Heredity and Evolution

Evolutionary Psychology

Click the card to flip 👆

1 / 15

Terms in this set (15)

Evolutionary Psychology

application of evolutionary principles to psychological functioning - psychology emphasizing in evolutionary mechanisms that may help explain human commonalities in cognition, development, emotional behaviors etc

Species typical behaviors

behaviors that are characteristic of a particular animal species in its natural environment (herd travel, communication, mating rituals, dominance, appeasement)

natural selection

individuals with characteristics that promote adaptation to the environment will survive reproduce and pass on these adaptive characteristics to their offspring, over course of countless generations these became species typical behavior

study of animal behavior in its natural environment (example of imprinting with ducks)

baby ducks follow first moving thing

molecular genetics

study of genetic influences on behavior including interaction between genes and interaction between genes and the environment - action is in the interaction

action is in the interaction

we are affected by heredity by interaction of genes and interaction of genes and environment

human characteristics are polygenic - influenced by multiple genes simultaneously 2 copies of each gene -hetero and homo example (eyes is simple but things like introversion etc. is complex)

human characteristics are multifactorial influenced by the interaction of heredity and the environment so

phenotype= genotype x environment

how you look/are like = heredity x environment

new zealand study where low MAOA is bad and leads to more aggressive and conduct behavior problems - basically your environment is also important GENE ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION!!!!