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