Ch. 15 How Humans Evolved Physical Anthropology

Compared with other forms of arranged marriage, what was the result of Taiwanese minor marriages?

30% fewer children FEEDBACK: A study by Stanford anthropologist Arthur Wolf showed that Taiwanese minor marriages produced about 30% fewer children than other forms of arranged marriages. Partners in minor marriages lived together as brother and sister in childhood and found each other sexually uninteresting upon maturity.

Which of the following is true of age preferences in mate selection among humans?

As men age, the age difference between them and their wives increases. FEEDBACK: Research using data from around the world found a similar pattern in different regions. Men tend to seek female partners who are younger than they are and women tend to seek male partners who are older. As men age, the age difference between them and their wives increases. As women age, however, there is little change in the age difference between them and their husbands.

Nearly all of the ethnographic data from cultural anthropology point to which conclusion?

Brother-sister incest is very rare. FEEDBACK: Brother-sister incest is very rare among humans, a fact likely accounted for by evolutionary behavioral adaptations.

Although men typically report wanting more sexual partners than women, for what primary reason would we expect men to form committed, long-term relationships?

Children who receive care from both parents are more likely to thrive. FEEDBACK: Although women bear most of the costs of contraception and prefer long-term relationships as a result, we would expect men to form committed long-term relationships because children who receive care from both parents are more likely to thrive.

What does Borgerhoff Mulder suggest may be the reason why there is no relationship between the wealth of the father of the groom and the bridewealth payment among Kipsigis?

Differences in wealth among Kipsigis are very unstable over time. FEEDBACK: The discovery that the bride's father does not lower the bridewealth payment to secure a wealthy husband for his daughter was unexpected. Borgerhoff Mulder suggested that it may be related to the fact that differences in wealth among the Kipsigis are unstable over time.

How does evolutionary theory explain why chastity is considered essential in China but unimportant in Sweden?

Evolutionary theory cannot yet explain why chastity is considered essential in China but unimportant in Sweden. FEEDBACK: The way evolved psychology shapes the cultures in which we live is complicated and poorly understood; for example, evolutionary theory does not yet explain why chastity is considered essential in China but unimportant in Sweden.

To what extent can evolutionary theory currently explain human behavior?

Evolutionary theory provides insight into some behavioral traits, but there are other common behaviors that seem to contradict evolutionary logic. (may not be correct answer) FEEDBACK: Evolution can help us understand our behaviors and our minds. However, evolutionary theory does not explain all aspects. There are lots of examples of common behaviors that seem to oppose what would be expected based on evolutionary mechanisms. For example, people skydive, paraglide, and cave dive, activities which have a high risk of death and defy a purely evolutionary explanation for our behaviors. Evolutionary psychologists also argue that our minds and behavior are adapted for life in the environment of evolutionary adaptedness, not the present world

Why might natural selection predispose women toward making more false negative errors when judging a partner's or potential partner's intentions?

Fear of becoming pregnant causes them to err on the side of caution about their partner's intentions. FEEDBACK: Natural selection predisposes men and women to bias their judgments about new partners' sexual intentions and commitment in different ways. Women, who could become pregnant, are more likely to be cautious about their partner's intentions and thus make more false negative errors than false positive errors.

Why did Borgerhoff Mulder find that bridewealth payments increased as the age of the bride at time of menarche decreased?

Greatest value was placed on the bride's reproductive potential. FEEDBACK: Mulder studied bridewealth payments of the Kipsigis and found that the greatest value was placed on the reproductive potential of new brides. Among the Kipsigis, the most reliable measure of this was through age at time of menarche, or first menstrual cycle.

Your friend wants to know why anthropologists interested in the human environment of evolutionary adaptedness are so intent on studying the food-gathering practices of hunter-gatherer societies. How do you reply?

Humans were foragers for the majority of our existence, and it is thought that our brains are adapted to life in foraging societies. FEEDBACK: According to the idea of the environment of evolutionary adaptedness (EEA), our brains may have evolved to successfully negotiate life in a foraging society. Human society was organized as a foraging society for the majority of our existence. Many anthropologists study band (hunter-gatherer) societies to gain insight into the past through analogy.

During Thanksgiving dinner, your uncle notes that first-cousin marriage is legal in many states. Your cousin is horrified, and your mom asks you if there is an anthropological reason that cousin marriage causes controversy. How do you reply?

It seems to be within our genes to avoid inbreeding because we don't want to increase the chance of passing on deleterious alleles, but culturally the definition of inbreeding or incest differs. FEEDBACK: First-cousin marriage is not controversial everywhere; it is legal and even encouraged in some societies. Strong avoidance of first-cousin breeding, where the attitude is prevalent, likely reflects strong cultural norms, but biological avoidance of inbreeding may also be at play.

Which of the following statements about mate selection behavior is accurate?

Knowing where a person lives provides more information about what he or she values in a mate than knowing the person's gender. FEEDBACK: Culture has proven to be a much better predictor of people's mate preferences than gender; knowing where a person lives tells us much more about what he or she values in a mate than knowing the person's gender.

Which of the following kinds of evidence, if proved, would challenge John Tooby's and Leda Cosmides's arguments about the human environment of evolutionary adaptedness?

Lifeways that characterize contemporary foragers did not emerge until 40 ka. FEEDBACK: John Tooby and Leda Cosmides have argued that because foraging dominated human society for most of its existence, the human environment of evolutionary adaptedness should most resemble that of contemporary foragers. But if the lifeways of contemporary foragers were found to have emerged only 40 ka, then this interpretation would be challenged.

According to one theory, cultural rules are all that prevent widespread incest from occurring. How can this theory can be disproved by evolutionary theory?

Matings between close relatives are exceedingly rare among all primates, including humans. FEEDBACK: Because inbred matings are extremely rare in the primate order as a whole, it can be concluded that inbreeding avoidance is an evolved trait, one characterizing our hominin ancestors as well as modern human groups.

Why would selection have most likely shaped men's psychology so that they are attracted to female attributes such as symmetrical features?

Symmetrical features would be a marker of youth, which corresponded with higher fertility. FEEDBACK: Selection may have shaped men's psychology so that they are attracted to cues that reliably predict youth and health (and thus fertility, the core need), such as smooth skin, good muscle tone, symmetrical features, and shiny hair.

Which of the following is true based on the observed behavior of soapberry bugs across a range of different environments?

There are small genetic differences in the male propensity to guard a mated female. FEEDBACK: In order for flexibility in male behavior regarding mate guarding to evolve, there had to be small genetic differences in the male propensity to guard a mated female and small genetic differences in how mate guarding is influenced by the local sex ratio.

What is the central misconception in the nature versus nurture debate?

There is a clear distinction between the effects of the environment and the effects of genes on an individual. FEEDBACK: The nature-nurture debate, which has raged in the social sciences and among the public as well, has centered on a false dichotomy—namely that there is a clear distinction between the effects of genes and those of the environment.

What was observed in the study of peer groups in Israeli kibbutzim?

There was almost no sexual experimentation or marriage by children in kibbutz peer groups, even though the ideology of kibbutzim did not discourage it. FEEDBACK: The ideology of the kibbutzim did not discourage sexual experimentation or marriage by children in such peer groups, but neither occurred for any children that were in the same peer groups before the age of six, and only a handful between children that joined after the age of six.

Why can flexible, behavioral traits be shaped by natural selection?

They are sensitive to environmental conditions. FEEDBACK: Because traits that are adaptive for specific environments are selected for, we can conclude that behavioral traits (which are sensitive to the environment) can be selected for or against.

What does the interaction between an individual's genes and the environment produce?

a phenotype FEEDBACK: All phenotypic traits, including behavioral traits, reflect the interactions between genes and the environment.

Which of the following has slightly more of an effect on the expression of behavioral traits than it does on the expression of morphological and physiological traits?

environment FEEDBACK: The expression of behavioral traits is usually more sensitive to environmental conditions than is the expression of morphological and physiological traits. These that vary in response to environmental cues are said to be plastic.

What are outbred matings?

matings between unrelated individuals FEEDBACK: Outbred matings are those between unrelated individuals, while inbred matings are those between related individuals.

What trait do contemporary men and women around the world rate as the most important in mates?

mutual attraction FEEDBACK: Men and women around the world rate mutual attraction or love above all othertraits; the next most highly desired traits are personal attributes such as dependability or maturity.

What do many evolutionary psychologists envision the environment of evolutionary adaptedness (EEA) for human beings to be?

small-scale foraging societies FEEDBACK: Since evolutionary psychologists believe that human problem-solving abilities evolved over our entire evolutionary history, most of which was dominated by a foraging lifestyle, our EEA should be closest to the lifestyles of modern foraging societies.

What do Daniel Fessler and Carlos Navarrete suggest represents a kind of "egocentric empathy"?

third-party aversions to incest FEEDBACK: Fessler and Navarrete suggest that third-party aversions to incest are a form of "egocentric empathy." The extent of exposure to siblings of the opposite sex during childhood might also be linked to the strength of feelings about one's own behavior and the strength of feelings about the behavior of others.