Week 2: Evolutionary Perspectives

Which degrees of acceptance and rejection can our perceived relational value be? (7 levels)

1. Maximal inclusion (others go out of their way to interact)
2. Active inclusion (others welcome us but dont seek us out)
3. Passive inclusion (others allow us to be included)
4. Ambivalence (do not care whether we are included)
5. Passive exclusion (others ignore us but dont avoid us)
6. Active exclusion (others avoid us, tolerate when they must)
7. Maximal exclusion (others send us away, abandon us)

Which exclusion hurts the most? Which relational value are we most sensitive to?

* It does not matter whether we are disliked a little or a lot → self-worth bottoms at any form of rejection


* highest sensitivity to low end of ambivalence to high end of inclusion

relational devaluation

drop in perceived relational value

Which people experience more ostracism?

Low self-esteem

→ they are more likely to ostracize themselves

Which feelings comprise jealousy and which are the two types of jealousy?

hurt, anger, fear


1. reactive jealousy: response to realistic danger
2. suspicious jealousy: partner did not do anything, suspicious dont fit the facts

Who is prone to jealousy?

* men and women do not differ
* precursors: dependence on relationship (poor alternatives); feelings of inadequacy; preoccupied attachment style; high in neuroticism
* less jealous: self-confidence (self-worth)

What is the evolutionary perspective on jealousy when it comes to the different sexes?

* men experience more jealousy at the thought of sexual infidelity → concerns about paternal uncertainty
* Women react more to emotional infidelity → loss of resources (ensuring paternal investment)
* however: sex difference disappears when cheating carries no risk of conceiving child (e.g., same sex)

→ everyone hates both types of infidelity

Mate poaching

* luring someone away from existing relationship
* poacher: horny, extroverted, low in agreeableness & conscientiousness, approve of adulterous promiscuity, narcissistic & manipulative, avoidant attachment style

How do the different attachment styles and the different sexes respond to jealousy?

* secure & preoccupied: express concerns, try to repair relationship
* dismissive/fearful: avoid issue, deny distress
* women: focus on preserving relationship, more likely to make partner jealous
* men: consider leaving relationship, finding new partners

Which two techniques are used to cope constructively with jealousy?

1. Self-reliance: stay cool, avoid angry, embarrassed feeling, not dwelling on situation
2. Self-bolstering: boosting self-esteem by doing something nice for yourself and thinking about good qualities

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Clinical approach:

* reduce irrational, catastrophic thinking that exaggerates threat to relationship
* enhance self-esteem
* improve communication skills
* increase satisfaction & fairness in relationship

Deceiver’s distrust

when people begin to perceive the recipients of their lies as less honest and trustworthy

→ assumption that other people are just like them

Truth bias

Assumption that partner is usually telling the truth

What are the individual differences in betrayal?

* men are more likely to betray romantic partners and business associates
* women betray friends and family members

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more frequent:

* students majoring in social sciences, education, business and humanities
* prone to jealousy and cynicism
* higher incidence of psychiatric problems
* broken homes

→ do not trust others much

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less frequent:

* less betrayal in physics, engineering


* older, better educated, religious

What makes people more/less forgiving?

more forgiving:

* less angry rumination
* high in agreeableness

→ better at separating blame from anger
* high self-control
* genuine, sincere contrition: acknowledging wrongs, accepting responsibility
* empathy
* letting go of anger & resentment

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less forgiving:

* abandonment anxiety
* avoidance of intimacy
* high in neuroticism

What is evolutionary psychology (Maner & Menzel, 2012)?

* rejects ‘nature vs nurture’ approach (blank slate, deterministic)
* dynamic interaction among psychological mechanisms, developmental processes, learning and culture

Which assumptions does the evolutionary approach have about adaptations? (Maner & Menzel, 2012)

adaptations are functionally specialized and domain specific (e.g., fear of spiders and snakes, preference for certain foods)

→ functionally specific mechanisms more effective than single all-purpose system

Evolutionary domains of social psychology (Maner & Menzel, 2012)

* Coalition formation and cooperation: surviving & reproducing
* Alliances with kin: nepotism (familiarity and similarity)
* Alliances with non-kin: reciprocal sharing
* Social exclusion and social anxiety
* Status: hierarchal organization
* links among status, dominance and prestige
* self-protection (fear module, intergroup processes, disease avoidance)

What is the difference between dominance and prestige?

* Dominance = influencing others via force/intimidation

→ physical size, fighting ability, enlisting allies, manipulating rewards
* Prestige = having expertise, knowledge or wisdom in domain useful to group

socio-functional theory of intergroup prejudice (Maner & Menzel, 2012)

prejudice is not a generalized negative evaluation of outgroups, but a set of domain-specific evaluative mechanisms that reflect the existence of different forms of outgroup threat

prejudice arises as a means of promoting self-esteem and group status, and that it is not always negative but can serve as a means of promoting social cohesion and cooperation within one's own group.

→ emotional & behavioural responses

Which 2 domains can evolutionary research on mating be organized in? (Maner & Menzel, 2012)

1. Relationship selection
2. Relationship maintenance

What does relationship selection depend on?

* sociosexual orientation: general inclination to pursue committed vs short-term relationships

→ strategy becomes more desirable when more mates respond to it and fewer same-sex competitors use it

When is a biological or psychological trait adaptive?

1. Survival → natural selection
2. Reproduction → sexual selection: traits with reproductive advantage are selected
3. Traits that attract potential mates

→ intersexual selection
4. Traits that aid intrasexual competition

Maner et al. (2012) conducted a study where male participant’s level of aggression was assessed before and after a mating prime when watching either a male or female target. What did they find?

The mating prime increased intrasexual aggression

→ more aggressive towards male participants

Structural powerlessness hypothesis

Females look for wealth because they have less access to resources as compared to males

* successful females should care less about status and wealth of men → no evidence
* less successful males should value resources more in a potential partner → no evidence
* in countries where males and females have equal economic power, sex difference should we weaker → in almost all countries, women place stronger value on status/ambition