Deck 14: Evolutionary Psychology and Culture

Question 1

According to Workman and Reader, the main problem with memetics is

A) We don't know what memes are made from
B) The theory hasn't made many interesting predictions
C) We can't decide on the boundaries of an individual meme
D) Memes are transmitted differently from genes

Answer 1

The theory hasn't made many interesting predictions

Question 2

According to Diamond, the ultimate reason why Europe and Asia developed culture more rapidly than other continents was

A) Their inhabitants were more intelligent
B) Their inhabitants were less susceptible to disease
C) Eurasia had better weather
D) Eurasia had more domesticable species

Answer 2

Eurasia had more domesticable species

Question 3

A current theory regarding lactose tolerance suggests that it is...

A) More common than lactose intolerance
B) The result of spontaneous mutation rather than inherited
C) Normal, it is lactose intolerance that needs explaining
D) An adaptation as a result of pastoralism

Answer 3

An adaptation as a result of pastoralism

Question 4

Pagel (2012), argues that one reason why humans developed sophisticated culture but chimpanzees is that chimpanzees lack

A) Language
B) Motivation
C) Theory of mind
D) The ability to imitate

Question 5

The concept of the meme was first devised by:

A) Dawkins
B) Blackmore
C) Dennett
D) Bartlett

Question 6

It has been suggested by Tomasello that one of the reasons why non-human animals are less good imitators than humans is that they lack

A) Language
B) Motivation
C) Theory of mind
D) Culture

Question 7

According to Ridley, you should delegate a task that you are less good at to another person

A) Only when you are unable to complete all your tasks effectively
B) Only when the other person has spare capacity
C) Only if the other person is better at it than you are
D) Even if the other person is less good at it than you are

Question 8

The case of the Moriori is evidence that culture

A) Can accelerate and decelerate
B) Can go backwards
C) Can make great leaps
D) Can stagnate

Question 9

The direction of inheritance of chimpanzee culture is

A) Vertical
B) Horizontal
C) Horizontal and vertical
D) Diagonal

Question 10

Who originally conducted research on the Universal People?

A) Donald Brown
B) Donald Symons
C) E.O. Wilson
D) Tooby and Cosmides

Question 11

The notion proposed by Boyd and Richerson that culture evolved to provide a more rapid form of change is called

A) Gene-culture coevolution
B) Dual inheritance theory
C) Memetics
D) Idea diffusion

Question 12

Tooby and Cosmides divide culture into:

A) Evoke and response
B) Response and transmit
C) Evoked and transmitted
D) Evoked and inherited

Question 13

According to Dawkins (2005) religion could be

A) The result of group selection
B) Adaptive as believers live longer and are more likely to recover from disease
C) A side-effect of childhood credulity and the need to learn from elders
D) Adaptive as religious morals enable us to better negotiate social life

Question 14

Which of the following has the highest antimicrobial properties?

A) Ginger
B) Chillies
C) Onion
D) Garlic

Question 15

According to Horan, Bulte, and Shogren (2005), Neanderthals might have died out because

A) They showed no evidence of trade
B) They showed no evidence of cultural specialisation
C) They showed no evidence of manufacturing sophisticated artefacts
D) They showed no evidence of rituals

Question 16

Who introduced the concept of the 'culturegen'?

A) Tooby and Cosmides
B) Lumsden and Willson
C) Richerson and Boyd
D) Workman and Reader

Question 17

Robert Wright argues that interdependency between nations

A) Is a bad thing as it reduces our self-sufficiency leaving us open to exploitation by other countries
B) Is a bad thing as it means that our jobs go to people from other countries
C) Is a good thing; we are unlikely to declare war on a country that makes something we need
D) Is a good thing as it means that products are cheaper for us to buy

Question 18

According to Nagell, Olguin and Tomasello (1993), chimpanzees are able to imitate to the level of

A) A one year old child
B) A two year old child
C) A four year old child
D) A ten year old child

Question 19

According to Byrne and Russon (1998), many examples of imitation in non-human animals might be the result of

A) Positive reinforcement
B) Negative reinforcement
C) Random behaviour
D) Stimulus enhancement