Principles of Evolution

Assumptions
1. Brain evolved to solve problems found by ancestors
2. Brain evolution is continuous
3. The brain of each species is adapted to solve problems encountered by individuals
Critiques
1. 'Everything is an adaptation'
2. 'Everything is genetically determined'
3. 'Everything is explained by genes'
4. 'Injustice is biologically explained'
Behavioural Universals
1. Behaviours that have strong genetic components - must have been adaptive at some point
Levels of analysis
1. Genes -> nervous system -> behaviour -> culture
Methods
1. Twin studies
2. Comparative method
3. Cross-cultural research
4. Modelling
Tinbergen
1. Ontogeny
  1. How do we develop preferences?
2. Proximate mechanism
  1. How does the preference work?
3. Phylogenetic pathway
  1. How did the preference evolve?
4. Ultimate function
  1. Why do they have these preferences?
Natural selection
1. Life occurred once; everything evolved from it
2. Species evolve slowly and continuously
3. Driven by variation
The Selfish Gene
1. Fate of the group is irrelevant to decision of individual
2. Individual not always relevant
  1. Bodies come and go but genes survive
Genetic variation
1. Most gene variations don't affect the phenotype
2. Fragile X syndrome
  1. Single gene origins are very rare

Resource summary

	Created by natalieclark29 over 9 years ago