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Evolutionary Psychology Study Guide, Exercises of Psychology

Psychology

A study guide for Evolutionary Psychology. It covers topics such as natural selection, sexual selection, kin selection, altruistic traits, and epigenetics. The guide includes questions to help students understand the material and prepare for exams. It also includes references to readings and lectures. useful for students studying Evolutionary Psychology or related fields.

Typology: Exercises

2022/2023

Uploaded on 03/14/2023

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Studyguide 1, Evolutionary Psychology
Evolutionary Theory
1. Understand how natural selection works. What are the three essential ingredients? (Buss and
lecture)
2. Be able to describe the changes that took place in the Grant’s study of the medium ground
finch, and how this example illustrates natural selection (lecture).
3. Review sexual selection (Buss 6-7) – general idea only at this point.
4. Is natural selection the only cause of evolutionary change? (p. 7)
5. Mendel showed that inheritance is particulate. Why is this important for natural selection?
(lecture)
6. Understand the concepts of kin selection and inclusive fitness (Buss and lecture). This will be
discussed in more depth later in the course.
7. Why are altruistic traits unlikely to evolve through group selection? (this may not apply to
cultural evolution). p. 13 and lecture
8. Understand the “common misunderstandings about evolutionary theory” (Buss 16-17) well
enough that if someone makes such a claim, you would be able to refute it.
9. Natural selection does not produce perfect adaptation. Review the reasons why this is so (p.
17–18 and lecture on adaptation and maladaptation). Think of some examples for the following,
discussed in lecture:
(a) it may be unpleasant, but still adaptive
(b) manipulation
(c) trade-offs
(d) historical constraints
(e) frequency-dependent selection
(f) traits adapted for another time/place
10. To a biologist, an altruistic trait is one that favors another individual at the expense of the
altruist. We reviewed several ways seemingly altrustic traits could evolve. What are they? (lecture).
Reciprocity is one proposed explanation for generosity to non-kin, but the problem is ensuring that
a favor will be reciprocated. Some people think that the social emotions, therefore, evolved to
reinforce reciprocity. Explain.
11. Know what a “norm of reaction” is, and what it implies for the nature-nurture debate. (lecture).
Give an example discussed in class. Now think of something not discussed that is likely to be an
example of a norm of reaction, and draw it.
12. Be able to summarize how natural selection shaped the ability to respond to changing environ-
mental conditions in soapberry bugs. Note that the responsiveness (the norm of reaction curve) is
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Studyguide 1, Evolutionary Psychology

Evolutionary Theory

  1. Understand how natural selection works. What are the three essential ingredients? (Buss and lecture)
  2. Be able to describe the changes that took place in the Grant’s study of the medium ground finch, and how this example illustrates natural selection (lecture).
  3. Review sexual selection (Buss 6-7) – general idea only at this point.
  4. Is natural selection the only cause of evolutionary change? (p. 7)
  5. Mendel showed that inheritance is particulate. Why is this important for natural selection? (lecture)
  6. Understand the concepts of kin selection and inclusive fitness (Buss and lecture). This will be discussed in more depth later in the course.
  7. Why are altruistic traits unlikely to evolve through group selection? (this may not apply to cultural evolution). p. 13 and lecture
  8. Understand the “common misunderstandings about evolutionary theory” (Buss 16-17) well enough that if someone makes such a claim, you would be able to refute it.
  9. Natural selection does not produce perfect adaptation. Review the reasons why this is so (p. 17–18 and lecture on adaptation and maladaptation). Think of some examples for the following, discussed in lecture: (a) it may be unpleasant, but still adaptive (b) manipulation (c) trade-offs (d) historical constraints (e) frequency-dependent selection (f) traits adapted for another time/place
  10. To a biologist, an altruistic trait is one that favors another individual at the expense of the altruist. We reviewed several ways seemingly altrustic traits could evolve. What are they? (lecture).

Reciprocity is one proposed explanation for generosity to non-kin, but the problem is ensuring that a favor will be reciprocated. Some people think that the social emotions, therefore, evolved to reinforce reciprocity. Explain.

  1. Know what a “norm of reaction” is, and what it implies for the nature-nurture debate. (lecture). Give an example discussed in class. Now think of something not discussed that is likely to be an example of a norm of reaction, and draw it.
  2. Be able to summarize how natural selection shaped the ability to respond to changing environ- mental conditions in soapberry bugs. Note that the responsiveness (the norm of reaction curve) is

itself heritable, and appears to be adaptive. What affects the shape of the curve? (lecture)

  1. Garcia studied conditioning in rats by pairing a stimulus (lights or tasty water) with a pun- ishment (electric shock or x-ray induced nausea). What were the rats able to learn? (lecture and text). Why general inference can you draw from the result (i.e., why did I bother to talk about this?). How does it refute the assumptions of early behaviorism? (lecture; also Buss p. 27).

14 What do studies of attention in newborns tell us about the interaction between “nature” and “nurture”? What do they attend to? Why might this be an evolved adaptation? (lecture).

  1. The history described by Buss shows shifts between the view that much of human behavior is innate (’nature’) to the opposite view that almost anything could be learned and culture was infinitely variable. Most scientists today acknowledge that nature and nurture interact.

Evolutionary theory, Reserve reading and video

Epigenetics - video

  1. What is the epigenome? What made the genetically-identical brown and yellow agouti mice so different?
  2. How does feeding pregnant mice dietary supplementation with methyl donors (like soy and folic acid) affect this result? The environmental toxin they refer to is BPA (bisphenol A), a substance found in polycarbonate plastics, cash register receipts, and can linings in the U.S.
  3. The genes of identical twins are the same – how about their epigenomes? Does it change with age and experience?
  4. Can maternal behavior cause epigenetic effects? (see posted lecture notes, I didn’t cover this well in class)

Ridley: Genes are so liberating

  1. Genes are not changed by the environment, but their expression is. That is how a norm of reaction works.
  2. How do montane and prairie voles differ behaviorally, and what does this have to do with vasopressin receptors? (This is a very big behavioral difference from a single mutation!). But nothing happens to vasopressin production in the prairie vole unless he... what?
  3. Variation in the promotor region of the MAOA gene affects the likelihood of becoming antisocial, but only under certain conditions. Explain this gene-environment interaction (also discussed in lecture).

4 Ridley explains heritability perhaps better than I did in class, but see also the notes below. It is a useful term to understand correctly. Ridley says, “Myopia is more ’heritable’ in a literate than in an illiterate society, in the same way that IQ is more heritable in a well-educated than in a poorly educated society.” Why is myopia more heritable in a literate society?