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Sex, Survival, & Evolutionary Social Psychology

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Sex, Survival, & Evolutionary Social Psychology Sex, Survival, & Evolutionary Social Psychology Winter 2017 Tues/Thurs 10:00 – 11:30am 1360 East Hall Professor GSI Dr. Joshua Ackerman Iris Wang 3227 East Hall 3232 East Hall [email protected] [email protected] Professor Office Hours GSI Office Hours By appointment Thursdays 11:30-1:30 Course description Evolutionary Social Psychology represents a big-picture approach to understanding human behavior that has gained increasing attention—and notoriety—in recent years. An evolutionary approach posits that our brains and bodies act as specialized tools to address problems that affected our ancestors’ abilities to survive and reproduce, and continue to affect us today (though in the modern world, these tools sometimes create challenges in addition to solving them). From this perspective, principles of natural selection and sexual selection are applied to (1) “problems” such as aggression, friendship, attraction, and parenting as well as to (2) functional “solutions” to these problems, such as memory, reasoning, emotion, and self-control. In this class, we will re- examine traditional topics in social psychology through the lens of evolutionary theory in order to take a fresh look at the adaptive nature of who we are. We will also consider more unique topics that are particularly relevant to this scientific intersection of biology, economics and psychology, including animal behavior, disease, genes, and many of the common misunderstandings and critiques about evolutionary approaches. In doing so, we will continually ask “why” people think and behave as they do. For example: Why do thoughts of incest elicit disgust in most people? Why are parent-child relationships so intimate on the one hand and yet so divisive on the other? Why are people so good at understanding complex social relationships but much worse at understanding many logical rules? Why can the length of one’s fingers predict the chances of being homosexual, of stock market success, and of developing psychological disorders like autism? As one of the leading researchers in the field puts it, this approach is useful both for personal and practical reasons: “The evolutionary perspective on psychology has the power to fundamentally change how you understand yourself…” and “If there is any hope for changing the world for the better, from reducing family violence to reversing overpopulation and international conflict, economists, educators, and political leaders will need to base their interventions on a sound understanding of what people are really like, not on some fairy-tale version of what we would like them to be.” Materials Required: • Readings posted on the Canvas class site • i>Clicker response unit Supplemental (completely optional): • Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind 5th ed. by David Buss Other Recommended Readings: • The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins • The Moral Animal: Why We Are, the Way We Are by Robert Wright • How the Mind Works by Steven Pinker • Sex, Murder, and the Meaning of Life by Douglas Kenrick • The Mating Mind: How Sexual Choice Shaped the Evolution of Human Nature by G. Miller Course Requirements Your grade will be based on several types of assignments: Exams (2) 100 points each Journal Entries (3) 20 points each Engagement 40 points Total 300 points Extra Credit (optional) 10 points No changes to final grades will be negotiated after completion of all semester assignments. If you are having problems with an assignment or with your overall grade, talk to us early. Engagement Everyone is expected to attend class, do the readings, and participate. One aspect of this engagement will come in the form of i>Clicker participation, so make sure you have one. Your engagement grade will be based both on your responses using i>Clicker and by the quality of your contributions, which means you should be prepared for each day’s discussion by connecting your comments to either the readings or what we have reviewed in class. Importantly, other electronic devices must remain off during the class as they are often distracting to both you and others. Failure to comply will result in the most humiliating punishment the class can agree on. Journal Entries Keeping a journal is an extremely useful way of organizing your thoughts and drawing attention to things that otherwise might have wooshed by you (many eminent scientists, including Darwin, have kept journals throughout their lives). You will submit each journal entry as a Word document or pdf, but you may find it useful to keep an actual notebook you can write in when you’re out in the world. You should use your journal for two purposes: (1) taking notes about interesting behaviors and questions you might want to mention in class, and (2) assignments. Journal entries should be double-spaced and follow page limits listed below (references do not count toward this limit). Make sure you are incorporating concepts from class or the readings in each entry. More detailed information will be given in class for each assignment. There are 3 official journal entry assignments: 1. Reanalysis of a well-known social psychological finding or phenomenon. Choose your favorite from the provided list and then reinterpret it from an evolutionary perspective using key concepts from class. What does an evolutionary interpretation say about the phenomenon – will it occur under all conditions, by some people more than others, etc.? How has this phenomenon traditionally been viewed? [2-page limit] 2. Human observation. Choose and analyze a human behavior that you visually observe, so get out into the world and watch people (non-creepily please). This method is one of the best ways of generating initial research ideas. Why is this behavior interesting? Why does this likely occur from an evolutionary perspective? What evolutionary theories are relevant to it? [2-page limit] 3. Team project. Generate an evolutionary hypothesis and a method for collecting data relevant to it. Now collect some data! What did you find? How do your data speak to an evolutionary interpretation of the behavior or phenomenon? What difficulties did you face in your approach that limited your theoretical interpretation? [3-page limit] Exams Exams will cover the assigned readings and any material presented in lecture and class discussion including videos, supplemental readings, handouts, and class exercises. These exams will include a combination of multiple-choice and short-answer questions. There will be a total of 3 non-cumulative exams (though because many of the topics we will discuss build on fundamental theories, some degree of accumulation is inevitable). Out of these 3, you are allowed to drop 1 of your choice. Because you have the option to drop one exam, there will be no make-up exams given. If you miss an exam for any reason, that will be the one that is dropped. If you know your schedule will require you to miss two exam dates, you shouldn’t take this course. Extra Credit One extra credit opportunity will be offered. More detail will be provided about this in class, but it will have some overlap with the journal entry assignments. Assignments will be 2 pages in length. This is an individual assignment and is due toward the end of the semester (see syllabus schedule for due date). Academic Integrity I expect everyone to uphold standard practices of academic integrity and abide by University of Michigan guidelines. Anyone caught cheating on an assignment or plagiarizing the work of others will receive an automatic failing grade on the assignment (and possibly the course). In other words, do your own work and don’t cheat. Simple. Schedule Introduction – Everything You Need to Know (Almost) Dates: 1/5 History and Principles of Evolutionary Theory Dates: 1/10, 1/12 Readings: • An evolutionary approach to animal behavior • Buss chapter 1 (skip “Common Misunderstandings”) & chapter 2 (pp. 33-38; stop at “Levels of Evolutionary Analysis”) The Science of EP: How to Think about It and How to Do It Dates: 1/17, 1/24 No class on 1/19!! Readings: • Evolutionary Psychology: Controversies, Questions, Prospects, and Limitations • Levels of analysis • Buss chapter 1 (pp.16-18) & chapter 2 (pp. 38-48, 53-66) Survival Dates: 1/26, 1/31, 2/2 Readings: • The behavioral immune system (and why it matters) • Elevated ethnocentrism in the first trimester of pregnancy • Buss chapter 3 Assignments: • Journal entry #1 due (1/26) • Exam I: Tuesday, February 7th (class time) An Introduction to Sex Dates: 2/9 Readings: • Sex, Death, and the Red Queen Female Mating Psychology Dates: 2/14, 2/16 Readings: • Fruits of knowledge chapter • Buss chapter 4 & pp. 176-184 Male Mating Psychology Dates: 2/21, 2/23 Readings: • The expense is damnable chapter • Buss chapter 5 & pp. 163-166 Assignment: • Journal entry #2 due (2/21) NO CLASS 2/28 OR 3/2 (SPRING BREAK)!! Conflict & Cooperation between the Sexes Dates: 3/7 Readings: • Let’s Get Serious: Communicating Commitment in Romantic Relationships • How to win even if you’re a loser Parenting Dates: 3/9 Readings: • Buss chapter 11 • Buss chapter 7 Assignment: • Exam II: Tuesday, March 14th (class time) Kinship Dates: 3/16 Readings: • Buss chapter 8 Cooperation & Aggression Dates: 3/21, 3/23 Readings: • Killer Instincts • Buss chapters 9 (pp. 256-270, 278-284) & 10 (pp. 285-290, 297-301, 309-312) Status & Prestige Dates: 3/28 Readings: • The Origins and Evolution of Leadership • Buss chapter 12 Assignment: • Journal entry #3 due (3/28) Life History Theory Dates: 3/30, 4/4 Readings: • Life History Theory and Evolutionary Psychology • When the Economy Falters, Do People Spend or Save? EP Beyond Social Psychology Dates: 4/6, 4/11 Readings: • Evolution and consumer behavior • Evolution and the Origins of Disease • Buss chapter 13 Assignment: • Extra credit due (4/6) Class Wrap-up and Team Project Discussion Dates: 4/13 Assignment: • Exam III: Thursday, April 18th (class time) The above schedule is subject to change.
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