PSYC 102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Naturalistic Fallacy, Sexual Selection, Speciation

• School: UBC
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 102
• Professor: Shariff Azim

Document Summary

Explanation for why developmental, personality, and neuro psych happen, dobezhansky: "nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution" Species adapting to their environment through reproducing with those w/ different mutations: more helpful mutations lead to better survival, unhelpful ones died off, next generation was far more fit than the last. Sexual selection can explain mental faculties that do not appear survival-relevant: compelling others to sleep w/ us, being funny, producing art, etc, evolution has neither direction nor purpose, adaptations need only be adaptive, not necessarily good. Spandrel: not every trait that exists does so for adaptive reasons --> exists as a by-product of evolution, bellybutton, male nipples, the gene"s eye view - the gene selection theory. Selection occurs at the level of the gene rather than the individual/organism: a mutation/adaptation will only occur if it contributes to the survival of the gene, even if it has a negative impact on the individual (mother spider)