Psych 111 Lecture September 20 2010 Notes Heredity Evolution is a search process o Most successful genes traits get passed on As humans we inherit the traits we need to survive Major transitions in biology o From a sexual clones to sexual populations Changes the way traits get passed on o From single cellular organisms to multicellular organisms o From primate societies to societies with language and culture The chimpanzee Closest living relatives to humans Tendencies general trends Steady increase in brain capacity size o Brain increased in size faster than our body increased in size o Brain is 3 times larger than chimpanzee brain o Early birthing Kids take 8 or 9 months to develop the skills present in early born animals They are born half done Vulnerable early birthing Fontanel Soft spot on baby s head Cranium isn t as hard as it normally is so that mom can actually get it out o Baby comes out looking like a cone head Brain started to lateralize o In chimpanzee both hemispheres of the brain do the same o In humans the hemispheres are very different Left hemisphere number reasoning language logic right side of body Right hemisphere space music art imagination Brain metabolism left side of body o 2 of body s mass 20 25 energy o Brain transfers energy into information Mate selection process o Prediction o Environment of evolutionary adaptiveness o Men have to be able to figure out if a woman is fertile o Men have to use proxies to determine whether or not a woman is fertile evidence a woman is young have good health history White teeth young Long hair healthy How much energy a woman has young Facial symmetry healthy o Women have to be able what guy will invest in her offspring o She must use proxies too Must have resources to invest good genes Ambition Wealth Has to be willing to invest them in her children How into you is he o If a woman has a baby with a man she is using a huge chunk of her ability have children Men can have an unlimited number of offspring Women are on a biological clock o Female willingness to have sex is so much less than men Wealth and physical attractiveness o More important for woman than men wealth o More important for men than women attractiveness Traits of intrasexual competition o How to men compete with men for women vise versa Males display sophistication display athleticism bragging about resources strength Females keep clean and groomed wear stylish Jealousy clothes o Women are most upset by emotional infidelity Because this could take away from resources for her children o Men are most upset by sexual infidelity o Males prefer a waist to hip ratio of about 7 Waist 70 width of hips o Men and women are attracted to people with symmetrical Mate Selection Preferences what makes us think someone is hot Selectivity Waist to hip ratio Facial symmetry faces Emotional availability Cheater detection o We are designed to pay attention to cheating in social situations Dominance hierarchy intraspecies o Majority of young men size up all of the men in the room to see who is the top dog in the room o Women do that same thing but look for different traits o A line People think they and their friends are higher on this People think that people they don t like are lower line than they are
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