Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Learning Outcome: Examine one evolutionary explanation of behaviour
Thesis: This paper will examine one evolutionary explanation of behaviour such as natural selection, specifically,
emotion, as demonstrated in studies by Fessler (2006) and Curtis (2004)
Last Sentence: Due to the reasons listed above, natural selection, and more specifically emotion is an evolutionary
explanation which were demonstrated by both Fessler and Curtis.
Darwin’s theory of natural selection:
● Those who adapt best to the environment will have a greater chance of surviving, having children, and
passing on their genes
● Explains how species acquire adaptive characteristics (over several generations, the result of natural
selection that causes the species to develop characteristics that make it more competitive in its environment)
to survive in an everchanging environment
● For example, when Darwin travelled to the Galapagos Islands, he noticed finches on different islands had
different type of beaks, that was the most advantageous for the food available in each particular habitat
Fessler (2006)
Define Key Terminology
Evolution:
Changing in the inherited traits of a species over time
Genetic Mutation: Change in the genetic code or base sequence of certain genes
First Trimester: The first three months of a pregnancy where the body undergoes major changes and the baby’s body
structure and organ systems develop
Confirmation Bias: When researchers see what they expect to see
Research method: Semistructured Interview
Aim: To investigate nausea experienced by women in their first trimester of pregnancy
Procedure: 496 healthy pregnant women between ages 18 and 50 years were gathered and asked to consider 32
potentially stomachturning scenarios such as walking barefoot, stepping on earthworms, someone accidentally
sticking fish hook through a finger, and maggots on meat in an outdoor waste bin. Before asking women to rank how
disgusting they found the scenarios, he posed series of questions designed to determine whether they were
experiencing morning sickness.
Findings: Women in first trimester scored much higher across the board in disgust sensitivity than the second or third.
However, when he controlled the study for morning sickness, the response only held for scenarios involving food
(maggots, etc).
Conclusions: Many diseases which are the most dangerous are foodborne, but ancestors could not afford to be picky
about what they ate. Natural selection helped compensate for the increased susceptibility to disease during this period
in pregnancy, by increasing the urge to be picky. Sensitivity diminishes as the risk of disease/infection decreases. To
conclude, disgust is a form of protection against disease.
Applications:
● Reinforces the principle of evolutionary psychology that as genes mutate, those that are advantageous are
passed down through a process of natural selection
● Helps evolutionary psychologists explain how certain human behaviours are testimony to the development of
our species over time.
● Supports the idea of disgust as a key to successful reproduction.
Evaluations (McFG = Methodology, Culture, Ethics, Gender)
Limitations
● The data was collected through questionnaires. Selfreports may not be reliable, as researchers may be
susceptible to confirmation bias
● This is not an effective way of measuring disgust, as it would have been more reliable to confront participants
with real disgusteliciting objects
● Little is known about the behaviour of early Homo sapiens, so statements about how humans “used to be” are
hypothetical
● Evolutionary explanations tend to focus on biological factors and tend to underestimate cultural influences
Strengths
● The effect sizes were not big but significant. The findings are supported by other studies (Curtis 2004)
● Since the ages of the participants range from 1850 it encompasses a fairly large spectrum of participants
Curtis (2004)
Define Key Terminology
Evolution:
Changing in the inherited traits of a species over time
Genetic Mutation: Change in the genetic code or base sequence of certain genes
Confirmation Bias : When researchers see what they expect to see
Research method: Online survey
Aim: To investigate whether there are patterns in people’s disgust responses
Procedure: 77 000 participants were gathered from 165 countries who completed an online survey. Participants were
asked to rank their level of disgust for 20 pictures.
Within the 20 pictures were 7 pairs of images where one was
infectious or potentially harmful to the immune system, and the the other was visually similar but noninfectious. For
example, one pair was a plate of bodily fluids and a plate of blue viscous liquid.
Findings:
The disgust reaction was strongest for images which threatened the immune system. Disgust decreased
with age and women had higher disgust reactions than men.
Conclusions: Disgust is the key to successful reproduction
Applications:
● Reinforces the principle of evolutionary psychology that as genes mutate, those that are advantageous are
passed down through a process of natural selection
● Helps evolutionary psychologists explain how certain human behaviours are testimony to the development of
our species over time.
● Supports the idea of disgust as a key to successful reproduction.
Evaluations (McFG = Methodology, Culture, Ethics, Gender)
Limitations
● The study was conducted online, so the validity of the data can be questioned
● No right to withdraw after submitting
● Protection from physical and psychological harm after viewing the images
Strengths
● Since this research uses both men and women, it is more applicable to human species as a whole.
● The sample population is very large, and is from multiple countries. Therefore, the study had high cross
cultural validity