ADD: panel sign up sheet at the end

Day or Week off
      -- design syllabus with a day (e.g., Tues), or entire week, without lecture
        -- maybe even 2x a semester --> 1/3rd and 2/3rds thru.
         -- WHAT TO SCHEDULE:
       -- panel meetings / guest lecturer (who?) / online lecture (Apreso)

IMPORANT – the version in \todo may be  more uptodate than one in the \evolpsyc folder

Also, when saving as a web page to drmills website, remember to strip out hidden text first.

See instructor's manual and test bank for Rossano's EP text:             www.wiley.com/college/rossano   memills / y

   IMPORTANT:  I NEED TO SELECT THE ARTICLES / BOOK CHAPTERS FOR THE PANELS.

WHEN TEACHING COURSE WITH A SEX DIFFS EMPHASIS::  each week 1 panel on topic related to that week, one panel on topic related to MF

STUDENTS DIRECTLY EDIT CHAPTS 9 and 10 via the HBES website.
   -- or, should they just do summary papers, and I’ll insert into the chaps (but, it migh
be good if they could edit directly, to insert graphics, song lyrics, etc. (?)

They should insert their text in a different color?   Give them an outline of the chapters?

 

  AND: they contribute:

    -- they indicate where in outline to put the material

    -- I put in there

    -- and, for them, it becomes part of the textbook.

    -- I divide up panels (or 2 person teams?)

                -- and they take it from there.

`---------------------------------

 

ALSO SEE:    \evolpsy\add   file

INCLUDE EXAMPLES OF GOOD STUDENT SUMMARIES ROM THE PREVIOUS CLASS

n 

 

Psychology 452  Evolutionary Psychology

Spring, 2008

Instructor: Michael E. Mills, Ph.D.
Office: University Hall,  Room 4757
Office hours: Tuesday: 12:00 - 1:00,  Wednesday: 10:00 – 4:15
 Phone: (310) 338-3017

Email: memills@gmail.com     Note: Please put “LMU” in your subject heading if you email me, otherwise I may think it is junk mail and delete it.

Class website:  http://www.DrMillsLMU.com
Class wiki:  http://drmillslmu.wikispaces.com/


This course presents an exploration of human nature and human psychology from an evolutionary perspective.  Our focus in this course will be human nature – the set of psychological emotional, behavioral, cognitive and sexual adaptations that characterize humans a species.

Evolutionary psychology is a very new discipline--in title alone it is perhaps only about 20 years old. What we will be studying is thus on the very "cutting edge" of the thinking in this field. Most of the ideas of evolutionary psychology have not yet migrated to the larger discipline of psychology, and it will take much longer until these concepts become integrated into the larger popular culture.

Our most general question will be this: What is "human nature," and how did it evolve? To answer this question, we will ask: What features characterized both the physical and the social environment of our ancestors? What survival, social and reproductive problems did our ancestors face in that environment? What genetically predisposed psychological adaptations evolved as a consequent? And, more generally, how do humans differ from other organisms in their strategies to survive and reproduce? Specifically, we will apply an evolutionary analysis to attempt to develop a deeper understanding of:

·         The Human Ancestral Environment: the problems of the physical and social environment to which our ancestors evolved psychological adaptations -- also called the “environment of evolutionary adaptation” (or EEA).

·         Individual Psychological Adaptations: adaptations related to primarily to individual survival (perception, motivation/emotion, overt behavior, cognition, and language) ,

·         Sexually Dimorphic Adaptations:  adaptations primarily related to increasing one’s reproductive success (sexual attraction, inter- and intra-sexual competition for mates, courtship, mate selection, marriage and divorce, the “battle of the sexes”)

·         Family and Kin Related Adaptations: adaptations related to interacting with those with whom we share our genes.  Topics: inclusive fitness maximization, including parental investment and kin altruism, sibling rivalry, fetal-mother conflict and cooperation, etc.

·         Non-kin / Group Related Adaptations:  adaptations related to non-kin, including reciprocity and revenge, cheating and cheater detection, in vs. out groups, social status, intergroup conflict including warfare, etc.

·         Memetic Adaptations / Culture: adaptations related to meme propagation, including imitation, cultural transmission, the means by which memes are accepted or rejected, gene-meme co-evolution, etc.

In general, we are attempting to identify human nature, or “human universals” -- the set of evolved psychological adaptations of the human species.

Some class assignments, lectures, and tests may be online.  You will need access to a computer with an internet connection to perform some of the assignments in this class.

Course Objectives / Student Learning Outcomes

 

Students will be able to describe the processes of both natural and sexual selection,  differentiate between ultimate and proximate levels of analysis, differentiate between psychological adaptations, exaptations, adaptive byproducts, and traits that are "random noise,"  be able to identify research methods to help to empirically differentiate adaptations from non-adaptations, explain how Hamilton's and Trivers' theories of altruism operate, explain "human nature" in terms of evolved psychological adaptations at the levels of the individual, mating dyad, family, group and larger culture, give examples of how such adaptations may manifest differently in different cultures, identify how memes spread and evolve.

 

Course Content and Informed Consent

 

Before you take this course, you should be aware that some of the content will cover controversial and personal topics, including evolutionary theory, sex differences, sexuality, and issues of ethics and morality.  For example, if the theory of evolution conflicts with your religious beliefs you may feel uncomfortable with some of the lectures that will be presented. (However, most Catholic and non-fundamentalist Christian theologians find no incompatibility with evolutionary theory and their religious faith.)  In addition, we will be covering aspects of human or animal behavior, including sexuality, that are not often discussed openly and honestly in polite, or mixed, company.   As such, there will be material discussed --  explicitly --  that could be, in principle, offensive to individuals with particular beliefs or attitudes. If this is a potential problem for you, then please contact me as soon as possible for clarification of  the issues, terms, and materials that will be part of the class.

 

 

TESTS / QUIZZES

There will be two midterms and a final exam. The midterms and final exams may be either given in class, or online. 

Quizzes.  Starting with the 3rd week of class, you will be given a brief quiz at the beginning of class every week (however, no quiz will be given on those weeks in which a midterm is scheduled).  The material covered on the quizzes will be from the previous week’s readings and lectures.     If the class meets twice a week, the quiz will be given on the Thursday class.  The quiz will be given immediately at the start of the class.  There will be no make-up quizzes.   At the end of the semester, your lowest quiz score will be dropped.   (Hint:  Keep up with the weekly class readings!)

Examinations will include objective (T/F, multiple choice), and perhaps a few short answer and/or brief essay questions. Tests are not cumulative, except that on the final exam about 25% of the questions will cover the most important material from the first 2/3rds of the course.  No study guides will be provided – you are responsible for all of the material presented in class and in the readings.  

IMPORTANT: There will be no make up exams for missed tests without a note from your doctor.

 


Individual Term project (worth up to 25  points):

 

This will involve contributing to the course wiki.  More information about this project will be presented in class, as well as on the class web site.

 

 

NOTE: THIS IS THE REVISED PANEL PROJECT – FOR MF CHAPS 9 & 10 & 11.

 

Group term project:  Seminar panels (worth up to 25 points).

 

A handout will be given to you describing how to complete this project, and will be available on the class web site.OLD:REMEMBER: INSERT THE BELOW FROM THE MASTER PANEL INSTRUCTIONS:

  D:\teaching\panel-instructions.doc

 

SPECIAL TOPIC: SEX DIFFERENCES

 

This semester we will have as our special topic sex differences.   Our readings in this area will be an online textbook that I am developing.  Theses papers directly to the chapters, and, all combined, the entire class will be responsible for reading these chapters.

 

Each week will have have 2 panel presentations – one on the topic we are exploring that week, and one on our special topic of sex differences.

 

 

This project will involve finding, summarizing, and presenting a scientific article or book chapter relevant to one of our class topics.

 

Seminar panels will be composed of a group of two to three students.  The panel will find an academic article, or book chapter, related to their topic, or, one will be assigned by the instructor.   They will prepare a written summary, an outline, a critical review, and a PowerPoint presentation, as well as make a presentation to the class and lead a class discussion. To get an idea of what is expected, you may wish to look at papers written by students in previous classes – see our class website. 

 

If your panel is summarizing a journal article or book chapter that I have not assigned or recommended, please email me with the full reference, and, if possible, the abstract of the paper, before you start work.   I will let you know if it is appropriate. Panels may not select a paper or book chapter to present that has already been presented by previous classes (see the class website).

 

The panel will be graded as a unit -- that is, each panel member will be awarded the same point value (unless a particular  panel member is especially remiss in his or her responsibilities,  in case he or she will have points deducted). 

 

Your panel will be evaluated on these criteria

 

 

 

Each seminar panel member must assume responsibility for at least one of the tasks that are necessary for the seminar panel to run well.   The assignment of these tasks can be done via discussion among the group members themselves, or by drawing numbers if there are no volunteers.   More than one person may collaborate on any of the assigned tasks.   I suggest that you exchange email addresses and phone numbers, and plan to meet several times outside of class to prepare and discuss your presentation. 

 

All members of the panel should read, and become thoroughly familiar with, the readings the panel will summarize.  The readings and written work should be ideally completed one week before the assigned presentation date.  I will be happy to review your materials and give you feedback before the presentation if you stop by my office during my office hours.

 

Collectively, the summaries written by the class will be used as class supplementary readings -- everyone in the class will be responsible for knowing this material for tests.  These materials will be published on the class website after each panel presentation.

 

Your summary paper must be written with Microsoft Word for Windows.  Your paper should be generally organized and formatted according to APA style, except that it should be single spaced. 

 

I am particularly impressed if you include tables and graphics (histograms, diagrams, charts, etc.) that help to summarize and visualize the results of a study or the conceptual points of an argument, both in your paper and in your PowerPoint presentation.  

 

For your class presentation, prepare a PowerPoint presentation.  I recommend that one or two persons take primary responsibility for the presentation – do not sub-divide the presentation so that each person presents only one part of the presentation.  One person may wish to do the main presentation, and another may wish to review their critical review comments and lead the class discussion.

If I did not provide your panel with an article or book chapter, coordinate with your panel members to do library research to find the article/chapter that you plan to use, and that you find interesting.  Do not simply do a Google web search looking for keywords.  Go to the library and find journals related to your topic. Another way to search for relevant articles is to use PsychINFO.   Ask the reference librarian for help to learn how to use this resource.  The journal article or book chapter that you choose must not be more than 10 years old.

 

If you have difficulty finding an article or book consult with me and I'll help you find something appropriate.

 

I would be happy to review your summary, outline and/or PowerPoint presentation several days before it is scheduled to give you feedback, and so that you will have time to revise your materials.  If you would like to do this, email with the materials you would like reviewed at least several days before it is due.

  

 

SEMINAR PANEL MEMBER TASKS AND ROLES 

 

1.  Write a summary of the reading material. 

 

At the top of your summary paper, include the names of the members of your panel, and the full reference (using APA style format) of the journal article or book chapter that you are summarizing (for example, Smith, J.B. & Jones, J. R. (2001).  The effects of fatigue on perception.  Journal of Perception Research, 8 (3), 121-132.).

 

 

Again, if your panel is summarizing a journal article or book chapter that I have not assigned or recommended, please email me with the full reference, and, if possible, the abstract of the paper. I’ll let you know if it is appropriate.

 

Write this summary paper like the prose in an introductory textbook -- it should be easy to read, logically organized, define unfamiliar terms, and  not get bogged down in too much detail.  Your task is not to present  everything that the author has to say, but rather to summarize his  or her main conceptual points. 

 

For this project, you are allowed to quote from material and include important passages of up to several paragraphs of the most crucial prose.   Include those passages that you think are particularly eloquent, that very clearly explained a concept, or that represent the main  thrust of the author's argument.  The sure to include the full reference for any quote that you use, including page numbers -- e.g. (Smith & Jones, 1993, pp 4 – 5).   

 

You may create tables or diagrams presented in the readings to include in the summary if you think that they are particularly relevant.   Do not directly copy any copyrighted graphics, but you may modify them and note that the graphic is “Adapted from Smith and Jones, 1994, p. 33.”

 

Your summary should, on average, summarize about five pages from your readings into one single-spaced page.  Thus, if the article you are summarizing is 40 to 50 pages, your summary should be about 8 - 10  single spaced pages. 

 

 

2.  Write an outline of the reading materials. 

 

Write a conceptual outline of the reading material. 

 

The outlined headings should be informative, not just labels.  For example: 

 

 

 

A.  ARGUMENTS FOR LANGUAGE AS AN ADAPTATION (rather than a non-adaptive side effect of another adaptation, or random noise): 

 

        1.  Language shows certain syntactical similarities around the world. 

 

                a.  For example.... 

 

        2.  All humans easily learn a language without formal training 

 

                a.  Between the ages of 2 - 4, babies... 

 

 

Use appropriate headings and indentation, e.g.,: 

 

    1st MAJOR TOPIC 

 

        Sub topic. 

 

              Sub-sub topic.        

 

 

    2nd MAJOR TOPIC 

 

 

Do not make your outline so detailed that it captures every aspect  of the paper your summarizing.  Rather, simply clearly explain the most  important conceptual points in a logical order.  In fact, you may leave our topics that you do not think are particularly relevant, interesting, or, if you do not understand  the point the authors were trying to make. 

 

3.  As a group, write a list of critical review items to the following questions. 

 

First, discuss the reading material with your panel members to critically review it as a group.   Then: 

 

    (a) Identify up to three points made by the author that the panel found especially interesting or informative. 

 

    (b) Identify up to three arguments made by the author that  the panel either disagreed with and/or for which you  think the author made a weak case, or were unclear, and explain why you came to that conclusion.  

 

4.  Test questions 

 

Your panel should write five multiple-choice test questions, and five true/false test questions, based on the major points of the  readings you have summarized.  These questions may appear on tests.   Do not include any material that was not included in the written summary. 

 

Email me these test questions ( memills@gmail.com ), and be sure to identify your class, panel members, and include the full reference for the article or book chapter.

 

Note: you are prohibited from sharing test questions with anyone who is not a member of your panel.  Remember,  about1/2 of your grade in this class is determined by your performance relative to your peers.   Thus, it is not in your interest to share test questions with fellow classmates. 

 

 

5.  Prepare the PowerPoint presentation 

 

The presentation should contain, at a minimum: 

 

     (a) the full reference citation for the article or book (author, title, journal, date, etc.)

 

     (b) a few of the most important and interesting points made by the author.

 

     (c) a list of your panel's critical comments that you developed  in response to question 3 above. 

 

If possible, include some graphics in your presentation.   Again, do not violate copyright by copying graphics directly.  but you may modify them and note that the graphic is “Adapted from Smith and Jones, 1994, p. 33.”

 

Create a footer such that each PowerPoint slide has the full reference for the journal article or book chapter you are summarizing and reviewing at the bottom of each slide.

 

The class presentation itself should last only about 10 – 15 minutes, so design your PowerPoint presentation with that time limit in mind.

Given that time limitation, do not try to cover all of the material in the article or book chapter.  Instead, focus on just a few of the most important points that you think your classmates will find interesting.   Your PowerPoint slides should simply be an outline, with some graphics and tables if they are relevant.  Do not include too much information in each PowerPoint slide.

 

PowerPoint has a “Notes” feature.  Prepare your notes for each slide using this feature of PowerPoint.   Print out a copy of the PowerPoint notes so you can refer to them during your presentation. 

 

As noted below, you can use your PowerPoint notes to guide your presentation, but you should NOT to simply read from your PowerPoint slides during your presentation.

 

6.  Give a presentation to the class (about 10 – 15 minutes) on the assigned date. 

 

One (or, at most, two) members of the group should give the presentation. 

 

First, introduce yourself, and the other members of your panel, to the class.  Tell them the title and author of your readings.  

 

When you give your presentation, do not read directly from your PowerPoint slides. 

 

Instead, use the Powerpoint notes as a guide to organize your talk.  Practice your presentation with another panel member(s) to get their feedback, and to insure that the material can be presented in about 10 – 15 minutes – your presentation should not run longer than that.

 

After you have presented the main information from the readings, briefly review your panel's critical reactions to the readings  (again, you should have these listed on the PowerPoint presentation which you can present during your presentation of this material). 

 

7.  Moderate a post-presentation discussion. 

 

One moderator should be selected from the group to lead the post-presentation class discussion. 

 

The moderator will ask the audience for their questions or comment.  After a question or comment has been made, any member of the panel may respond to it. 

 

The responsibility of the moderator is to keep the discussion on track.  When the discussion dies down, or goes off topic the moderator  should ask the next member of the audience for their question or comment. 

 

8.  After your presentation:  


A.
At the end of the class discussion, give me a copy of the original article or book chapter.

 

B.  Upload your summary and PowerPoint presentation to the class website (I will give you information about how to do this).

C. Send me an email with the title of the article or book chapter your panel summarized, the panel members names and email addresses, and what each did to contribute to the panel.   Also, include the test questions you have written in this email to me.

 

Evaluation I will rate your panel on the following criteria. 


Paper and outline: (a) paper clearly presented the main points of the article or chapter, and (b) writing quality of the paper (grammatical and spelling errors, APA style errors). 

Presentation: (a) quality of the oral presentation, and the following class discussion, and (b) quality of the PowerPoint presentation.

 

 

HOMEWORK

You will be given homework assignments. The point value of each will be specified.

EMAIL COMMUNICATIONS

Important class announcements will be provided via email.  By default, I will use your LMU email address. However, if you prefer email to go to a different email provider (e.g., GMail, YahooMail, etc.), email me with that email address. If you do not receive my emails, or should you change your email address, please contact me.

CLASSROOM CONDUCT

Please turn off beepers and cell phones before coming to class.   Regular attendance is and class participation is expected.  

If you bring a laptop to class please use it only to take class notes.  Please do not surf the web, IM, or email during class -- it is distracting both to you and your classmates.   (If this becomes a problem, I may prohibit laptop use during class.)

GRADING POLICIES

In this class, quizzes, homework assignments, projects and tests will be awarded points.

Your grade on tests, and in the class overall, will be determined by one of two methods of grading: both a "content mastery grade" and a "peer comparison grade" will be calculated (per the tables below).  Your grade in the class is whichever of these two grades is higher.

 

The "content mastery grade" is based on your percentage correct score on the test; the "peer comparison grade" is based on your percentile score (the percentage of your classmates who had a score lower than yours).


A. Content Mastery Grade. This grade will be determined by your percentage correct score. The "maximum possible score" will actually be set to halfway between the total points possible and

the highest score actually obtained in the class (this is to your advantage).   For example, if on a test the total points possible was 110, and the person in the class with the top score got a 90, then 100 will be set

as the top comparison score in the table below.  

 

A >= 93%

 A- = 90 - 92

 

B+ = 87 - 89

B = 83 - 86

B- = 80 - 82

C+ = 77 - 79

C = 73 - 76

C- = 70 - 72

D+ = 67 - 69

D = 63 - 66

D- = 60 - 62

F+ = 57 - 59

F < 57

 

 

B. Peer Comparison Grade. This grade will be determined by how well you performed in relation to your peers, as indicated by your percentile score (the percentage of students in the class with a score lower than yours).  Again, the numbers in the table below are percentile scores.

 

 

A >= 86%ile

A- = 80 – 85

 

B+ = 75 - 79

B = 65 - 74

B- = 55 - 64

C+ = 45 - 54

C = 30 - 44

C- = 20 – 29

D+ = 12  - 19

D = 8 - 11

D- = 5 - 7

F+ = 2 - 6

F = 1

 



You will be able to access your class points online, and using the methodology above, you will be able to calculate your grade any time during the class.

 

The week before the final exam, your lowest quiz score will be dropped, and the all points for tests, quizzes, homework, etc., will be summed.  Grades going into the final exam will be calculated and reported according to the grading system noted above.

At that time, if you have any questions regarding your grade, or if you would like to review your accumulated points (from homework, tests, panel presentations, etc.), please stop by my office during office hours to review the class roster (you must do so before the end of the class – point changes cannot be made after the course has ended).

 

 


 

REQUIRED TEXTS

Note: If the bookstore doesn’t have a book in stock you might consider purchasing it new (or used) via Amazon.com (click the link for each book), or via another online bookseller.

Buss, D. M. (2007).  Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind(3rd Ed.).  Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Dawkins, R. (1989). The Selfish Gene. (2nd Ed.) New York: Oxford University Press. (Paperback)

Pinker, S. R. (2002). The Blank SlateNew York: Viking.

 

RELEVANT WEBSITES

Human Behavior and Evolution Society (www.hbes.com).   See in particular, the “Links” and “Books” sections of the website.

 

TENTATIVE COURSE SCHEDULE

GENERAL COURSE OUTLINE, CLASS SCHEDULE,  AND CLASS READINGS

TOPIC 1. OVERVIEW: WHAT IS EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY?


WEEK 1. Monday date: 1/14

BRING: Digital camera (take class photo)
NEED to develop written lecture outlines for my use during lecture.
  Remember to subscribe all students to the email group at the beginning of the semester
Class readings: Buss, Chapter 1.  Pinker: Part 1 Intro, Chapters, 1 and 2.
 In class video: The Human Quest  

Relevant websites:VR54 2444

-- humor:
 -- in-class exercises:
 -- group activities:
 -- videos:
 -- homework:

 

·         Human Behavior and Evolution Society (HBES):  www.hbes.com

·         Steven Pinker video discussing his book “The Blank Slate
http://web.mit.edu/mitworld/content/authors/pinker.html


·         Nesse’s Four Areas of Biology:
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~nesse/fourquestions.pdf

 

TOPIC 2. UNDERSTANDING EVOLUTION / THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY / NATURE-NURTURE INTERACTIONISM

WEEK 2.   Monday date: 1/21

BRING: Digital camera (take class photo)  Remember to subscribe all students to the email group at the beginning of the semester

-- idea for in-class demo: pick M&Ms out of a bag of mixed nuts
      -- put in an equal number of each color first.

VERY GOOD STUFF – INCORPORATE INTO POWERPOINTS:
http://dericbownds.net/evol_mind_web/evol_hommind.html


Class readings: Dawkins, Chaps 1 – 5;   Buss, Chapter 2.

Also read  Evolutionary Psychology: A Primer at:  http://www.psych.ucsb.edu/research/cep/primer.html

In class video: The Blind Watchmaker   (VR40: 4151)

-- what other vidoes?
-- humor:
 -- in-class exercises:
 -- group activities:
 -- videos:
 -- homework:


VIDEO: Making sex pay, vr 33

ADD VIDEO: What was that PBS series video on Darwin (that was pretty good)

BBC video series: "Growing Up in the Universe"

                        with Richard Dawkins

GET A WORK STUDY STUDENT TO WORK REGULAR HOURS IN MY OFFICE.

        Climbing Mount Improbable / [videorecording]   1992

        Designed and designoid objects / [videorecording]   1992

        The genesis of purpose / [videorecording]   1992

        The ultraviolet garden / [videorecording]   1992

        Waking up in the universe / [videorecording

In class computer demonstration: Cumulative vs. Single Step Selection.   50/50 sex ratio.  Fast/coy simulation.  Note: These tutorials are available for download at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/psy452/  under the Files section.  They must be unzipped and run in a command window.

Relevant websites: 

·         Replicators: Evolutionary Powerhouses  (http://library.thinkquest.org/C004367/home.shtml)  a website specifically designed to explore Dawkins' concept of replicators in an interesting and interactive format.

·         Morph Lab: (http://alife.fusebox.com/morph_lab.html ) Artificial selection in action.  Select biomorphs.  Requires a Java-capable web browser.

·         Evolutionary Psychology FAQ:
http://www.anth.ucsb.edu/projects/human/evpsychfaq.htm

·         BBC “Gene Stories”:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/genes/

·         Twins separated at birth reunite (includes video clip)
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/11/04/48hours/main581771.shtml

MY NOTES: 

:EVERY SEMESTER:  
          Rains research assistant (programmer / graphic artist)
          2 copies of syllabus to jan


ADD TO POWERPOINT PRESENTATION:

That's why it is best to consider genes and ONLY genes the units of selection

 

Consider the following set: a mother bird, a chick, an egg, the nest and

the genes. Superficially it could be said that this set is all directed to

perpetuate ANY of them (bird/chick/egg/nest/gene). For example we could say

that the bird is a way for the nest to make other nests (and similarly with

any pair of things above). The problem is that, if the wind removes a stick fro

a nest, this change (or mutation) will not be incorporated in future

generations.

Only changes in genes will. So, only the natural selection/mutation process

of GENES can give rise to evolution, and only evolution can create complexity.

So birds, chicks, eggs and nests are not useful units of selection. At best

they are vehicles.

WEEK 3.  Monday date: 1/28

Class readings: Buss, Chapter 3.

            

Check for bouncing emails, get corrections.

TOPIC 3. HUMAN BIOLOGY, HIERARCHICAL LEVELS OF CAUSATION, AND THE HUMAN ANCESTRAL ENVIRONMENT,

WEEK 4.  Monday date: 2/4

             Check for bouncing emails, get corrections.

NOTE: MAKE SURE THAT NO LECTURE FOR THURSDAY IS APPROPRIATE FOR THIS PARTICULAR CLASS (e.g., not in the Spring)

NOTE:  No lecture on Thursday.  Instead, arrange to meet with your panels to coordinate your panel work.  See the “panels” section of the syllabus for more information about this.

-- humor:
 -- in-class exercises:
 -- group activities:
 -- videos:
 -- homework:

 

Class readings: Pinker, Chapters 3 – 5.

MIDTERM next week. 

Relevant websites: 

·         Human Genetics for the Social Sciences Interactive Learning Exercises (http://psych.colorado.edu/hgss/hgssapplets/hgssapplets.htm)  Several interesting behavioral genetics tutorials and simulations.

·         Becoming Human (includes video clips):
http://www.becominghuman.org/

·         The Antiquity of Man: http://www.antiquityofman.com

In class video: The Yanomamo. (VR47: 5320)

PANEL PRESENTATIONS


TOPIC 4. THE INDIVIDUAL: Perception, Emotion, Behavior, Cognition & Personality, Language, Consciousness

WEEK 5: Monday Date: 2/11

MIDTERM 1

Topics: Consciousness / Perception
Class readings:   TBA

In class video:  Marge Profit – Pregnancy sickness as an evolved adaptation.  VR 59:4123


Web Resources:

·         Change Blindness demo:
http://nivea.psycho.univ-paris5.fr/ASSChtml/ASSC.html

·         Several perceptual illusions demos:
http://www.purveslab.net/

·         Audio illusion of continuous rising tone:
http://www.exploratorium.edu/exhibits/highest_note/fr.continuous.html

·         Muller-Lyer illusion:  http://epsych.msstate.edu/descriptive/Vision/muller_ly/

·         Pogendorf illusion: http://epsych.msstate.edu/descriptive/Vision/Poggendorf/

·         Internet Psych Lab: Visual Perception. Muller-Lyer illusion:  http://epsych.msstate.edu/descriptive/Vision/muller_ly/

·         Pogendorf illusion: http://epsych.msstate.edu/descriptive/Vision/Poggendorf/

·         Stroop Illusion:  http://epsych.msstate.edu/deliberate/Stroop/index.html

·         Necker Cube Illusion: http://dogfeathers.com/java/necker.html

·         Internet Psych Lab: Auditory Perception http://www.ipsych.com/aud/level_2_aud.html

·         Sensation and Perception Tutorials:  http://psych.hanover.edu/Krantz/sen_tut.html

·         The Biology of Mind - Origins and Structures of Mind, Brain, and Consciousness:  http://dericbownds.net/

·         Sensation and Perception info and demos:
http://alpha.furman.edu/~einstein/general/

·         Split Brain Consciousness:
http://www.macalester.edu/~psych/whathap/UBNRP/Split_Brain/Split_Brain_Consciousness.html

·         Psychology Links: Sensation, Perception and Consciousness:
http://www.tamiu.edu/coah/psy/senpercon.htm

 

PANEL PRESENTATIONS

WEEK 6: Monday date: 2/18

Topic:  Emotion
Class readings:   TBA

Web Resources:

·         Test your disgust sensitivity: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/tv/humaninstinct/NEED TO FIND RELEVANT VIDEOS

PANEL PRESENTATIONS  

WEEK 7: Monday date: 2/25

Topic:  Learning and Cognition
Class readings:  TBA

Web Resources:

·         Internet Psych Lab:  Memory and Learning  http://www.ipsych.com/mem/level_2_mem.html

·         Internet Psych Lab:  Cognition http://www.ipsych.com/cog/level_2_cog.html

·         Cognitive Psychology Tutor:  http://teach.psy.uga.edu/CogPsychTutor/http://teach.psy.uga.edu/CogPsychTutor/

·         Evolution of Optimism:
http://www.dylan.org.uk/OptimismAISB.html

NEED TO FIND RELEVANT VIDEOS – show Zimbardo video?
Show pinker online video?  http://web.mit.edu/mitworld/content/authors/pinker.html

-- humor:
 -- in-class exercises:
 -- group activities:
 -- videos:
 -- homework:

 

PANEL PRESENTATIONS


3/3 – SPRING BREAK

 

WEEK 8: Monday date: 3/10

Topic:  Personality and Language  
Class readings:  TBA

Web resources:

·         Steven Pinker lecture: Words and Rules  http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/143/

NEED TO FIND RELEVANT VIDEOS – NEED POWERPOINTS  & LECT NOTES

-- humor:
 -- in-class exercises:
 -- group activities:
 -- videos:
 -- homework:

Abnormal Psych resources:

http://sln.suny.edu/sln/2002/fall/observation/ln01fawp.nsf/web?openview

 

PANEL PRESENTATIONS

 

TOPIC 5. THE SEXES

WEEK 9: Monday date 3/17

Midterm next week.

Class Readings:  Buss, chaps 4 & 5.  Dawkins: chapter on the “Battle of the Sexes”.-- humor:
 -- in-class exercises:
 -- group activities:
 -- videos:
 -- homework:

 

OLD:  textbook, Chapter 9 OLD Buss, Chaps 4 & 5

In class video:  Margaret Mead and Samoa

 

Relevant websites: 

·         Faceprints: http://www-psych.nmsu.edu/~vic/faceprints/

·         Interactive Lonely Hearts ad:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/tv/humaninstinct/

·         Darwinian aesthetics:
http://evolution.anthro.univie.ac.at/institutes/urbanethology/beautypro.html

·         Do you have a male or female brain?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/news/page/0,12983,937443,00.html

·         Calculate your Waist to Hip Ratio:
http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/whr

·         The Brain Game (video / quizzes / articles):
http://abcnews.go.com/onair/DailyNews/braingame020731.html

·         Face Perception:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/tv/humaninstinct/

·         Article on male feminized vs. masculinized faces:
http://fig.cox.miami.edu/~bhoward/bil150/Man_woman.html

·         PBS website on the evolution of sex:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/sex/love/

PANEL PRESENTATIONS

 

WEEK 10: Monday date 3/24

MIDTERM 2

Class Readings: Buss, chaps 6 & 11

online textbook, Chaps 10 and 11.  OLD: Buss, Chaps 6 & 11

-- humor:
 -- in-class exercises:
 -- group activities:
 -- videos:
 -- homework:

 

PANEL PRESENTATIONS

 

TOPIC 6. THE FAMILY & KINSHIP

WEEK 11: Monday date 3/31

Class Readings:  Buss, Chap 7 – 8.   Dawkins, Chaps 6 & 7-- humor:
 -- in-class exercises:
 -- group activities:
 -- videos:
 -- homework:

 

Relevant websites:

·         Facial resemblance enhances trust:
http://psych.mcmaster.ca/debruine/fret.htmlNEED TO FIND RELEVANT VIDEOS

·         Future genetic engineering of our children (article):
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/bodyuncovered/story/0,13992,1067850,00.html


PANEL PRESENTATION 

-----------------------------------------------
SPRING BREAK: 4/5
-----------------------------------------------

TOPIC 7. THE GROUP / SOCIALITY

WEEK 12: Monday date 4/7

Class readings: OUT: Buss, Chaps 9 & 10,   Dawkins, Chap 10;  Pinker, Chaps 16 – 17.

Relevant websites:

·         Interactive Prisoner’s Dilemma Game: http://www.iterated-prisoners-dilemma.net/

·         Another interactive Prisoner’s Dilemma Game:
http://-.brynmawr.edu/playground/pd.html

·         Another:
http://www.princeton.edu/~mdaniels/PD/PD.html

·         Computer simulation of biological evolution in structured populations
http://www.agner.org/evolution/?e=0#0

·         Society for Chaos Theory in Psychology and the Life Sciences:
http://www.societyforchaostheory.org/

·         Evolutionary Psychology of Gossip (Slate magazine article):
http://slate.msn.com/id/2091502/
-- humor:
 -- in-class exercises:
 -- group activities:
 -- videos:
 -- homework:GOOD PANEL PAPER: TI: Of Tabloids and Family Secrets: The Evolutionary Psychology of GossipAU: McAndrew, FT; Milenkovic, MA
JN: Journal of Applied Social Psychology
PD: 2002, VO: 32, NO: 5PG: 1064-1082

Check this out:  Resources for the Teaching of Social Psychology
http://jonathan.mueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/crow/

add to group.ppt:        -- why do we stop at red stop light in the middle of the desert.
NEED TO FIND RELEVANT VIDEOS


PANEL PRESENTATIONS

 

WEEK 13: Monday date 4/14

 
Class readings: Buss, Chap 12,  Dawkins, Chaps 12.-- humor:
 -- in-class exercises:
 -- group activities:
 -- videos:
 -- homework:


NEED TO FIND RELEVANT VIDE

PANEL PRESENTATIONS


TOPIC 8. CULTURE / MEMETICS

WEEK 14: Monday date: 4/21

NOTE: Following holiday is for Fall semester, only NEED TO EDIT?

-- humor:
 -- in-class exercises:
 -- group activities:
 -- videos:
 -- homework:


No class on Thursday:  Thanksgiving Holiday

ADD TO POWERPOINT:

 

   Quote from Michael Crichton's book "Prey"

 

      Within 50 to 100 years, a new class of organisms is likely to emerge.

      These organisms will be artificial in the sense that they will originally

      be designed by humans.  However, they will reproduce, and will

      "evolve" into something other than their original form; they will be

      "alive" under any reasonable definition of the owrd.  These organisms

      will evolve in a fundamentally different mann... The pace...

      will be extremely rapid... The impact on humanity and the biosphere

      could be enormous, larger than the industrial revolution, nuclear

      weapons, or environmental pollution.  We must take steps now to shape

      the emergence of artificial organisms.

        -- Doyne Farmer and Alletta Belin, 1992

        (quote from Michael Crichton's book "Prey")

NEED TO FIND RELEVANT VIDEOSClass readings: Dawkins, Chap 11.  Pinker, Chap 20. 

Relevant websites:

·         Robot Independence (PBS video clip – click “Watch Online” at top)
http://www.pbs.org/saf/1103/segments/1103-3.htm

·         Article on conscious robots:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1028776,00.html

·         Morals: Are you a model citizen, or do you look after number one?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/tv/humaninstinct/

·         UK Memes Central:
http://www.susanblackmore.co.uk/memetics/index.htm

·         Memetics:
http://www.aleph.se/Trans/Cultural/Memetics/

·         Memes (info / links):
http://cscs.umich.edu/~crshalizi/formerly-hyper-weird/memetics.html

·         Alt.memetics (info / links)
 http://maxwell.lucifer.com/virus/alt.memetics/

·         Journal of Memetics:
http://jom-emit.cfpm.org/

·         The Hedonistic Imperative (genetic engineering and nanotech):
http://www.hedweb.com/welcome.htm

·         Naturalmotion.com  (computer learning to walk):
http://www.naturalmotion.com/pages/technology_hiw.htm

·         The Law of Accelerating Returns, buy Ray Kurzweil:
http://www.kurzweilai.net/articles/art0134.html?printable=1

·         Why the future doesn’t need us., by Bill Joy http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.04/joy.html

PANEL PRESENTATIONS

 

TOPIC 9. ETHICS / THE FUTURE OF EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY

WEEK 15: Monday date   4/28

Class readings:  Buss, Chapter 13.


Web Resources:  The future doesn’t need us.  http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.04/joy.html

PANEL PRESENTATIONSPANEL PRESENTATION  Topic: Pinker, Chapter 15 and  Part VI – The Voice of the Species

PANEL PRESENTATION  Topic:  Evolutionary Ethics  or The Future of Evolutionary Psychology

-- humor:
 -- in-class exercises:
 -- group activities:
 -- videos:
 -- homework:

 

-- final exam needs some revision -- some questions         are lousyAdd buss happiness article to ETHICS week (summing up)
final exam / syllabus

    curently has 9 chapters to read for the final exam --

              Buss: 7,8,9, 13

              Dawksins, 6,7, 10 - 12

              Johnston: 9

ADD TO POWERPOINT PRESENTATION

From "An interview of William Hamilton" by Frans Roes.

Human ethology Bulletin, 1997, v. 12, #4,  6 - 7.

 

   You write that evolutionary ideas "turn out to    have, or are perceived to have, the unfortunate    property of being solvents of a vital societal    glue.". What kind of glue is this?

 

    The glue that I am thinking of is various    myths that tend to hold societies together. When    these myths are wrong, I think that they exist

    because they have helped people to be more    cooperative than they would be if proceeding with a    full understanding of evolutionary theory. This is    the most unfortunate fact about teaching evolution.    I also think that it is the threat that is dimly    perceived by all religious people. They think that if    people 'believe' evolution instead of believing, say,    the gospels, they will no longer be able to celebrate    simple honesty, or kindly and warm feelings toward    others, as unequivocally 'good'. I think theyexaggerate the danger, but they don't exaggerate anothing. There is a danger of that kind.How are evolutionists trying to deal with this problem?

 

 

They are trying to deal with it by

showing that the implications of a fully

rational and evolutionary theory of behaviour,

and that includes human behaviour, is not such

a nasty thing as it may seem at first. If you

believe that we evolved out of animals--are

animals--and have the same kinds of drives, it

doesn't mean that we have to be selfish and

inhumane. When you fully work out the

consequences of the rules of kinship and of     l

reciprocation, and ensure maintenance of the    I

standards implied, you will see that the   l

outcome is in fact quite a moderate kind of

behaviour, avoiding evil and as good in

holding the society together as are the

religious myths. Indeed, under a rational

theory we should be able to do better for human

happiness by avoiding various naive errors.

 

 

 

 


 

 

Psyc 452, Evolutionary Psychology  -- PANEL SIGN UP SHEET

To sign up for a panel, please write you name, email and phone number.

 

 WEEK 6    Monday date: 2/18


Topics:   Evolutionary perspectives on emotion.

 _________________________          ________________________________

 

 ________________________

WEEK 7   Monday Date: 2/25


Topic:  Evolutionary perspectives on learning and cognition

 

 _________________________          ________________________________

 

 ________________________

 

WEEK 8  Monday date: 3/10


Topic:  Evolutionary perspectives  on Personality and/or Language  



 

 _________________________          ________________________________

 

 ________________________

 

WEEK 9  Monday date: 3/17

 Topic:  Evolutionary perspectives  on sex differences.  

 

 _________________________          ________________________________

 

 ________________________

 

WEEK 10  Monday date: 3/24

No panel presentations -- midterm week.

 

WEEK 11   Monday date: 3/31

 Topic:  Evolutionary perspectives  on kinship and family.  



 _________________________          ________________________________

 

 ________________________

 

 

WEEK 12  Monday date 4/7

.  Topic:  Evolutionary perspectives on group (non-kin) interactions.  

 

 

 _________________________          ________________________________

 

 ________________________

 

WEEK 13  Monday date 4/14


.  Topic:  Evolutionary perspectives on group (non-kin) interactions.  

 

 

 _________________________          ________________________________

 

 ________________________

 

WEEK 14  Monday date: 4/21


Topic:  Evolutionary perspectives on group culture or memetics.  

 

 

 _________________________          ________________________________

 

 ________________________

 

WEEK 15  Monday date: 4/28

Topic:  Evolutionary perspectives on ethics / morality.  



 _________________________          ________________________________

 

 ________________________