Study Points Nature Genes Chapter 5 What are the basic components or ideas of evolutionary theory and how do they contribute to evolution the evolutionary theory is the foundation for studying all biology 3 COMPONENTS 1 Heritability A large percentage of genes passed on from parents bird s offspring likely has wings eyes feathers etc 2 Variation no offspring is going to be the exact same as their parent a small percentage of these genes change randomly birds offspring may have slightly bigger wings slightly smaller eyes extra toe even if these traits aren t beneficial they can be passed down to the offspring 3 Natural selection weeds out the unfit some variations are more beneficial for survival than others bigger wings survive fly faster escape predator extra toe no benefit but no harm smaller eyes see less eaten by predator more often less likely to survive What is sexual selection and how is it a more specific type of natural selection some traits that we pass on are specific and only help us in getting a mate EX peacock with extravagant tail takes calories away from bird to maintain tail but helps them gain a mate What is the EEA and how does it inform social psychology EEA Environment of evolutionary adaptedness modern humans are thought to first emerge 130 000 years ago psychology humans crave sweet and fatty foods sweet and fatty foods were precious commodities in the EEA today these things are too easily available What are the ways in which the EEA differs from today s environment and how does this affect our social today we haven t lost the desire for the sweeter fatty foods haven t evolved fear of snakes spiders social rejection are from the EEA because in the past those things caused us to be unable to pass on our genes to our offspring What is error management theory and how is it adaptive error management theory EMT we are biased to make errors in the more adaptive direction not attending to potential threats is more dangerous than over attending false positive over attending fear reaction to hose stick being over cautious causes you to be less likely to be Under attending miss think there are garden hoses on the plane instead of snakes being under cautious causes killed you to be more likely to be killed What percentage of our individual variation does genetics predict Genes have about a 40 50 chance of predicting our behaviors and our enviornment accounts for the rest How does our environment affect our genes biology and vice versa epigenetics environment influences gene expression EX women pregnant during famine their child got sick easier women who were late in their pregnancy during the famine their child had a better immune system Nature and nurture interact in forming us EX study shows that a gene variation put people at risk for depression however only if these people had experienced a major life stress such as a marital break up neither the stress nor the gene alone produced the depression but the two interacting did What are our large brains evolved for larger brains corresponded to more social animals dunbar conclusion our larger brains are designed to help us relate to each other Why is culture so beneficial for our species culture is beneficial for our species for survival culture allows our learning to be passed on from one generation to another How much influence do peers have on determining a person s behavior and personality peers have an extremely strong impact on our behaviors and attitudes stronger than our parents they influence about 40 50 of behavior and decisions What is cultural psychology Collectivistic vs individualistic cultures on Asia Latin America and Africa branch of social psychology that studies how thoughts emotions and behavior differ across cultures collectivistic focus more on group harmony traits such as being loyal and working well with others are focused FOCUS MORE ON EXTERNAL REASONS FOR BEHAVIOR ex bad traffic FOCUS MORE ON CONNECTION WITH OTHERS ex baby sleeps in same room same bed as parents individualistic what makes you unique FOCUS MORE ON INTERNAL REASONS FOR BEHAVIOR FOCUS ON BEING DIFFERENT FROM OTHERS ex choosing a diff colored pen ex baby sleeps in crib in its own room different from parents What does your book say about Norms and Cultural Similarity norms are standards for accepted and expected behavior they describe proper behavior what is normal cultural similarity within our own culture we do things our own way and there is no better way to see that we do things a certain way than by going to another culture and seeing the way they do things for example we eat fast food with our hands other countries would never eat with their hands As members of one species we find that the processes that underlie our differing behaviors are very much the same everywhere EX universal friendship norms we respect privacy within friendship but disapprove incest What are the two types of cultures that are typically studied in cultural psychology how are they characterized and what societies tend to have each kind What does the Sedikides 2003 study predict for different cultures American and Japanese participants were asked to rank themselves on specific traits some traits focused on self unique self reliant independent and some traits were focused on interacting with others cooperative loyal respectful American participants ranked themselves higher on self related traits lower on others related traits Japanese participants ranked themselves higher on others related traits lower on self related traits What are the biological influences of sex on behavior Female XX Male XY What are the major gender differences found in research Independence men vs connectedness women vocations men more power better pay women better hours more time with others EMPATHY women tend to show more empathy towards others than men do Socially men more focused on social dominance power What are the criticisms of advances made in gender equality women still make 77 cents to men s 1 on average not equal on pay boys still told to man up and not cry not equal on emotions Are there more differences between the genders or between individuals there s more variation within genders than between genders ADDITIONAL TERMS Gender roles a set of expectations norms for males and females vary by country across time
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