Evolutionary Psychology - Essay - 315 FINAL PDF

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Running head: EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY FINAL

Noelle Husband Evolutionary Psychology 315: Final Exam Professor Weeks -Shackelford Questions 1 & 3

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Introduction In order to answer the provided prompt this paper strongly limits the amount of references to increase the general scope of this one explained misconception. Using the works of Coyne (2009) and Buss (2015) this paper will firstly discuss three general misconceptions about evolutionary theory. Then selecting one of those misconceptions to be discussed in further detail with evidentiary support as to why it much be false. Common Misunderstandings The first misunderstanding is that human behavior is genetically determines. “Genetic determinism is the doctrine that argues that behavior is controlled exclusively by genes, with little or no role for environmental influence” (Buss, 2015; p.17). However, human behavior must have evolved adaptations and the environmental input that triggers the activation of different adaptations. The second misunderstanding is that if something is considered to be evolutionary than we are unable to change it. That everything is simply unable to change, which we know is not true. Understanding how we change and in what ways adds to our knowledge on psychological adaptations and the social inputs that activate them. The third misunderstanding about evolutionary theory is that current mechanisms of a species are optimally designed. Meaning that we were created in a perfect image thus also ruling that we are unable to change. Buss describes one constrain ton this theory is the issue of evolutionary time lags. Suggesting that the environment that fashioned our mechanisms may not be adequate because they were designed for the past and since evolutionary changes occur slowly we may not be in the correct presence of time. A second constraint of optimal design are the issues of cost of adaptations. Although all adaptations carry costs, evolution will favor mechanisms whose benefits greater outweigh the relative costs.

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Optimally Designed To further discuss one of the previously stated misconceptions, I selected the third misunderstanding. Robin Williams stated: “People say intelligent design –we must teach intelligent design. Look at the human body; is that intelligent? You have a waste processing plant next to a recreation area!” (Conye, 2009; p.81). Although organisms may seem to fit their environment, the idea of a perfect species within its environment is an elusive idea. We’ve discussed how evolution cannot simply start over from scratch, but it must work with what it’s been given. One of nature’s worst designs can be demonstrated by the laryngeal nerve in mammals. Conye states that the curious thing about the nerve is that it takes longer than t needs to in serving the functions of speaking or swallowing (2009, p.82). Another example of poor design is the human birthing process. Because of our evolved brains, that coming out from a women’s pelvic region seems to be a very painful process that even modern medicine doesn’t do a justice job in curing. If a human female were optimally designed she should be able to birth in another way, or maybe lay eggs like other species. Optimally Designed Adaptations Another issue presented with this misconception is that if everything is optimally designed for its environment then why some species not develop to fully withstand that environment. Conye states, “Evolution is like an architect who cannot design a building from scratch, but must build every new structure by adapting a preexisting building, keeping habitable all the while” (2009, p.13). This presents the idea of natural selection where the appearance of its design may seem optimal but its rather greater evidence for the theory of evolution and how species are forever changing. In creating an adaptation by natural selection a population must first be variable, some proportion of that variation has to come from changes in the form of

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genes, meaning heritability, and that the genetic variation must affect individual’s chance of leaving offspring (Coyne, 2009; p.118). Conclusion Previously stated, misconceptions about evolution may be strong enough to fool even the cleverest evolutionary psychologist. Thinking critically about these misconceptions give life to various theories of evolution. Specifically about the misconception of optimal design, we greater understand the reasons of our own design.

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Introduction Through an evolutionary psychology perspective Buss explains human mechanisms in a variety of ways that attempts to explain male and female sexual strategies. From this perspective we examine the reasons why and how males and females developed diverse traits. In order to summarize human sexual strategies, traits and mechanism, the following of this paper will firstly discuss some of these aspects in long term, then short term mating strategies of women and men. Each offer various ideas and contributes to the evolutionary perspective of human sexual strategies. Long Term Strategies of Women The theoretical background for mate preferences by women suggest that they seek partners who are more likely to invest in future offspring. According to “Trivers’s theory of parental investment and sexual selection makes two profound predictions: (1) The sex that invests more in the offspring (typically, but not always the female) will be more discriminating or selective about mating; and (2) the sex that invests less in the offspring will lead to more competitive sexual access to the high investing sex” (Buss, p. 108). In choosing a mate, women may be choosier than men in the fact that their ability to produce offspring is limited. Women are able to produce a specific quality amount of eggs while males are able to produce a quantity amount of sperm. However, this is not the only characteristic that goes into selecting as mate. Bus states that evolution has favored women who prefer men who possess attributes that are considered benefits versus costs. Women also prefer men who have a greater amount of resources, and that they are able to conclude that the relevant attributes of the man give meaning to him as a whole. Because after all we can’t construct the perfect man; we take the good with the bad. Selecting a mate for preferences of investment may be things such as good financial

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standing, social status, and ambitious. Buss discusses a large cross cultural study conducted of thirty seven cultures on six continents and five islands of all different ethnicities where women placed more value than men on good financial prospects, therefore suggesting the preferences for men with resources is an evolved mechanism. Women also looked for evolved mate preferences in the aspects of physical attractiveness, health, and masculinity. For example, a deep voice for a man is rated more attractive by women in a potential mate. Another preference would are specific characteristics of that mate that women may find to be intolerable. Buss refers to these as incent-avoidance mechanisms which he claims are higher in women than in men. This however, feeds into the theory of parental investment. “Given that women have greater obligatory parental investment in offspring the costs of making poor mating decision are typically higher for women than for men” (p.128). Long Term Strategies of Men In long term strategies of men, Buss examines the psychological mechanisms of marriage, the content of men’s desires, and how selection has fashioned male preferences. Marriage suggests the idea of commitment, therefore women who see male contentment before sex makes them more desirable. Men who fail to commit may fail to attract women. Men who marry also gain sexual access to their wives. So men who marry gain reproductive benefits of increased paternity. Another benefit of marriage would be an increased chance of the man’s offspring. Men look for women who are of reproductive value which refers to the number of children a person of a given age and sex is likely to have in the future. This is an example to explain why men may be more attracted to younger females. Men also have a preference for youth which is a cue for her reproductive status. “One evolutionary model predicts that what men desire is not youth per se but rather features of the women that are associated with reproductive

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value or fertility” (Buss, p.144). There is also evidence to suggest that men have evolved standards of attractiveness to women that makes them more sexually appealing. “Studies confirm that skin quality is especially important in judgments of attractiveness (Buss, p.148). As well as facial femininity, facial symmetry, facial averageness, and leg length. A key mechanic in the ability of men to resource a mate is their own high status and income. “Men lacking the status and resources that women want are predicted to have the most difficult time attracting such women and may have to settle for less than their ideal” (Buss, p.161). Men with status and resources that women desire in a long term partner are better able than men without status to translate their preferences for young attractive women into actual mating behaviors. Short Term Strategies in Women Women in short term strategies have five classes of benefits that may have been considered beneficial for women to engage in casual sex opposed to the costs. These are the proposed resources, the genetic benefit, mate switching, short term for long term goal, and mate manipulation. For resources, women could engage in resources from multiple men if the male believed himself to have paternity. IN the genetic benefit hypothesis, “a short-term mate might provide superior genes compared with a women’s regular mate, especially if she wants to have an affair with a healthy of high status mate” (p. 190). Therefore her children may be better off for survival. Another benefit in short term for women would be the suggested hypothesis for mate switching if a women’s husband is unable to or stops bringing resources. So in turn having a short term affair would allow the women survival and hopefully allow the women to find a husband who is more able to provide. Another hypothesis is the short term to long term, meaning women use short term dating to assess and evaluate prospective long term mates. This allows women to clarify the qualities she depicts in a man that are capable enough to fulfill her needs in

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a lifelong partner. Finally, the mate, manipulation hypothesis. Simply meaning than women are bale to strategically manipulate a relationship. By having an affair, a women might be able to gain revenge on her husband for his infidelity. A major cost to women in short term mating however lacks the same physical protection a women may be receiving in a long term relationship. Women are also more inclined to gain a bad reputation for promiscuity. Unmarried women also have sexual risks of pregnancy or unwanted children by men who lack resources in order to care for the child. In addition, unfaithful women also are at risk if the husband decides to withdrawal the resources. Short Term Strategies in Men In regards to short term strategies, it’s not surprising that men and women react differently. From a reproductive standpoint, men would have a direct increase in the number of offspring produced. “Historically, men appear to have achieved increases in reproductive success mainly through increases in the number of sexual partners, not through increases in the number of children per partners (Buss, p. 175). However, there may be more potential costs to men in terms of short term strategies. Buss states: Over evolutionary time, (1) contracting sexually transmitted disease, a risk that increases with the number of sex partners; (2) acquiring asocial reputation as a ‘womanizer’; which could impair their chances of finding a desirable long term mate; (3) lowering chances that their children would survive owing to lack of paternal investment and protection; (4) suffering violence at the hands of jealous husbands or boyfriends if the women were married or mated; (5) suffering violence at the hands of the father or brothers of the women; and (6) risking retaliatory affairs by their wives and their potential for a costly divorce (p.175).

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The psychological evidence for short term mating consists for the desire for sexual variety, the amount time elapse before a person seeks sexual intercourse, the lowering of standards in short term mating, the nature and frequency of sexual fantasies, and the closing time phenomena. To discuss one of these in detail, the most interesting to me was the one about lowering standards. High standards for attributes such as age, intelligence, personality, marital status, previous children all can exclude the majority of potential mates. Typically college men are willing to mate in the short run with members of the opposite sex who range from a variety of teen to late twenties. Whereas women prefer men who are at least eighteen but no older than twenty six. Because men may have less care for short term sexual specific qualities they are more likely to gain access to a variety of sexual partners. Conclusion Briefly described, these are a few explained strategies of women and men from long term and short term sexual strategies. Each with their own amount of psychological mechanisms. Because the benefits and costs each sex constructs a subjective strategy that tries to minimize costs while maximizing benefits.

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Works Cited Buss, D. (2015). Evolutionary psychology: The new science of the mind. Psychology Press. Coyne, J. A. (2009). Why evolution is true. Penguin....