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Evolutionary vs Socio-cultural Influences (Biological) - Coggle Diagram
Evolutionary vs Socio-cultural Influences (Biological)
Evolutionary psychology: Natural selection --> psychological mechanisms are designed and refined to accomplish certain adaptive goals
Our ancestors had to survive to reproductive age and reproduce
Useful for human universals and sex differences
Helping and altruism
Inclusive fitness theory: Individuals are more likely to help their kin members than non-kin members. By helping your kin to survive, you are indirectly helping to spread your own genes.
Sex differences
Adaptive problems
Men: Problem of paternity uncertainty --> Is this kid mine? Am I investing in someone else's kid? Identifying reproductively valuable women
More emphasis on physical appearance and young age
Women: Problem of child-bearing and child-rearing and need reliable resources
More emphasis on men's ability and willingness to provide rresources
Sexual variety
Men: Invest less in offspring and seek multiple mates (found that men desire more sexual partners than women do)
Women: Invest more in offspring and limit number of partners because of burden of childbearing and rearing
Evolution of the big 5: Humans have evolved difference detecting mechanisms designed to notice individual differences most relevant for solving social adaptive problems
E: Fun to be with and rise in the social hierarchy
Advantages: Mating success, exploration of environment
Disadvantages: Physical risks, family instability
N: Who will drain my emotional resources
Advantages: Vigilance to threats
Disadvantages: Excessive stress and negative social life and health
O: Who can I go to for counsel and advice
Advantages: Creativity
Disadvantages: Unusual beliefs, psychosis
C: Who is dependable and reliable
Advantages: Attention to long-term benefits, life expectancy, socially desirable qualities
Disadvantages: Missing out on immediate benefits, obsessions, rigidity
A: Who is likely to cooperate and reciprocate
Advantages: Attention to mental states of others, harmonious and cooperative in relationships
Disadvantages: Risk to social cheating, failure to maximise selfish advantage
Diversity on characteristics remained because environments can fluctuate over time: Optimal point for survival fitness shifts around
Niche-picking: Selection of environments that suit one's personality dispositions
Frequency-dependent selection: Fitness of trait depends on its frequency relative to other traits in the population (e.g. cheaters can survive in a community without too many other cheaters)
Socio-cultural influences on personality
Culture: Shared customs, beliefs, etc. that are shared and transmitted by members of a group
Individualism vs collectivism
Tightness: How tolerable members of a culture are to deviations from the norm
Power distance: How okay people are with unequal distributions of power
Vertical vs horizontal: Hierarchy
Psychology is WEIRD
Western
Educated
Industrialised
Rich
Democratic
Is it generalisable?
Personality are unevenly distributed across geographical regions both within and across countries and cultures
Social influence: Regional social-cultural environment
Ecological influence: Natural or built environment
Selective migration: Individual's characteristics influence the type of environment they select
Differences in personality traits levels across nations
Higher E in Western countries than Asian and African countries
Higher O in low power distance, high individualism, high autonomy, high commitment to egalitarian values, low in conservatism
Regional variation in US
Midwest: Conventional, emotionally stable, compliant
Pacific Coast states: Creative and relaxed
New England states: Irritable, impulsive
Personality costs to living in regions with increased pathogens
Living in regions with increased pathogens are more costly to those high on N and E
Regions with high historical prevalence of pathogens tend to be lower on population means of E and O
China's Rice vs Wheat Agriculture
Rice: Need elaborate irrigation systems, labor intensive, farmers need to collaborate
Students from rice provinces: More holistic thinking, interdependence, loyalty (collectivism)
Wheat: No need irrigation, not as much work
Students from wheat agriculture: More individualistic
Gender differences; Clash between evolutionary and socio-cultural perspectives
Big-5 differences: On average, differences are slight. But differences are more significant at the extreme ends of the spectrum.
Occupational interests: Women are more interested in people but men are more interested in things
Competing hypothesis
Men and women are fundamentally different: Due to different evolutionary pressures and problems, biological differences, and gender differences in children before socialisation
Men and women are fundamentally the same: Social role theory, gender role socialisations and social institutions, gender differences eliminated with increased gender equality
Gender-Equality paradox: Gender differences in Big-5 traits are more pronounced in countries with higher individualism, GDP per capita, Human Developmental Index, gender equality and egalitarianism
The more gender-equality, the larger the difference in gender representation in STEM educations and careers
Social role theory not supported