Psychology - Evolutionary Psychology

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1. Evolution & Religion

- Evolution: Principles that explain life.

- Religion: Principles that guide behavior (e.g., feed the poor, help others).

- Not necessarily incompatible.

2. Deep Time

- Big Bang: 13.8 billion years ago.

- Life evolves: 3.6 billion years ago.

- Dinosaurs appear: 230 million years ago.

- First apes: 23 million years ago.

- Human-chimpanzee split: 5 million years ago.

3. Human Evolution

- Humans did not evolve from monkeys (True or False?).

- Humans evolved from earlier hominins (e.g., Australopithecus afarensis).

- Lucy: 3.5 million-year-old Australopithecus fossil.

4. What is Evolution?

- Organic change over generations.

- Natural selection: Favors traits that enhance reproduction and survival.

- Gene flow: Migration changes gene pools.

5. Natural Selection (Darwin, 1859)

- Components: Variation, Inheritance, Reproduction.

6. Adaptive Problems & Adaptations

- Problems of Survival: Finding food, avoiding toxins.

- Problems of Mating: Selecting and attracting partners.

- Group Living Problems: Cooperating and avoiding exploitation.

7. A Tale of Two Bridges (Dutton & Aron, 1974)

- Low bridge: 10 feet above water (solid).

- High bridge: Wooden and cable wires, very high.

- Men on high bridge misinterpreted arousal as attraction and were more likely to call the female confederate.

8. Two-Factor Theory of Emotion (Schachter & Singer, 1962)

- Emotion = Arousal + Cognitive label.

- Sometimes, the label is incorrect.

9. Differences in Reproductive Rates

- Women: Limited by pregnancy and childcare.

- Men: Can father many children (e.g., Moulay Ismail – 888 children).

10. Evolutionary Psychology of Sex Differences

- Men and women faced different adaptive problems.

- Central Tendency: These differences lead to distinct psychological patterns.

11. Mate Preferences (Buss, 1989)

- Men: Value physical attractiveness.

- Women: Value financial stability and resources.

12. Parental Investment Theory

- Women: Higher investment in offspring, more selective.

- Prediction 1: Men prefer more sexual partners.

- Prediction 2: Men accept casual sexual offers more readily than women.

13. Group Living Problems

- Cooperation is essential for survival, but avoiding exploitation is equally critical.