Evolution, culture and mind
Evolution, Culture, and Mind Quiz
Test your knowledge on the intricate relationship between evolution, culture, and human behavior with this comprehensive quiz. Delve into theories of cooperation, social dilemmas, and the impact of warfare on human evolution.
Key topics include:
- Evolutionary theory
- Altruism and cooperation
- The role of culture
- Warfare's influence on evolution
How does the computer simulation of Choi & Bowles build on and go beyond the game theoretical approach to the evolution of cooperation pioneered by Axelrod & Hamilton?
None of the other answers are correct
Choi & Bowles simulated a range of different kinds of individuals (or agents) in their simulation (e.g. 2x2 of altruists and parochials), whereas Axelrod & Hamilton only simulated individuals following a rational choice model (e.g. Either reciprocal altruists as in tit-for-tat, or cheaters as in All-Defect)
Choi & Bowles use parochial altruism as their basic theory of the evolution of cooperation, whereas Axelrod & Hamilton used individual rational choice as their basic theory.
By simulating both individual-level and group-level selection, Choi & Bowles demonstrated that parochial altruism co-evolved with warfare as a dominant tendency in the human genome, transcending the reciprocal altruism shown by Axelrod & Hamilton.
Both Choi & Bowles and Axelrod & Hamilton use the Prisoner's Dilemma Game to simulate cooperation between individuals, whereas Choi & Bowles employ a Public Goods Game to simulate cooperation and conflict between groups.
What important take-home message(s) come from the article by Nobel laureate Elinor Ostrom?
All of the choices offered are correct.
Adherence to social norms among a small group of conditional cooperators can enable human societies to solve social dilemmas that mathematical models (using rational choice) predict are almost impossible to solve.
The formation of social norms (and social contracts involving reciprocity), and the ability to punish defectors greatly facilitates the ability of people to solve a social dilemma.
Allowing communications greatly improves cooperation in social dilemmas
Human behaviour in experimental social dilemmas does not follow the pattern that computer models based on rational choice predict; it is often more cooperative than these models would predict.
In an evolutionary view of life, do human beings have to be aware of cheaters?
Yes. Human beings’ strength as individuals is multiplied by cooperation, but cheaters are a threat to group life because they take benefits without fulfilling obligations
No. Cheaters are a modern social problem specific to the context of civilization and economic surpluses
No. Cheaters are not supposed to survive evolutionary competition.
Yes. Because cheaters do not contribute to the reproduction of their own genes
No. Human beings are focused on cooperation as a strategy of survival, and cheaters are an exception to the rule of cooperation.
Which of the following provides a good illustration of some of the “design issues” involved in human evolution?
The pelvis (bone) is involved in both locomotion and child bearing, and adaptation involving one (i.e. Standing upright) affects the other (i.e., the size of the hole through which a baby is born
Competition (survival of the fittest) ensured that an optimally efficient design emerged for upright locomotion among human beings
The process of adaptation has driven the human being to acquire higher and higher levels of intelligence, as evidenced by larger and larger brains during the last 100,000 years
Biological evolution is independent from social and cultural evolution
None of these choices
Is it correct to equate the brain with a computer? Why or why not?
No. Human beings are not computers, we are wetware shaped by evolution, culture, and communication
None of the other options is correct
No. The brain processes logical information just as a computer does, but it does not have multiple modules
Yes. Because the brain is based on digital logic as the computer is.
Yes. Because the brain has some specific digital programs to process information from the body and the environment
Which of the following statements best summarizes current theory & evidence about the impact of warfare on the evolution of humanity?
Social scientists have concluded that warfare is an adaptive behavior only when there is sufficient resource surplus that can be extracted by defeating other groups; therefore, warfare is unlikely to have influenced to human genome.
. Sexual selection at the individual-level is the only determinant of the evolution of the human genome; warfare affects cultural not biological evolution.
None of the other choices is correct
Classic anthropologists consider warfare to have co-evolved with a genetic predisposition for the species known as parochial altruism.
There is evidence suggesting that intergroup killing has been present throughout human history, with multilevel and multilineal approaches to evolution claiming warfare can influence the human genome, and does influence the long-term evolution of human societies.
How can altruistic individuals sacrifice their own inclusive fitness in social exchanges with others and still manage to pass their genes on to the next generation?
Kin selection allows altruistic individuals to survive because we tend to help close kin, and the survival of a family member means the survival of one’s own genes
Altruistic individuals must maintain moral superiority to survive competition versus non-altruistic individuals.
Cooperation between non-kin is the main reason why altruistic individuals survive.
Altruistic individuals can identify cheaters better
Altruistic individuals exist because of a genetic aberration.
Which of the following is true of the Prisoner’s Dilemma Game (PDG)?
If you cooperate and the other defects, they get the best outcome and you get the worst: this is defined as the Sucker’s Payoff
Mutual cooperation yields the best outcome for the individual
Mutual defection leads to a better overall outcome than mutual cooperation
The payoff matrix is used to model rewards and costs of punishing another organism for cheating in social exchange
The PDG models the role of conscious choice in a sophisticated simulation of decision-making involving a competitive tournament
Taking into account the fact that human beings are self-conscious and have a theory of mind, which of the following statements is WRONG?
We are active makers of meaning, and what we infer about others affects our own actions.
We can predict peoples’ behavior mainly through their physical appearance
We infer states of mind to others.
We guess what others are thinking and what their intentions are.
We recognize ourselves in a mirror, we give one another names, and we fear or anticipate our own deaths.
Some of the similarities and differences between Axelrod & Hamilton and Rand & Nowak’s theories of the evolution of cooperation are that
Axelrod & Hamilton view altruism as an important trait predicting cooperation, whereas Nowak focused only on mathematically verifiable mechanisms
Axelrod & Hamilton’s theory provides a more complete catalogue of evolutionarily stable mechanisms that allow for cooperation
Axelrod & Hamilton’s simulation does not allow for cooperative strategies requiring communication through a social network, whereas the indirect reciprocity mechanism in Rand & Nowak requires communication to be effective
The two theories are more or less mathematically equivalent
Axelrod & Hamilton focus on the mathematics of rational choice at the individual-level, whereas Rand & Nowak extend their analysis beyond theories of rational choice to examine ethical considerations at the group level.
Buss’s studies of casual sex DO NOT emphasize the fact that:
The size of testes for different primates may be related to species-typical sexual behaviour
The male of the human species is typically more sexually promiscuous than the female of the species
Sexual behaviours help determine the spread of genes and the evolution and survival of species
Sexual behaviors involve competition
Humans are typically able to build strong and long-term sexual pair bonds
Which of the following is true about the Prisoner’s Dilemma Game (PDG) in Axelrod & Hamilton’s simulation, and an interpretation of their results using Nowak’s theory of the evolution of cooperation?
Tit-for-tat was unable to reproduce itself as successfully as an All-Defect (All-D) strategy because it relies on kin selection
Game theory is too abstract to be of much utility in modelling the evolution of human beings
Axelrod & Hamilton’s simulation is considered as classic in the literature because it models all of the mechanisms necessary for the evolution of cooperation in human beings
Nowak agrees with Axelrod & Hamilton that there is no basis for group-based selection in evolutionary theory
Tit-for-tat, the most successful strategy, could be viewed as inclusive of kin selection and direct reciprocity as evolutionarily stable cooperative strategies
From an evolutionary point of view, how have human beings created tools, technology, and modern society?
Human beings have improved society through collective learning, using language to develop knowledge that can be shared across time and space
The knowledge transmitted by genetic inheritance from generation to generation is the main reason for progress.
Each new generation develops their own knowledge and improvements, independent of what came before.
Modern society was created only because of individual genius’ capacity for creativity.
Which of the following statements best represents the basic idea of evolution theory?
Organisms are a product of Intelligent Design
Organisms evolve over a massive period of time as a result of accumulated changes inherited from their ancestors.
Evolution leads to infinite possibilities
Evolutionary thinking involves cause-to-effect reasoning
Evolution always requires competition
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