued as a relational partner

Is self esteem one thing, or is there multi domains of self esteem

there is multi domains, with people being able to have high in one but low in other

Is self esteem more effected by self perception as a friend, or as a romantic mate

romantic mate

What factor of self esteem are women most effected by?

their physical attractiveness

What factor/s of self esteem are men most effected by?

status and competence

What are the three social cognition motives

understanding, controlling and trusting

Due to the social cognition motive of trusting, what 2 things does the mind think

people are usually good, and bad behaviour needs immediate attention

Does our cog system ID who violated a social agreement, or what social agreement was violated

who

Is it the whole brain as a singlular problem solver, or many different mechanisim that solve particular issues

both are theories

What does the utlility theory propose

when someone breaks a social agreement, you suffer a loss

Accourding to the utility theory, should the cheater detection system respond to the cost that didn't return, or the benefit?

the cost

What is the permission schema theory

permisson tells if behaviour is socially appropriate

Accourding to the permission schema theory, what should the cheater detection system respond to

the permission for the behaviour

What three things have to happen for someone to be a cheater according to the social contract theory

the person benefits, they don't return the cost, and it is intentional

(T/F?) the cheater detection system has pinpoint accuracy

True

What is more favourable on a evoutionary level: reciprocal exchanges, or taking for self?

reciprocal exchanges

Is our cheater detection event or person categorised?

Person categorised

What = cheater, accidents, or intention?

intention

What is the textbook's definition of prosocial behaviour

behaviour with the intent to help someone

What is the textbook's defintion of empathy

the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person

What are the different motives for engaging in altruism?

egoistic, reciprocacy, to reduce personal distress, social rewards, social norms/obligations, reputation

What are the three different levels of moral reasoning (According to Kohlberg)

preconventional, conventional, post conventional

What does the 'veil of ignorance' mean

people making moral decisions withou their own self-interest or bias

What are the 6 stages of Kohlberg's morality in order?

1. avoiding punishment

2. self interest

3. good girl/boy attitude

4. law and order morality

5. social contract

6. principle

How does rawlsian morality relate to post conventional stages of morality

both emphasise social justice and fairness over social norms

How does rawlsian morality relate to the social contract stage of morality

both emphasise fair demoncratic thinking

How does rawlsian morality relate to the principle stage of morality

both emphasise universal rights and ethics

When are people more likely to choose ommision? When there is risk of pain, punishment, or reward?

punishment

Which of the following are reasons for cultures of honour?

1) farming vs herding

2) male dominant population

3) weak authority

4) geographical isolation

5) crime rates increased in location

6) historical and political instability

1, 3, 4, 6

what is a culture of honour?

a place where having a reputation for being tough is valued

Which of the following are characterisitics of cultures of honour?

a) reputation

b) aggression is justified

c) gender roles

d) male's dominate women

e) loyality

f) die-for-your land mindset

g) distrust in authority

a, b, c, e, g

What are the conditions of exposure to media violence that increase aggression even more?

1) media depicts the person winning due to aggression

2) hides the concequences of the aggression

3) similar characterisitics with the perpetrator

Does exposure to violent media increase, or decrease aggression?

increase

Why does exposure to violent media increase aggression?

when someone acts violent, it produces pleasant feelings, these reinforce aggressive behaviour

What are the 3 types of aggression? (hint, A vs B)

1) physical vs verbal

2) passive vs active

3) direct vs indirect

What is relational aggression, and who is most likely to do it?

Behaviours intended to damage another person's relationships and belonging in a group. Women most likely

Does evidence support the violence vs aggression proposal? Why/why not?

No, violence is due to aggression

Is the idea of catharsis publically and supported by evidence? Why/why not with evidence?

It is publically supported, but evidence shows that acting aggressive increases aggressive behaviours

It aggression due to the environment, or due to genetic factors?

It is a genetic x environment interaction

What is the weapons effect? (what happens when there is a weapon present in an interaction?)

focus hones in on the weapon, aggression increases

Is aggression due to alcohol a placebo, or purely physiological?

purely physiological

If you thought someone had been drinking, would you view their behaviours as silly, or as more aggressive?

more aggressive

What type of aggression are women most likely to display?

Relational aggression, indirect, passive

What type of aggression are men most likely to display?

Physical, direct, active

What is dynamic coordination?

Taking sides based on public signals derived from actions, not identities

What is the function of moral judgement?:

1) To understand who's side to take in a dispute to build a social alliance

2) To guide self behaviour to ensure it aligns with our self values, as well as socially acceptable behaviour

3) To enforce social norms and maintain group cohesion

1

What is the function of moral decision making?:

1) To understand who's side to take in a dispute to build a social alliance

2) To guide self behaviour to ensure it aligns with our self values, as well as socially acceptable behaviour

3) To enforce social norms and maintain group cohesion

2

What is the function of moral condemnation?:

1) To understand who's side to take in a dispute to build a social alliance

2) To guide self behaviour to ensure it aligns with our self values, as well as socially acceptable behaviour

3) To enforce social norms and maintain group cohesion

3

Which of the following words/phrases align with Rawlisan morality?

1) benefit the most disadvantaged

2) equal resources for everyone

3) favour the hardest working

4) inequalities must be attached to oppurtunities that were equally accessiable

5) no self bias

6) focus on group, not outer

1, 4, 5

Is moral judgement about welfare? If not, what is it about instead?

No, it is about social cohesion

What is bias? (short answer)

categorising people

What is stereotypes

applying expectations of a group onto someone you think is a member of that group

What is prejudice

preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience

what is discrimination

acting based on stereotypes and prejudice

What is entiativity?

the degree that a group is seen as a cohesive unit

What is essentialisim?

people from a certain group have an underlying essence that causes their behaviour/looks

What is the ultimate attribution error?

Attributing outgroup behaviour as more negative, and ingroup as more positive

Why don't we talk about social bias?

Fear of being misunderstood, causing anger when old points are brought up, feelings run high

What does the term 'natural categories' refer to? give one example

some differences between groups are seen as inherant, fixed and biological example sex

What are the three things that make subtle biases harder to detect?

1) ambivilant

2) ambigious

3) cool and indirect

What is benevolent sexism?

saying nice things about women but viewing them as sub-ordinate

What 3 things need to happen for prejudice to be lowered in intergroup contact?

1) equal status

2) common goals

3) cooperation with no competition

Who benefits from intergroup contact?

the oppressed group

What are the 3 components of a psycholgoical mechanisim?

Input, processing & output

What is the relationship between universal psychological mechanisims, and cross-cultural variations in behaviour?

Everyone has the universal mechanisims, but the differences in culture cause different levels and ways of expressions

Why would our social psychology systems have evolved to detect cheaters

it is a protective adaptation to avoid exploitation, ensure cooperation and ensure benefits of social living