Chapter 4: Nature, Nurture, Human Diversity

(Part 2)Eliza Kronenberger, Kayla Russell, Abby Lagunov

3 Critiques of 3 Critiques of Evolutionary Psychology:Evolutionary Psychology:

Starts with effect and works backward to propose explanation

Unethical and immoral men could use such explanations to rationalize behavior toward women

Explanation overlooks effects of cultural expectations and socialization.

Douglass KenrickDouglass Kenrick When referring to nature and nurture, he compares humans to

a coloring book the outline is given to us at birth.

Rat Studies for Brain Rat Studies for Brain DevelopmentDevelopment

Rats were either raised alone in an impoverished environment, or they were raised with others in an enriched environment.

In enriched environment, rats developed significantly more cerebral cortex (relative to rest of brain’s tissue).

Kolb and WhishawKolb and Whishaw Because brain weights increased 7-10%, documented that

# of synapses had mushroomed by 20%.

Fields Study on Fields Study on Premature Babies:Premature Babies:

If a baby is born underweight (around 3-4 ibs), it will receive massage therapy for 15 minutes. Within weeks, the baby develops neurologically and will gain weight.

Power of touch

Pruning ProcessPruning Process Connections that are not used eventually whither away and die.

LanguageLanguage According to psychology, a child should begin learning a

language at a young age– at around 2/3 years old.

Brain Role in Brain Role in MaturationMaturation

“Use it or lose it”– If certain parts of brain are never used, then they will not be able to be used in the future.

PlasticityPlasticity Term used to describe how the brain is always changing.

ChimpanzeesChimpanzees “Even among chimpanzees, when one infant is hurt by

another, the victim’s mother will often attack the offender’s mother” (Goodall, 1968).

Parents’ job to help their child

Power of Family Power of Family EnvironmentEnvironment

Shows in…

Political Attitudes

Religious Beliefs

Personal Matters

Selection EffectSelection Effect Kids seek friends who relate to him/her, similar tastes/interests

Peer InfluencePeer Influence “Men resemble the times more than they resemble their fathers.”

Shows power of peer influence over genes

Parental/Teen Parental/Teen InfluencesInfluences

Parents more influential: education, discipline, orderliness, charitableness, ways of interacting with authority figures

Teens more influential: leadership, road to popularity, inventing styles of interactions

““It takes a village to It takes a village to raise a child.”raise a child.”

Both parents and peers play very important roles in the growing up years of a child.

Nature’s greatest gift:Nature’s greatest gift: Our ability to learn and adapt

CultureCulture The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a

group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next.

Designed for CultureDesigned for Culture We are very social animals- we live in “packs”, we are designed for culture.

Cultural DiversityCultural Diversity More relevant in Los Angeles than Japan.

NormNorm Definition: An understood rule for accepted and expected behavior.

Example: Girls with Uggs

Personal SpacePersonal Space The zone we like to maintain around our bodies.

Ex. Mexicans often go too close to body, Canadians prefer more personal space.

Culture ShocksCulture ShocksTwo greatest culture shocks for peace corps

volunteers:

The differing pace of life

The people’s differing sense of punctuality

Modern TimesModern Times 3 conveniences: email, air-

conditioning, flying (planes)

3 negatives: divorce, delinquency, depression

Individualist/Individualist/Collectivist CultureCollectivist Culture

Individualist culture: gives priority to one’s own goals over the group goals.

Collectivist culture: priority to one’s group over one’s self.

Individualistic CulturesIndividualistic Cultures Common in North America, Western Europe

Strive for personal control and individual achievement

Collectivist CultureCollectivist Culture Sense of belonging

Network of caring individuals

Set of values

KoreaKorea Korea is an example of a collectivist culture

Individualist CultureIndividualist Culture Personal Freedom

Less geographically bound to families

More privacy

Take more pride in personal achievements

Table 4.1Table 4.1

GenderGender Biological sex in turn helps define our gender; the biological and

social characteristics by which people define as male or female.

ChromosomesChromosomes Out of our 46 chromosomes, 45 are unisex which proves

that men and women are very similar.

4 Differences between 4 Differences between Men/Women during Men/Women during

PubertyPuberty Average woman enters puberty 2

years sooner

Average woman lives 5 years longer

Women have 40% less muscle

The average woman is 5 inches shorter than the average man

Gender DifferencesGender Differences Women: Smell fainter odors, express emotions more freely, offered

help more often

Men: more often diagnosed with autism, color-blindness, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and antisocial personality disorder

Relational Vs. Physical Relational Vs. Physical AggressionAggression

Aggression is defined as any physical/verbal behavior intended to hurt someone.

Relational- excluding somebody

Physical- acts such as hitting/harming in some way

Male ActivitiesMale Activities 2 traditional examples: hunting, fighting

Men are more likely to support war

Perceptions of men vs. Perceptions of men vs. womenwomen

Men: dominant, forceful, independent

Women: deferential, nurturing, caring

Men vs. WomenMen vs. Women Men place more importance on power/achievement than

women throughout the world

Who plays in larger Who plays in larger groups?groups?

Boys play in larger groups

Girls play in smaller groups

Male answer Male answer syndromesyndrome

Men are more likely than women to make up answers to questions that they do not know the answer for.

Women vs. MenWomen vs. Men Women are more

interdependent than males, spend more time with friends, less time alone, more time on social networking sites, take more pleasure talking face to face, and use conversations to explore relationships.

TalkingTalking Women and men talk about equally. This tends to be

very surprising due to the stereotype

Mother/Daughter Mother/Daughter ConnectionConnection

96% of women feel closer to their mothers than their fathers

Facing ProblemsFacing Problems 3 reasons that both men

and women turn to women when they face problems:

Women seem more nurturing/caring, more enjoyable to talk to, seem more understanding

Tend and BefriendTend and Befriend Concept where women turn to other women for

support

SpiritualitySpirituality Women are more likely than men to be spiritual

Different Sex Different Sex CharacteristicCharacteristic

ss

Over time, each sex develops traditional characteristics of the opposite sex.

X ChromosomeX Chromosome Definition: sex chromosome found in both men and

women

Females have 2, men have 1

Y ChromosomeY Chromosome Sex chromosome found in males.

X + Y = Male

TestosteroneTestosterone Most important male sex hormone

Genetic Brain Genetic Brain AdvantagesAdvantages

Women: May cause increase in verbal fluency

Men: Higher ability to recognize objects

Excess TestosteroneExcess Testosterone When a female infant

gets excess testosterone in the womb, the infant is born with more masculine-appearing genitals, more aggressive tom-boyish behavior, and often dress like boys

Excessive testosterone can cause identity confusion

RoleRole Set of expectations

Gender RolesGender Roles Set of expected behaviors for males and females

Gender IdentityGender Identity Our sense of labeling as a male or a female

Social Learning TheorySocial Learning Theory We learn by

observing/imitating behaviors

Example: We keep in mind what is being rewarded and what is being punished

SchemaSchema Concepts that help you make sense of your

world

Gender SchemaGender Schema How we view male and female experiences

Figure 4.8Figure 4.8