Deck 8: Evolutionary Perspectives on Personality

Question 1

In _____,members of one sex choose a mate based on their preferences for particular qualities in the opposite sex.

A)intersexual selection
B)intrasexual selection
C)reactive heritabilities
D)adaptive byproducts

Answer 1

intersexual selection

Question 2

According to the inclusive fitness theory,the probability that you will help people depends mostly on:

A)whether they are wealthy.
B)how genetically related they are to you.
C)whether they are physically attractive.
D)whether they are potential mates.

Answer 2

how genetically related they are to you.

Question 3

Biff works out for hours because he knows that women like muscular guys.He is reacting to the _____ selection pressure exerted by human females on males.

A)intersexual
B)intrasexual
C)inner sexual
D)inert sexual

Answer 3

intersexual

Question 4

_____ are inherited solutions to survival and reproductive problems.

A)The hostile forces of nature
B)Adaptations
C)Mate competitions
D)Adaptive problems

Question 5

Shauna knows that men appreciate a woman with attractive legs.She works out frequently to keep her body in shape and wears dresses and shoes that accentuate her attractive legs.Shauna is reacting to the _____ pressure exerted by men on women.

A)sexual
B)intersexual selection
C)adaptive
D)intrasexual selection

Question 6

The process of natural selection is sometimes also called survival selection because individuals must overcome:

A)the hostile forces of nature.
B)the impediments to survival.
C)paleontological obstacles.
D)natural adaptations.

Question 7

Differential gene production is defined as:

A)the number of different genes an individual passes on to his or her offspring.
B)an individual's reproductive success relative to other individuals of that species.
C)the total number of different genes produced by a species in the gene pool.
D)the ability of an individual to produce different genes in different environments.

Question 8

_____ are the smallest discrete units that are inherited by offspring intact,without being broken up.

A)DNA molecules
B)Adaptations
C)Genes
D)The byproducts of adaptations

Question 9

Charles Darwin proposed the theory of sexual selection to account for:

A)how organisms respond to the hostile forces of nature.
B)genetic diversity.
C)an evolution of characteristics because of their mating benefits.
D)the Freudian theory.

Question 10

Donald competes to make more money than the rest of his male friends.He also picks the most attractive woman as his spouse.This is an example of _____ selection.

A)intersexual
B)intrasexual
C)natural
D)mate

Question 11

Food shortages,diseases,and extremes of weather are all examples of:

A)adaptations.
B)domain specificity.
C)the byproducts of adaptation.
D)the hostile forces of nature.

Question 12

Which of the following is a characteristic of intrasexual competition?

A)Members that lack desired characteristics are included in mating to prevent their genes from perishing.
B)Members of lower reproductive value compete for their survival.
C)Members of one sex choose a mate based on their preferences for particular qualities.
D)Members of the same sex compete with each other for greater sexual access to members of the opposite sex.

Question 13

These are all components of differential gene reproduction EXCEPT:

A)successful mate competition.
B)successful mating.
C)successful group selection.
D)successful survival.

Question 14

Sheila attends a baby shower with her girlfriends.She knows that there are not going to be any men in the party,yet she goes out of her way to look attractive.This is an example of competition based on _____ selection.

A)intersexual
B)intrasexual
C)inner sexual
D)inert sexual

Question 15

Traits that lead to mating benefits rather than survival benefits are probably:

A)a result of sexual selection.
B)a result of survival selection.
C)the byproducts of adaptation.
D)random variations.

Question 16

Which of the following is probably NOT an adaptation?

A)Desire for fatty foods
B)Mate preferences
C)Variations in the shape of human ears
D)Fear of snakes

Question 17

_____ can be defined as one's personal reproductive success plus the effects one has on the reproduction of his or her genetic relatives,weighted by a degree of genetic relatedness.

A)Effective polygyny
B)Sexual dimorphism
C)Inclusive fitness
D)Reactive heritability

Question 18

_____ refers to the idea that more adaptive variants of an organism replace less adaptive variants of the organism over time.

A)Natural selection
B)Xenophobia
C)Effective polygyny
D)Functionality

Question 19

All of us come from a long and unbroken line of ancestors who accomplished two critical tasks: they _____,and they _____.

A)evolved to near perfection;were physically fit
B)survived to old age;were strong
C)left a long list of ancestors;mate guarded
D)survived to reproductive age;reproduced

Question 20

Anything that impedes survival or reproduction is a(n):

A)evolutionary block.
B)adaptive problem.
C)evolutionary byproduct.
D)systematic variation.

Question 21

Which of the following statements is true about the deductive reasoning approach?

A)It is also known as the bottom-up approach.
B)It is a theory-driven method of empirical research.
C)Its first step involves the observation of a phenomenon.
D)It requires researchers to develop a theory that can generate a wealth of new predictions.

Question 22

Researchers using the _____ approach first observe a phenomenon and then develop a theory to fit the observations.

A)inductive reasoning
B)deductive reasoning
C)experimental
D)correlational

Question 23

The idea of _____ implies that individuals have mechanisms that are specialized in solving certain adaptive problems that they encounter.

A)cognitive complexity
B)domain specificity
C)parsimony
D)prototypicality

Question 24

Research on helping and altruism suggests that people:

A)help anyone in real need regardless of genetic relatedness.
B)help others according to how closely they are genetically related to them.
C)help all genetically related relatives in roughly the same manner.
D)always help genetically related relatives when askeD.

Question 25

To determine whether something is an adaptation or a byproduct requires knowledge of:

A)the range of functioning of the adaptation.
B)the reproductive success gained by the adaptation.
C)the adaptation and a description of its nature.
D)all possible byproducts of the adaptation.

Question 26

_____ may have evolved as a mechanism that functions as a species-typical mechanism that prevents individuals from being socially excluded from a group.

A)Altruism
B)Inclusive fitness
C)Social anxiety
D)Psychopathology

Question 27

The idea that adaptations solve specific,as opposed to general,adaptive problems is known as:

A)domain specificity.
B)functionality.
C)numerousness.
D)species typicality.

Question 28

Which of the following is an example of a characteristic that is NOT necessarily adaptive in modern environments?

A)Social anxiety
B)Xenophobia
C)Sexual selection
D)Sexual desire

Question 29

Incidental effects that are NOT properly considered to be adaptations are called:

A)evolutionary byproducts.
B)random variations.
C)domain-specific adaptations.
D)functional adaptations.

Question 30

Xenophobia,a characteristic that was probably adaptive in ancestral environments,refers to the:

A)fear of crime.
B)childhood fear of loud noises.
C)fear of heights.
D)fear of strangers.

Question 31

Research that shows that group cohesion increases when resources or survival depend on group membership helps support the idea:

A)of sexual selection.
B)that humans have a strong need to belong.
C)of survival selection.
D)that humans have evolved universal emotions.

Question 32

_____ is probably a result of the human evolutionary history of living in social groups.

A)Sexual desire
B)Our evolved sweet tooth
C)The need to belong
D)Sexual dimorphism

Question 33

Harry is very loyal to his old army unit.The veterans have reunions and regularly keep in touch with each other.Membership in Harry's army unit most likely has elicited _____ in that group of war veterans.

A)a strong need to belong
B)strong memory biases
C)strong altruistic tendencies
D)a strong militaristic bond

Question 34

Research on altruism has found that younger individuals are helped _____ than 45-year-old relatives and older individuals are helped _____ than 45-year-old relatives in everyday tasks.

A)less;less
B)more;less
C)more;more
D)less;more

Question 35

If we successfully selected our mates based on our food preferences,the mechanism of _____ would NOT be functioning.

A)cognitive complexity
B)domain specificity
C)species typicality
D)prototypicality

Question 36

Characteristics such as the shape of the human earlobe are most likely:

A)auxiliary adaptations.
B)random variations.
C)evolutionary byproducts.
D)functional adaptations.

Question 37

Which of the following terms can be defined as a reliably developing structure in an organism,which,because it meshes with the recurrent structure of the world,causes a solution to an accommodative problem?

A)Evocation
B)Adaptation
C)Evolutionary noise
D)Perceptual sensitivity

Question 38

The "top-down" method of empirical research is called the _____ approach.

A)inductive reasoning
B)analysis-of-variance
C)deductive reasoning
D)regression analysis

Question 39

Evolutionary theorists believe the need to belong is at the _____ level of analysis.

A)human nature
B)individual nature
C)individual differences
D)sex differences

Question 40

The idea that adaptations are designed by the evolutionary process to solve a particular adaptive problem is known as:

A)domain specificity.
B)functionality.
C)specialization.
D)attenuation.

Question 41

Research suggests that _____ are most likely to receive help in a famine situation.

A)infants
B)older children
C)adults
D)the elderly

Question 42

More homicides can be explained by _____ than by any of the other evolutionary phenomena.

A)intrasexual competition
B)intersexual competition
C)frequency-dependent selection
D)the human need to belong

Question 43

From an evolutionary perspective,women will generally prefer men who:

A)are extremely attractive even if they are not wealthy.
B)accrue resources and are willing to channel them toward particular women.
C)are assertive and aggressive toward other men.
D)have large sexual cells (gametes).

Question 44

Evolutionary theory predicts sex differences in jealousy due to:

A)sexual dimorphism.
B)effective polygyny.
C)paternal uncertainty.
D)intrasexual competition.

Question 45

The idea that some males will have more offspring than others is best known as:

A)intersexual selection.
B)intrasexual selection.
C)survival selection.
D)effective polygyny.

Question 46

A study of the Fore of New Guinea-a cultural group with practically no contact with outsiders-conducted by Paul Ekman and colleagues (1987)suggests that:

A)emotions are universally expressed and recognized.
B)women are more jealous than men in response to cues to sexual infidelity.
C)gender differences are almost absent in cultures that are highly sexually egalitarian.
D)the tendency to help is independent of the degree of genetic relatedness.

Question 47

In the context of sex differences in the desire for sexual variety,the members of the sex that invests less in offspring are predicted to:

A)highly value emotional attachments in their mates.
B)think about sex less often than their mates.
C)be more discriminating in their selection of mates.
D)be more inclined to seek multiple mates.

Question 48

In the context of sex differences in mate preferences,men are predicted to _____.

A)prefer the trait of kindness in mates when it is necessarily directed toward others
B)prioritize social status as a necessity in selecting long-term mates
C)place greater value on a mate's physical appearance
D)place more value on a potential mate's financial resources

Question 49

A study conducted by Schutzwohl and Koch (2004)-in which participants had to listen to a story about their own romantic relationship and embedded within the story were five cues highly diagnostic of sexual infidelity and five cues highly diagnostic of emotional infidelity-found that:

A)women remembered more cues to emotional than to sexual infidelity.
B)men spontaneously remembered more cues to emotional than to sexual infidelity.
C)men remembered cues to their mates' physical attractiveness more than cues to either emotional or sexual infidelity.
D)women remembered cues to their mates' financial success more than cues to either emotional or sexual infidelity.

Question 50

Research by Paul Ekman and his colleagues has demonstrated that emotional expression:

A)differs widely across cultures.
B)can be identified by people in diverse cultures.
C)can be identified by people in similar cultures only.
D)serves no adaptive function.

Question 51

George shows off his new baby to his neighbors.The baby looks more like George's mailman than George.George is most likely to doubt his:

A)child's attachment.
B)certainty of paternity.
C)parenting skills.
D)neighbor's judgment.

Question 52

According to Fitzgerald and Colarelli (2009),the tendency to help is a direct function of the degree of _____,especially in a life-or-death context.

A)financial success
B)sexual dimorphism
C)physical attractiveness
D)genetic relatedness

Question 53

Which of the following species has the greatest degree of effective polygyny?

A)Elephant seals
B)Chimpanzees
C)Humans
D)Dogs

Question 54

If there are almost equal numbers of men and women and one man has several mates,then the other men must,by default,be without a mate.This is an example of _____ polygyny.

A)strategic
B)effective
C)selective
D)differential

Question 55

In life-or-death situations,the primary variable that predicts helping behavior is the _____ of the person in need of assistance.

A)age
B)sex
C)ethnicity
D)environment

Question 56

According to evolutionary psychology,a man would be most upset by his mate's _____.

A)sexual fantasies
B)emotional infidelity
C)sexual dimorphism
D)sexual infidelity

Question 57

Buss and his colleagues found that when men imagined that their partners were committing sexual infidelity:

A)they became very aggressive and physically violent.
B)they began plotting revenge on their partners.
C)their heart rates and skin conductance increased.
D)they had increased activity in the parasympathetic nervous system.

Question 58

According to Buss and colleagues (1992),identify a true statement about sex differences in jealousy.

A)Men are indifferent to their partners' emotional infidelities.
B)Women are indifferent to their partners' sexual infidelities.
C)Women are far less distressed than men when imagining their partners becoming emotionally involved with someone else.
D)Men are far more distressed than women when imagining their partners having sexual intercourse with someone else.

Question 59

Which of the following is NOT an adaptive problem faced by women?

A)Finding a good mate
B)Securing resources
C)Parental uncertainty
D)Mate guarding

Question 60

Research on homicides indicates that _____ are most likely to kill _____.

A)men;women
B)men;men
C)women;men
D)women;women

Question 61

When asked how many sexual partners they desired over their lifetimes,women:

A)wanted more sexual partners than men.
B)wanted fewer sexual partners than men.
C)wanted the same number of sexual partners as men.
D)usually refused to answer the question.

Question 62

All of these are components of the double-shot hypothesis EXCEPT that:

A)men and women are equally upset by sexual infidelity.
B)men assume that sexual infidelity by a woman implies emotional infidelity.
C)women assume that emotional infidelity by a man implies sexual infidelity.
D)women who are made to feel jealous by males take a "shot" at them by making them feel jealous.

Question 63

A study conducted by Clark and Hatfield found that about _____ percent of men agreed to have sex with an attractive stranger of the opposite sex.

A)10
B)25
C)75
D)100

Question 64

In some contexts,two or more heritable variants can evolve within a population.This is called:

A)frequency-dependent selection.
B)adaptive self-assessment.
C)xenophobia.
D)the double-shot hypothesis.

Question 65

Some women prefer mates who will invest in their offspring,while other women prefer mates with good genes.This reflects:

A)an environmental effect that influences personality.
B)an adaptive self-assessment.
C)frequency-dependent selection strategies.
D)sex differences in jealousy.

Question 66

According to Jay Belsky and colleagues (1991),individuals who experience a reliable,investing father during the first five years of life cultivate a sexual strategy:

A)designed to produce a larger number of offspring.
B)that results in poorly attached adult relationships.
C)marked by sexual and emotional infidelity.
D)marked by delayed sexual maturation.

Question 67

An explanation for individual differences in behavior from an evolutionary perspective is that:

A)individual differences are genetic errors across individuals.
B)they are a result of environmental differences that affect species-typical mechanisms.
C)they are a result of differential intersexual selection in an environment.
D)they are random variations in species-typical psychological mechanisms.

Question 68

According to evolutionary psychology,which of the following is most important to a woman?

A)That her mate is physically attractive
B)That her mate is emotionally faithful
C)That her mate is conscientious
D)That her mate is sexually faithful

Question 69

Competition that tends to be very intense among individuals using the same strategy may lead to the development of:

A)adaptive self-assessments.
B)frequency-dependent alternative strategies.
C)double-shot hypotheses.
D)variant competitive strategies.

Question 70

According to Jay Belsky and colleagues (1991),which of the following statements is true about children who grow up in father-absent homes during the first five years of life?

A)They cultivate a sexual strategy marked by frequent partner switching.
B)They see people as reliable and trustworthy.
C)They come to expect that adult pair bonds will be enduring.
D)They are likely to score high on introversion and conscientiousness.

Question 71

According to the double-shot hypothesis of sex differences in jealousy,_____.

A)men are more upset by sexual infidelity than emotional infidelity
B)women are more upset by emotional infidelity than sexual infidelity
C)men and women have different beliefs about infidelity
D)women usually are twice as upset than men at a second instance of infidelity

Question 72

Men and women value _____ equally in potential mates,but men place more value on _____.

A)physical attractiveness;earning potential
B)physical attractiveness;a good personality
C)a good personality;physical attractiveness
D)earning potential;physical attractiveness

Question 73

Rhonda only dates men whom she finds to be extremely physically attractive.She is not concerned about whether they will commit to her or about their past relationships.In this scenario,Rhonda is most likely pursuing a(n)_____ mating strategy.

A)restricted
B)unrestricted
C)shallow
D)independent

Question 74

Buss and his colleagues found that women place more importance on earning capacity in potential mates than men do:

A)in a majority of the 37 cultures that were studied.
B)only in the individualistic Western cultures that were studied.
C)in cultures where men control more resources than do women.
D)in the traditionally paternalistic cultures that were studieD.

Question 75

According to research,which variable is most predictive of interest in casual sex?

A)Gender,i.e. ,male versus female
B)Safety concern
C)Relationship status (single or not)
D)The manner in which the question is asked

Question 76

Research on sex differences in desire for sexual variety found that:

A)women would be much more interested in casual sex if they felt it was safe.
B)most women would refuse casual sex even if a friend ensures that the man is trustworthy.
C)men and women do not differ in the amount of their sexual fantasies.
D)men and women do not differ in the content of their sexual fantasies.

Question 77

Cross-cultural studies of jealousy have found that:

A)jealousy is more pronounced in Western cultures than in Asian cultures.
B)the double-shot hypothesis shows cross-cultural consistency.
C)women in Asian cultures are more upset by sexual infidelity than are men.
D)there is strong evidence for universal sex differences in jealousy across cultures.

Question 78

Evolutionary psychologists have placed comparatively little emphasis in their research efforts on _____.

A)the human nature level of analysis
B)sex differences in behavior
C)individual differences in behavior
D)species-typical phenomenon

Question 79

The idea that a man might decide on a particular social strategy based on how he views himself is an example of:

A)an environmental effect.
B)an adaptive self-assessment.
C)a frequency-dependent alternative strategy.
D)xenophobia.

Question 80

In the context of frequency-dependent strategic individual differences,women who adopt a restricted mating strategy _____.

A)are highly likely to signal their sexual infidelity toward their men
B)curb their urge to assess their men's level of commitment
C)have little reason to delay sexual intercourse
D)assure their men of their paternity of future offspring