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Flashcards

Evolution - Background

Isabel LONGDEN Psychology English 135 cards

Cards in this deck (135)

  1. 1Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802)Wrote that all living things could have emerged from a common ancestor
  2. 2Darwin's Dangerous Idea - "On the Origin of Species", 1859“In the distant future I see open fields for far more important researches. Psychology will be based on a new foundation that of the necessary acquirement of each mental power and capacity by gradation. Light will be thrown on the origin of man and his history.”
  3. 3Theory of Natural SelectionNatural selection depends on two components - heritable variation and differential reproductive success
  4. 4Heritable variationIndividuals within a population tend to differ from each other in ways that are passed onto their offspring
  5. 5Differential reproductive successAs a result of heritable variation some individuals leave more surviving offspring than others
  6. 6Sir Francis Galton (1822-1911)Eugenics - those with more desirable traits that might benefit society - encouraged to produce more offspring. Those with less desirable traits - discouraged from reproducing
  7. 7Franz Boas (1858-1942)"Father of American anthropology" - cultural relativism - many differences between people were due to cultural differences - one must understand the culture to understand the person.
  8. 8Orgel's Second RuleEvolution is cleverer than you are - comes up with clever solutions to problems we didn't even know existed
  9. 9InevitabilityJust because a trait evolved doesn't mean that it had to evolve.
  10. 10For the good of the speciesThings don't evolve for the good of the species - have to benefit the actor by increasing fitness, on average.
  11. 11The is-ought fallacy (Hume's Law)Just because something did evolve doesn't mean we ought to act that way
  12. 12Naturalistic fallacyGoodness (morality) cannot be reduced to natural properties. Moore (1903) - biology cannot be used to justify morality
  13. 13DeterminismGenes, evolution and nature do not determine our "fate"
  14. 14Nature vs. Nurture DebateFalse dichotomy - genes and environment influence every trait
  15. 15Social Spencerism"survival of the fittest" - principles of natural selection should apply to economics
  16. 16EugenicsGalton (1883) - breed desired traits into a population and undesired ones out
  17. 17E. O. Wilson (1975) - Sociobiology: The New SynthesisLaid the foundations for the modern evolutionary approach to the study of behaviour. Chapter 27 - Man: From Sociobiology to Sociology.
  18. 18The Sociobiology Study Group (Gould & Lewontin, 1979)Disliked Wilson's book. Redeuctionism and biological determinism; scientific and ethical grounds.
  19. 19Sociobiology"The systematic study of the biological basis of all social behaviour"
  20. 20The Selfish Gene (Dawkins, 1976)Replicator-Vehicle Distinction - "We are survival machines - robot vehicles blindly programmed to preserve the selfish molecules as genes. This is the truth which still fills me with astonishment." (p. xxi
  21. 21Behavioural EcologyExamines abilities of animals to make 'economic decisions' on foraging, fighting, mate-seeking behaviour, etc., optimising inclusive fitness, examines how cultures vary due to ecological pressures
  22. 22OptimalityWeight costs and benefits of different strategies - involves adaptive trade-offs.
  23. 23Smith (1985)Inuit hunting party - sizes too large for prey size, likely due to social pressure or free-riding.
  24. 24Optimal Foraging Theory (OFT)Adopting a strategy that provides the most benefit (energy) for the lowest cost (maximising energy gained).
  25. 25NicheHow an organism adapts to its environment. The environment an organism lives in and the role the organism plays in the environment.
  26. 26Carpented nicheMuller-Lyer illusion - those that live in a built-up environment regard one of the lines as longer and it is generally those who live in populations where buildings are prominent.
  27. 27Modularity of Mind (Fodor, 1983)Mind was best thought of as being composed of mental modules, each of which was responsible for a certain aspect of human behaviour.
  28. 28The Adapted Mind (Tooby and Cosmides)Birth of evolutionary psychology - collection of important papers.
  29. 29ModularityDifferent neural circuits are specialised for solving different adaptive problems
  30. 30Stone-age mindBehaviours that were adaptive in the past could be maladaptive nowadays
  31. 31evolutionary psychology (Buller, 2005)Field of enquiry which simply attempts to understand the relationship between evolution and behaviour
  32. 32Evolutionary psychology (Buller, 2005)Research paradigm which makes assumption about the modularity and the EEA.
  33. 33Domain general psychology (Buller, 2005)Ability to learn is an adaptation. Cognitive abilities might be by-product of more general abilities - involves integration across domains.
  34. 34Tooby and Cosmides (1990)"The EEA is not a place or a habitat, or even a time period. It is a statistical composite of the adaptation-relevant properties of ancestral environments encountered by members of ancestral populations, weighted by their frequency and fitness-consequences"
  35. 35Adaptive lag/evolutionary mismatchMaladaptation can result from adaptations because we have psychologies adapted to an ancestral environment - would have been adaptive in the EEA
  36. 36PanadaptationismEverything is adaptive?
  37. 37Ultimate explanation/causation/questionsRefers to evolutionary levels of explanation - asks why a particular behaviour exists at all
  38. 38Proximate explanation/causation/questionsImmediate circumstances/the trigger for a behaviour - asks how a particular behaviour develops
  39. 39Function (adaptation)Fitness value of a trait
  40. 40Evolution (phylogeny)Evolutionary history of a trait
  41. 41Development (ontogeny)Trait's variation throughout development. Recapitulates phylogeny
  42. 42Causation (mechanism)Immediate circumstances affecting a trait
  43. 43Behavioural geneticsAttempt to separate out the effects of genes and the environment via twin and adoption studies.
    Cons - doesn't tell us if a trait is an adaptation
  44. 44Comparative methodAttempts to address more directly the problem of adaptation - humans are under similar economic pressures to many other animals.
  45. 45Cross-cultural evidenceIf a particular trait is adaptive - would expect to find it in ALL people irrespective of culture.
    Cons - complicated to do as some evolved and adaptive behaviour are environmentally contingent
  46. 46Mathematical and computational modellingCreate an abstract world in which individuals with particular traits compete with each other for dominance.
  47. 47AdaptationFunction of a trait that has been evolved by natural selection
  48. 48"Survival of the fittest"Shorthand for natural selection - people surviving to reproductive ages are generally viewed as physically fitter
  49. 49Artificial selectionSelective breeding - by choosing individuals with a particular feature you can create a change in the direction that you have selected. Many organisms are the way they are today because their traits have been selected not by nature but by human beings.
  50. 50Natural selectionNo omnipotent being choosing which organism should survive - no ultimate goal that is being achieved - leads to adaptive change.
  51. 51VariabilityIndividuals of the same species differ - gives natural selection something to act on.
  52. 52Biological species conceptMating that produces viable offspring
  53. 53HeritabilityThe variability has to be transmitted from generation to generation (vertical transmission)
  54. 54LamarckianismTraits that can be acquired that can be inherited
  55. 55Blending inheritanceTraits from one parent perfectly mixed with the traits from the other parent
  56. 56Surplus offspringMore offspring are produced that can be supported by the environment (carrying capacity) (An Essay on the Principle of Population, Malthus, 1798)
  57. 57Constraint on growthThere's a maximum number of individuals that the environment can support
  58. 58Blind watchmaker (Payley)Complexity could not arise by chance (e.g. the eye)
  59. 59Four FsFighting, feeding, fleeing, reproduction
  60. 60FitnessDifferential survival and reproduction of individuals - number of surviving offspring you have
  61. 61Adaptive landscapeHave to be adapted to your environment - but you'll never be perfectly adapted because the environment itself changes
  62. 62Genetic driftRandom change due to chance
  63. 63Founder effectsWhen people move (e.g. migration)
  64. 64Gregor Mendel (1860s)Findings ultimately led to the development of the science of genetic - blending inheritance
  65. 65Dominant geneCan mask the expression of others; existence of a single copy enough for that trait to be expressed
  66. 66Recessive geneTraits that are not expressed when paired with dominant trait
  67. 67Law of segregationEvery individual has 2 copies of the particles of a trait. Pairs of these particles separate and get passed into different sex cells. Unite with another particle after fertilisation to form a zygote. Genes for different characteristics are passed on individually.
  68. 68Law of independent assortmentParticles for different traits assort independently. Phenotypic gestures that occur together in the adult will not necessarily appear together in the offspring.
  69. 69Inheritance is particulateParental genetic material is discrete and does not blend together. Does not destroy variation
  70. 70PolygenicThere is more than one gene for each trait
  71. 71Characteristics are influenced by genes occurring in pairsOne from each parent - complete set = genotype
  72. 72AllelesGenes exist in at least two or more alternate forms.
  73. 73Dominant alleles override recessive alleles in their expression in the phenotypeRecessive only expressed in phenotype when in double dose.
  74. 74PleiotropyGenes with more than one phenotypic effect; one gene influences two or more seemingly unrelated phenotypic traits
  75. 75Polygenic traitMany traits depend on more than one gene
  76. 76Modifier geneGenes that affect the phenotypic and/or molecular expression of other genes
  77. 77ChromosomesCarry genes
  78. 78LocusUnique positions on chromosomes that genes occupy
  79. 79DNAThe chemical basis of inheritance
  80. 80Structural genesCore for proteins (via mRNA - messenger RNA)
  81. 81GeneSegment of DNA specifying the sequence of amino acids in a protein
  82. 82Protein functionsStructural functions, enzymes, hormones, regulatory proteins
  83. 83EpigeneticsNon-genetic changes in gene expression
  84. 84Studies of gene functionTwin studies, genetic manipulation, single nucleotide polymorphisms, gene sequencing, gene expression
  85. 85Gene flowWhen animals move from one population to another they may have a different gene makeup from the new population - if this new makeup is advantageous, the population can alter quite rapidly
  86. 86Genetic driftChanges in a population may build up by chance; significant factor only in small populations
  87. 87Non-random matingArtificial selection
  88. 88Meiotic driveSelfish genes passed on more than predicted by random assortment
  89. 89Population geneticsEvolution to a population geneticist - change in allele frequencies over time
  90. 90AnalogiesTraits that are similar by design. Evolved independently - don't share a common ancestor.
  91. 91HomologiesThings that might look different or the same. Similarity by descent - share common ancestor
  92. 92Adaptive radiationChange in response to demands of the environment or evolutionary history
  93. 93Vestigial traitAdaptive in the past but no longer adaptive - have lost their function through evolution
  94. 94Exaptations (pre-adaptations/co-opted traits)Traits that serve a different purpose than the one they were adapted for
  95. 95Developmental byproductsTraits that arise as a byproduct for a selected trait somewhere else
  96. 96MaladaptationsTraits can be adaptive in the environment in which they evolved (e.g. EEA), but not now
  97. 97Phylogenetic inertia (Huber, 1939)The limitation of the future evolutionary pathways that have been imposed by previous adaptations
  98. 98Thomas Huxley and Biship Samuel Wilberforce (1860)Debate between the two. Wilberforce - mocking Huxley. Huxley - not ashamed to have a monkey as an ancestor
  99. 99Scopes Monkey Trial (1975)Teacher taken to court for teaching evolution in court - support teacher.
  100. 100Paleocene65-54mya. Ancestors were similar to plesiadapiforms (the ancestor of extant - current living - primates)
  101. 101Oligocene34 - 23mya. Anthropoids (primates that look like modern monkeys) - most common here.
  102. 102Miocene23-5mya. Hominoids (ape-like ancestors) - most common here
  103. 103Bonomial nomenclature (Carl von Linne, Carolis Linneaus)Father of modern taxonomy. Two-part naming system - Genus in upper case, species in lower case. Italicise if typing
  104. 104Thompson et al. (2015)Surprising trunk rotational capabilities in chimpanzees and implications for bipedal walking proficiency in early hominins
  105. 105Straalen and Roelofs (2017)Walking on two legs is beneficial at it enhances the overview of the surroundings - predators more easily spotted
  106. 106HominidsGreat apes - flexible shoulders for brachiation, more upright posture, lack tails
  107. 107SocioecologyStudy of how ecological forces shape the size and structure of social groups
  108. 108Contest competitionBig piece of meat - bigger individuals get bigger amounts of food. Occurs with clumped resources.
  109. 109Scramble competitionScramble around trying to get as much for themselves. Occurs with dispersed resources.
  110. 110AustralopithecinesFound in the Pliocene epoch (5.3-2.6ma). Diverge from ancestor with chimps.
  111. 111LucyDiscovered by Donald Johanson (1974). Most famous Australopith
  112. 112Oldowan stone toolsEarliest stone tools. Term comes from Oldovai Gorge in Tanzania. Technology remained unchanged for a million years
  113. 113Genus HomoLarger brains in relation to body size and slower development
  114. 114Homo. ergaster (or H. erectus)Transition in hominin life - appear in Pleistocene (2.6 Ma - 12 Mya). Double in brain size, larger body size, slower development.
  115. 115Acheulean stone toolsMore complex tools. Hand axes used to butcher carcasses, fire invented potentially. Didn't change much over 1 million years
  116. 116Homo heidelbergensis1.3 Ma - 600 ka. Much larger brain, more complex tools (Levallois technique).
  117. 117Homo neanderthalis600 ka - 33 ka. Found in Neander valley. Larger brains but more robust bodies. Similar pattern of development. Hyoid bone - evidence for language?
  118. 118Homo sapiensEvolved in Africa 190 - 90ka. More complex tools. Art appearing around 40-50ka.
  119. 119Homo floresiensisLived until 14ka. Adults stood 3ft tall. Very small brains, mode 4 tools, hunted variety of animals
  120. 120DenisovansNew subspecies of H. sapiens. 41ka in Asia.
  121. 121Hermann et al. (2007)Toddlers, orangutans and chimps performed the same on physical cognition but toddlers did much better in the social cognitive domain.
  122. 122Theory of MindAbility to take perspective of others. Exclusive to humans most likely.
  123. 123Piltdown Man hoax (1912)"Out of England" bias. Hoax exposed in 1953 - likely forger used medieval skull, orangutan jaw and chimpanzee teeth.
  124. 124Multiregional hypothesisHumans evolved around 2 million years ago from H. erectus. Different populations evolved in Africa, Europe, Asia, Australiasia with gene flow.
  125. 125"out-of-Africa" hypothesisSingle origin hypothesis - more widely accepted. Modern humans evolved around 200ka. 1st wave of migration to Europe from northern African around 130ka and the 2nd wave from southern African tot he whole world
  126. 126Cann et al. (1987)Humans originated in Africa. All H. sapiens derive from an African ancestor. After migration from Africa, H. sapiens replaced all previous species.
  127. 127Other debatesH. heidelbergensis - distinct species? Are H. ergaster and H. erectus the same species?
  128. 128Lordkipanidze et al. (2013)Found a complete skull from Dmanisi, Georgia, and the evolutionary basis of early Homo.
  129. 129Schlebusch et al. (2017)Southern African ancient genomes estimate modern human divergence to 350-260ka.
  130. 130Hubin et al.New fossils from Jebel Irhoud, Morocco and the pan-African origins of Homo sapiens
  131. 131Detroit et al.A new species of Homo from the late Pleistocene of the Philippines
  132. 132Population bottlenecksDuring the course of migration - narrowing of genetic diversity
  133. 133Expensive tissue hypothesisMeat (especially cooked) requires smaller guts, allowing more energy for larger brains.
  134. 134Sexual division of laborWomen - mainly forage and men - mainly hunt
  135. 135—

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Psychology Flashcards on Evolution - Background, created by Isabel LONGDEN on 17/01/2021.
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