Deck 1: The Scientific Movements Leading to Evolutionary Psychology

Question 1

For evolution to work, successful variations must be _________, or passed down reliably from parent to offspring.

A) variated
B) particulated
C) selected
D) inherited

Answer 1

inherited

Question 2

Which of the following is NOT an example of genetic drift?

A) natural selection
B) founder effect
C) genetic bottleneck
D) mutation

Answer 2

natural selection

Question 3

Which of the following relatives is least related to you, genetically?

A) grandmother
B) niece
C) half-brother
D) first cousin

Answer 3

first cousin

Question 4

In contrast to the theory of natural selection, which focused on adaptations that have arisen as a consequence of successful survival, the theory of ______________ focused on adaptations that have arisen as a consequence of successful mating.

A) sexual selection
B) internal selection
C) external selection
D) social selection

Question 5

Which of the following clues to change in organic structure over time were not known or noted prior to Darwin?

A) cross-species structural similarities
B) cross-species embryological similarities
C) apparent function of traits
D) mechanism to explain change in organic structure over time

Question 6

_________ provides the "raw materials" for evolution.

A) Variation
B) Particulation
C) Selection
D) Inheritance

Question 7

A _______ is the smallest discrete unit that is inherited by offspring intact, without being broken up or blended.

A) genotype
B) phenotype
C) meme
D) gene

Question 8

According to Cuvier's theory of catastrophism, species are __________.

A) extinguished by sudden catastrophes and replaced by different species
B) irradiated by sudden catastrophes, thereafter replacing other species
C) extinguished by gradual elimination due to disease, leaving room for new species
D) irradiated and extinguished, and replaced by the same species

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT one of the three essential processes identified by Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection?

A) variation
B) particulation
C) selection
D) inheritance

Question 10

The work of Gregor Mendel documented that __________.

A) evolution is unlikely to have occurred in pea plants
B) evolution is unlikely to have occurred in pea genes
C) inheritance is particulate, not blended
D) inheritance is blended, not particulate

Question 11

Change in life forms over time was postulated __________.

A) first by Darwin
B) well before Darwin's time
C) well after Darwin's time
D) first by George Williams

Question 12

The process of _________ refers to the component of Darwin's theory of evolution that states that organisms with some heritable attributes leave more offspring because those attributes help with the tasks of survival and reproduction.

A) variation
B) particulation
C) selection
D) inheritance

Question 13

Edward O. Wilson's 1975 book ignited controversy for the assertion that much of human behavior could be explained by ___________.

A) socialization
B) evolutionary biology
C) inclusive fitness theory
D) ethology

Question 14

Williams's (1966) book clarified the concept of _________, an evolved solution to a specific problem that contributes directly or indirectly to successful reproduction.

A) genetic drift
B) byproduct
C) adaptation
D) exaptation

Question 15

Which of the following theories was not presented by Trivers in the early 1970s?

A) theory of parental investment
B) theory of gene selection
C) theory of reciprocal altruism
D) theory of parent-offspring conflict

Question 16

According to Hamilton (1954), _________ is the sum of classical fitness plus the effects the individual's actions have on the reproductive success of his or her genetic relatives, weighted by the degree of genetic relatedness.

A) direct fitness
B) indirect fitness
C) inclusive fitness
D) exclusive fitness

Question 17

Evolution refers to __________.

A) changes over time in organic structure
B) differences between species
C) changes over time in the shape of the human skull
D) differences between men and women

Question 18

Which of the following arguments did Lamarck present?

A) Species originate from microscopic algae.
B) Species progress toward a lower form.
C) acquisition of inherited characteristics
D) inheritance of acquired characteristics

Question 19

Which of the following questions is NOT a focus of evolutionary psychology?

A) Why is the mind designed the way that it is?
B) How do the components of the mind interact with the environment?
C) What is the relationship between the human mind and the Big Bang?
D) What are the functions of the components of the human mind?

Question 20

Ethologists are interested in four key issues, which became known as the four "whys" of behavior advanced by Niko Tinbergen, a founder of ethology. Which of the following is not one of the four "whys" of behavior?

A) imprinted influences of behavior
B) immediate influences of behavior
C) developmental influences of behavior
D) function of behavior

Question 21

Scientists have brought three fundamental sources of evidence to bear on testing theories about origins of modern humans out of Africa. Which of the following is not one of these sources?

A) anatomical evidence
B) archeological evidence
C) anthropological evidence
D) genetic evidence

Question 22

The last chapter on humans in Edward O. Wilson's 1975 book was __________.

A) based on research documenting the importance of cognition in human behavior
B) based on little empirical work
C) controversial because it portrayed humans as being subject to different evolutionary forces than other animals
D) controversial because it did not account for the role of culture in shaping behavior

Question 23

William James was one of the first to posit that humans have _________ instincts than/from other animals.

A) fewer
B) equal but different
C) more
D) different

Question 24

Behaviorism was a direct reaction to __________.

A) Darwin's theory of natural selection
B) the cognitive revolution
C) classical conditioning
D) James's psychology of instincts

Question 25

Which of the following is the theory of human origins which has received much support from archeological evidence, though recent genetic evidence has refuted its exclusivity as a full explanation?

A) out of Africa
B) multiregional continuity
C) North American bottleneck
D) creative explosion

Question 26

The common ancestor of all modern humans can be traced back to __________ years ago.

A) 35-40 thousand
B) 120-150 thousand
C) 27 million
D) 30 million

Question 27

Knowledge about evolved social psychological adaptations __________.

A) provides evidence that genes play the most important role in shaping behavior
B) suggests that humans are different from all other animals
C) suggests that behavior is not modifiable
D) gives us power to change targeted behaviors

Question 28

Margaret Mead was famous for __________.

A) her fieldwork studying Antarctic cultures
B) claiming to have found cultures with reversed sex roles, and with no fighting, murder, or sexual jealousy
C) debunking findings of cultures with reversed sex roles
D) her writings on the thoughts, behaviors, and rituals on which learning could operate

Question 29

The Garcia effect refers to __________.

A) the ability to condition humans to fear things such as snakes and electrical outlets
B) taking into account the role of learning in conditioning fears
C) the fact that humans are wired to learn all things equally well
D) the ability to learn some things more easily than others

Question 30

Which of the following did not coalesce into the cognitive revolution?

A) violations of the fundamental laws of learning
B) underlying structures for language that are invariable across cultures
C) technology such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that allowed psychologists to "peer" into the minds of humans
D) the rise of computers

Question 31

Genetic determinism implies that __________.

A) genes determine behavior
B) behavior is caused by the interaction of genes and environment
C) culture determines all behavior
D) if a trait is natural, it is "good"

Question 32

Which of the following is not a critical development in the evolutionary history of humans?

A) descent from mammals
B) bipedal locomotion
C) development of agriculture
D) brain expansion

Question 33

Which of the following is NOT a misunderstanding of evolutionary theory?

A) genetic determinism
B) Behavior is impervious to change.
C) Adaptations are optimally designed.
D) Adaptations are designed to confront environmental problems.

Question 34

Harry Harlow used the theory behind operant conditioning to predict incorrectly that __________.

A) monkeys would prefer a wire mesh mother that dispensed food
B) monkeys would prefer a wire mesh mother with a soft cloth cover that did not dispense food
C) monkeys would withdraw from, and be frightened by, both wire mesh mothers
D) monkeys would prefer both wire mesh mothers equally

Question 35

Behaviorists believed that ___________.

A) all behavior is instinctual, but can be modified by learning
B) reflexes are the only instincts
C) a general ability to learn is the only instinct
D) there are no instincts

Question 36

Classical conditioning differed from operant conditioning in the role given to _________ in human behavior.

A) reinforcement
B) radical behaviorism
C) culture
D) instincts

Question 37

Human behavior cannot occur without which of the following sets of two ingredients?

A) culture and socialization
B) psychological machinery and natural selection
C) adaptations and environmental input
D) environmental input and developmental activation

Question 38

The cognitive revolution is synonymous with __________.

A) neurobiology
B) information processing
C) computers
D) domain-general learning

Question 39

Which of the following does not describe evolved psychological mechanisms?

A) Evolved psychological mechanisms are optimally designed.
B) Evolved psychological mechanisms are not optimally designed because of evolutionary time lags.
C) Evolved psychological mechanisms are associated with costs.
D) Adaptations work reasonably well at solving adaptive problems.

Question 40

Combinatorial explosion refers to __________.

A) the number of behaviors possible in any one situation caused by combining two or more sequential possibilities
B) the explosion of life on the planet about 4 billion years ago
C) the problem of not having enough domain-specific programming to account for the entire range of possible human behavior
D) general-purpose learning mechanisms capable of an infinite range of behaviors

Question 41

All adaptations are selected for, and evolve, because they __________.

A) result in more muscular animals
B) promote the good of the species
C) increase the intelligence of the species
D) promote inclusive fitness