Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind
David BussSözler ve Alıntılar
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The hormone testosterone (T) plays a key role in male mating effort, the time and energy devoted to pursuing mates and besting same-sex competitors (Ellison, 2001). Higher T levels facilitate male pursuit of females, and T levels increase a er interacting with an attractive woman (Roney, Mahler, & Maestripieri, 2003). Maintaining high levels of T, though, can be costly for men. T can compromise immune functioning, and because it is linked with mating effort, it may interfere with parenting effort (it’s difficult for a man to be a good parent if he’s always pursuing other women). Consequently, evolutionists have hypothesized that T levels should drop a er a man succeeds in attracting a long-term mate, and studies have found precisely that effect (Burnham et al., 2003; Gray et al., 2004). One study found that men in committed relationships had 21 percent lower T levels than unpaired men (see Figure 5.6). Another found that men in long-term relationships (more than 12 months) had substantially lower T levels than single men or men in newly formed relationships (less than 12 months) (Farrelly, Owens, Elliott, Walden, & Wetherell, 2015). Married men who had children had even lower levels of T.
Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory
In the late 1800s, Sigmund Freud rocked the scientific community by proposing a theory of psychology that had a foundation in sexuality. To the Victorian culture, Freud’s theory was shocking. Not only was sexuality a motivating force for adults, Freud proposed that it was the driving force of human behavior regardless of age, from the smallest
Combat among men was a central feature of human ancestral life.
Sayfa 2
Researchers have made progress in identifying the underlying brain mechanisms involved in love (Bartels & Zeki, 2004; Fisher, Aron, & Brown, 2005). Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology, researchers scanned the brains of individuals who were intensely in love while they thought about their loved one. The specific areas of the brain that “lit up” (showed an increased blood flow, indicating changes in neural activity) centered on the caudate nucleus and the ventral tegmental areas. These areas contain cells that produce dopamine, which stimulates the reward centers of the brain, analogous to experiencing a “rush” of cocaine (Fisher, 2006). Thus, researchers are beginning to make progress in identifying the underlying brain circuits involved in the psychological state of love.
Evcilliğin İcadı - Charles Rice
[Women] not rarely run away with a favoured lover… . We thus see that… the women are not in quite so abject a state in relation to marriage as has often been supposed. They can tempt the men they prefer, and sometimes can reject those whom they dislike, either before or after marriage
Contrary to these misconceptions, evolutionary theory does not imply genetic determinism. It does not imply that we are powerless to change things. It does not mean that our existing adaptations are optimally designed.
Bu yanılgıların aksine, evrim teorisi genetik determinizm anlamına gelmez. Bir şeyleri değiştirmek için güçsüz olduğumuz anlamına gelmez. Bu, mevcut adaptasyonların optimum şekilde tasarlandığı anlamına gelmez.
In summary, Trivers's (1972) theory of parental investment and sexual selection makes two profound predictions: (1) the sex that invests more in offspring (typically, but not always, the female) will be more discriminating or selective about mating; and (2) the sex that invests less in offspring will be more competitive for sexual access to the high investing sex. In the human case, it is clear that women have greater obligatory parental investment. To produce a single child, women must endure a nine-month pregnancy, whereas men can produce that same child with as little as a few minutes of investment. When it comes to long-term mating or marriage, however, it is equally clear that both men and women invest heavily in children, and so the theory of parental investment predicts that both sexes should be very choosy and discriminating.