Question 1

What is the basic premise of evolutionary theory as it is applied to psychology? How could an evolutionary approach be used to understand something such as sibling conflict?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is the basic premise of evolutionary...

Question 2

Match each person-environment transaction type with its appropriate example.
-Reactive
A)An adventurous individual decides to move to another country and thus experiences many new situations.
B)A rebellious child leads to more strict parenting styles.
C)An individual develops an anxiety disorder after experiencing a traumatic event.

Accepted Answer

Reactive transactions occur when individuals respond to or are affected by their environments. In the given examples, option C is a reactive transaction because the individual develops an anxiety disorder as a direct response to experiencing a traumatic event.

Question 3

Match each person-environment transaction type with its appropriate example.
-Active
A)An adventurous individual decides to move to another country and thus experiences many new situations.
B)A rebellious child leads to more strict parenting styles.
C)An individual develops an anxiety disorder after experiencing a traumatic event.

Accepted Answer

Active person-environment transactions involve individuals seeking out environments that match their personality traits or interests, as seen in the example of an adventurous individual moving to another country to experience new situations.

Question 4

What is the heritability coefficient? Explain how it is calculated and what information heritability statistics provide to researchers.

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is the heritability coefficient? Explain how...

Question 5

Match each psychologically evolved mechanism perspective with its associated behavior.
-Male sexual jealousy
A)Useful in seeking social support
B)Enables social dominance and an increase in status
C)Helps secure the reproductive success of close relatives
D)Increases awareness of infidelity
E)Helps secure a dedicated and lifelong mate

Accepted Answer

Male sexual jealousy has evolved as a mechanism to increase awareness of potential infidelity, which could threaten paternal certainty and investment in offspring that may not be genetically related.

Question 6

How can the study of gene-environment interactions explain some enduring puzzles in psychology? Provide specific examples of gene-environment interactions described in the book and explain why these findings are potentially important.

Accepted Answer

The answer of How can the study of gene-environment interactions...

Question 7

What is the value of psychology in explaining behavior in light of biological sciences? In other words, what exactly does it mean when we say that inheritance is the beginning, not the end?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is the value of psychology in...

Question 8

Match each psychologically evolved mechanism perspective with its associated behavior.
-Altruism
A)Useful in seeking social support
B)Enables social dominance and an increase in status
C)Helps secure the reproductive success of close relatives
D)Increases awareness of infidelity
E)Helps secure a dedicated and lifelong mate

Accepted Answer

Altruism is understood from an evolutionary perspective as behavior that helps secure the reproductive success of close relatives, even at a cost to the individual's own survival or reproduction, by ensuring the propagation of shared genes.

Question 9

Match each psychologically evolved mechanism perspective with its associated behavior.
-Female mate pickiness
A)Useful in seeking social support
B)Enables social dominance and an increase in status
C)Helps secure the reproductive success of close relatives
D)Increases awareness of infidelity
E)Helps secure a dedicated and lifelong mate

Accepted Answer

Female mate pickiness is seen as a mechanism to help secure a dedicated and lifelong mate, ensuring support and resources for offspring.

Question 10

Match each rebuttal with its associated stress test of evolutionary psychology.
-Biological determinism
A)Evolution of a cerebral cortex enables humans to have the ability to overcome innate urges.
B)It is not necessary for people to be consciously aware of what evolutionary theory says is required for reproductive success.
C)For any theoretical proposal in science, alternative explanations are always possible.
D)The differences between men and women in mate selection and other behaviors are built-in through biological evolution.
E)Evolutionary psychologists are not concerned with the moral justification or condemnation of any one aspect of the human psyche.

Accepted Answer

The correct answer is D because biological determinism is the idea that human behavior is determined by biological factors, such as genes and hormones. This is consistent with the stress test of evolutionary psychology that states that the differences between men and women in mate selection and other behaviors are built-in through biological evolution.

Question 11

What are some of the main objections to evolutionary theory as it is applied to psychology? How do evolutionary psychologists respond to these criticisms?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What are some of the main objections...

Question 12

Match each person-environment transaction type with its appropriate example.
-Evocative
A)An adventurous individual decides to move to another country and thus experiences many new situations.
B)A rebellious child leads to more strict parenting styles.
C)An individual develops an anxiety disorder after experiencing a traumatic event.

Accepted Answer

Evocative transactions occur when an individual's behavior elicits responses from others in their environment. In the example of a rebellious child leading to more strict parenting styles, the child's behavior (being rebellious) evokes a change in how others (the parents) respond to them, which aligns with the definition of an evocative transaction.

Question 13

Match each psychologically evolved mechanism perspective with its associated behavior.
-Crying
A)Useful in seeking social support
B)Enables social dominance and an increase in status
C)Helps secure the reproductive success of close relatives
D)Increases awareness of infidelity
E)Helps secure a dedicated and lifelong mate

Accepted Answer

Crying is primarily seen as a mechanism for seeking social support, signaling distress, and eliciting help or comfort from others.

Question 14

What is the inherent conflict between the theories of evolutionary psychology and the study of individual differences?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is the inherent conflict between the...

Question 15

Match each psychologically evolved mechanism perspective with its associated behavior.
-Aggression
A)Useful in seeking social support
B)Enables social dominance and an increase in status
C)Helps secure the reproductive success of close relatives
D)Increases awareness of infidelity
E)Helps secure a dedicated and lifelong mate

Accepted Answer

Aggression is often viewed from an evolutionary psychology perspective as a mechanism that enables social dominance and an increase in status, which can lead to greater access to resources and mating opportunities.

Quiz 9: Genetics and Evolution: the Inheritance of Personality

What is the basic premise of evolutionary theory as it is applied to psychology? How could an evolutionary approach be used to understand something such as sibling conflict?

Match each person-environment transaction type with its appropriate example. -Reactive

Match each person-environment transaction type with its appropriate example. -Active

What is the heritability coefficient? Explain how it is calculated and what information heritability statistics provide to researchers.

Match each psychologically evolved mechanism perspective with its associated behavior. -Male sexual jealousy

How can the study of gene-environment interactions explain some enduring puzzles in psychology? Provide specific examples of gene-environment interactions described in the book and explain why these findings are potentially important.

What is the value of psychology in explaining behavior in light of biological sciences? In other words, what exactly does it mean when we say that inheritance is the beginning, not the end?

Match each psychologically evolved mechanism perspective with its associated behavior. -Altruism

Match each psychologically evolved mechanism perspective with its associated behavior. -Female mate pickiness

Match each rebuttal with its associated stress test of evolutionary psychology. -Biological determinism

What are some of the main objections to evolutionary theory as it is applied to psychology? How do evolutionary psychologists respond to these criticisms?

Match each person-environment transaction type with its appropriate example. -Evocative

Match each psychologically evolved mechanism perspective with its associated behavior. -Crying

What is the inherent conflict between the theories of evolutionary psychology and the study of individual differences?

Match each psychologically evolved mechanism perspective with its associated behavior. -Aggression