Evolutionary Psychology Buss 1-4 Exam
With Questions And Well Verified Answers
Actual Exam!!! 2026
Evolutionary Psychology - ANSWER -Evolutionary psychology is an approach that views
human nature as the product of a universal set of evolved psychological adaptations to
recurring problems in the ancestral environment.
-Seeks to identify which human psychological traits are evolved adaptations, that is, the
functional products of NS or sexual selection in human evolution.
-Understanding the human mind/brain mechanisms in evolutionary perspective is the goal of
the new scientific discipline.
GOAL: the purpose of evolutionary psychology is to identify evolved emotional and cognitive
adaptations that represent "human psychological nature."
STEPS: Variance, inheritance, selection, time.
-Four major theories are explored—(1) prepared learning, (2) inclusive fitness and kin
selection, (3) reciprocity and cooperation, and (4) parental investment.
Misunderstandings of Evolution - ANSWER --Does not imply that human behavior is
genetically determined.
-does not imply that human behavior is immutable (unchangeable)
-does not imply optimal design.
Natural Selection - ANSWER -A process in which individuals that have certain inherited
traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of those
traits.
Alfred Russel Wallace - Indonesia - wrote letter to Charles Darwin who wrote Origin of Species.
NS - step by step, random variations - slight edge so they survive & reproduce
People - psychology at last few pages: Brains
Emotions - ANSWER -a natural instinctive state of mind deriving from one's
circumstances, mood, or relationships with others
Adaptation - ANSWER -An inherited and reliably developing characteristic
, what came into existence through natural selection because it helped to solve a problem of
survival or reproduction during the period of its evolution.
Adaptations - ANSWER -Evolved solutions to specific problems that contribute either
directly or indirectly to successful reproduction
Criteria for adaptation - ANSWER -Efficiency, precision, reliability
Byproduct - ANSWER -a side-effect; something produced in the making of something
else
Characteristics that do not solve adaptive problems and do not have functional design
Noise (random effects) - ANSWER -Can be caused by mutation, sudden changes in
environment, accidents during development
Random effects produced by forces such as chance mutations, sudden and unprecedented
changes in the environment, or chance effects during development; example: particular shape
of a person's belly button
Three Products of evolution - ANSWER -adaptations, by-products, and noise
Darwin's 3 postulates - ANSWER -The three ingredients:
1. Variation
2. Inheritance
3. Differential reproductive success
environmental demands determine which organisms will survive and reproduce; only
organisms with adaptive traits survive and reproduce.
Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection is the logical outcome of three postulates: (1)
individuals within species are variable; (2) some of these variations are heritable; and (3)
individuals that reproduce the most are those with the most favorable variations.
Altruism (inclusive fitness theory) - ANSWER -One implication of inclusive fitness theory
is that acts of altruism will be directed more toward closely related individuals than more
distantly related individuals.
With Questions And Well Verified Answers
Actual Exam!!! 2026
Evolutionary Psychology - ANSWER -Evolutionary psychology is an approach that views
human nature as the product of a universal set of evolved psychological adaptations to
recurring problems in the ancestral environment.
-Seeks to identify which human psychological traits are evolved adaptations, that is, the
functional products of NS or sexual selection in human evolution.
-Understanding the human mind/brain mechanisms in evolutionary perspective is the goal of
the new scientific discipline.
GOAL: the purpose of evolutionary psychology is to identify evolved emotional and cognitive
adaptations that represent "human psychological nature."
STEPS: Variance, inheritance, selection, time.
-Four major theories are explored—(1) prepared learning, (2) inclusive fitness and kin
selection, (3) reciprocity and cooperation, and (4) parental investment.
Misunderstandings of Evolution - ANSWER --Does not imply that human behavior is
genetically determined.
-does not imply that human behavior is immutable (unchangeable)
-does not imply optimal design.
Natural Selection - ANSWER -A process in which individuals that have certain inherited
traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of those
traits.
Alfred Russel Wallace - Indonesia - wrote letter to Charles Darwin who wrote Origin of Species.
NS - step by step, random variations - slight edge so they survive & reproduce
People - psychology at last few pages: Brains
Emotions - ANSWER -a natural instinctive state of mind deriving from one's
circumstances, mood, or relationships with others
Adaptation - ANSWER -An inherited and reliably developing characteristic
, what came into existence through natural selection because it helped to solve a problem of
survival or reproduction during the period of its evolution.
Adaptations - ANSWER -Evolved solutions to specific problems that contribute either
directly or indirectly to successful reproduction
Criteria for adaptation - ANSWER -Efficiency, precision, reliability
Byproduct - ANSWER -a side-effect; something produced in the making of something
else
Characteristics that do not solve adaptive problems and do not have functional design
Noise (random effects) - ANSWER -Can be caused by mutation, sudden changes in
environment, accidents during development
Random effects produced by forces such as chance mutations, sudden and unprecedented
changes in the environment, or chance effects during development; example: particular shape
of a person's belly button
Three Products of evolution - ANSWER -adaptations, by-products, and noise
Darwin's 3 postulates - ANSWER -The three ingredients:
1. Variation
2. Inheritance
3. Differential reproductive success
environmental demands determine which organisms will survive and reproduce; only
organisms with adaptive traits survive and reproduce.
Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection is the logical outcome of three postulates: (1)
individuals within species are variable; (2) some of these variations are heritable; and (3)
individuals that reproduce the most are those with the most favorable variations.
Altruism (inclusive fitness theory) - ANSWER -One implication of inclusive fitness theory
is that acts of altruism will be directed more toward closely related individuals than more
distantly related individuals.
