Nature & Nurture Review Tools

As you prepare for the Unit Three test, some review tools...

• Although somewhat advanced (not all the questions relate to our course content), this practice MC test on heritability would be a good review of that important, but difficult, concept.
• This short video reviews Twin Studies & Adoption Studies, though an even MORE in-depth, multi-part tutorial can be found here.
• Video Crash Course: Natural Selection - Though more animal biology-related, this video reviews the basic principle that applies in Evolutionary Psych as well.
• Video Crash Course: Heredity - NOTE: Heredity not the same thing as "heritability," but this is still a helpful overview of genes, chromosomes, DNA, etc.
• Heritability Explained - more web articles & quiz questions to test your understanding of the concept.

The video below reviews Twin Studies:

Of course, we don't want to forget our good friend Quizlet. There may be fewer vocabulary terms this unit, but that doesn't mean they are not important to know and apply. Obviously, some may appear on the FRQ you are asked to do, so be ready to explain how these terms impact development & human differences.

 

Darwin Awards

For those who enjoy morbid humor, The Darwin Awards are an entertaining way to to explore applications of evolutionary psychology. The website (and resultant books) have become popular fare for morning radio DJs hoping to fill air time and similar "stupid news" outlets.

The site is a compilation of submitted news stories (look for those marked "confirmed true" as others that have turned out to be hoaxes are still listed) about people who have met their untimely deaths in creatively stupid ways. According to the byline for the site, "The Darwin Awards salute the improvement of the human genome by honoring those who accidentally remove themselves from it."

Admittedly, it is a bit crass to find humor in others' deaths, and use descretion when clicking around the site. I would also caution that the site authors, while attempting humor, are not always well-versed in evolutionary theory, nor are those who submit comments on particular articles. However, it should be commended for drawing our attention to ways in which natural selection in human beings continues, sometimes in surprising ways.

For a couple points extra credit for tomorrow's class, you may visit the site and find one (appropriate) Darwin Award to share. It's nice to start class with a little humor. :) But please, don't WIN any Darwin Awards! This is not an honor anyone wants to attain!

Darwin Awards

Today in class I mentioned the Darwin Awards website as an example of stories and sites that poke fun at the idea of applying evolutionary theory to human behavior.

Feel free to check out the website, though use some caution in clicking on the links and stories. Though none seem to be too flagrantly inappropriate, people on the site have been recognized for killing themselves in profoundly stupid ways, which sometimes involved bad decisions about drug use or reproductive choices, so use the title of each story as a guide before exploring further. Of course, they are meant to be humorous, though sometimes its very morbid or crude humor.

The Darwin awards have been compiled into a very popular series of books and even a major motion picture, though I have seen the film and did not find it particularly entertaining. The idea of stupid deaths gets worn out pretty quickly, and that one is quite obviously not appropriate for an academic setting.

Evolutionary Psych and Kids

Today in class we will be discussing the evolutionary perpective in psychology: the application of principles of natural selection to our understanding of human behavior.

One potentially controversial issue we'll encounter is the notion that the idea that having children will make you happy may be selected for, even though lately research has suggested it's not true.

Happiness researchers have been telling us for some time that the impact of children on their parents' happiness is neutral at best (sure, parenting is stressful, but there are good things about it too), but lately researchers, including Daniel Gilbert, author of Stumbling On Happiness, have been telling us the non-parents are actually happier than parents. Shocking, since most parents are passionately devoted to their children and love them intensely.

Gilbert offers an evolutionary explanation for this: the illusion is persistant because those humans that don't buy into it...don't reproduce. We are all offspring of those who believed (even if it's not true) that we would bring them greater happiness.

This idea is explored more in a recent article from The Psychologist: Think Having Children Will Make You Happy? The author explores possible cognitive roots of this phenomenon.

(Keep in mind, I'm not anti-kids!!! I'm not trying to persuade you to make decisions about your future families! But I think this idea is interesting. Any other possible explanations for this phenomenon besides an evolutionary approach?)