MODULE 3

Evolution, Genetics, and Experience

BIOPSY
PHYSIOLOGICAL
PSYCHOLOGY

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

to your third module!

KARL MICHAEL M. VALDULLA, CHRA

Course Instructor/Professor

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN PSYCHOLOGY

SAN MATEO MUNICIPAL COLLEGE

Gen. Luna St. Guitnangbayan I, San Mateo, Rizal No part of this module may be reproduced,
Tel. No. (02) 997-9070
www.smmc.edu.ph distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any
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© San Mateo Municipal College All Rights Reserved

MODULE THREE
EVOLUTION, GENETICS, AND
EXPERIENCE
“Psychology is describing things which everyone knows in language
which no one understands.”
Raymond Cattell

SAN MATEO MUNICIPAL COLLEGE PHYSIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY

Bachelor of Science in Psychology Karl Michael M. Valdulla, CHRA
© San Mateo Municipal College All Rights Reserved

INPUT INFORMATION

MODULE THREE
EVOLUTION, GENETICS, AND EXPERIENCE

HUMAN EVOLUTION
Darwin’s Theory of Evolution
In 1859, Charles Darwin published a book titled On the Origin of
Species, where he described his theory of evolution. Darwin was not
the first to suggest that species evolve from preexisting species, but
he was the first to amass a large body of supporting evidence and
the first to suggest how evolution occurs.

Darwin presented three kinds of evidence to support his assertion that species evolve:
• He documented the evolution of fossil records through progressively more
recent geological layers.
• He described striking structural similarities among living species which
suggested that they had evolved from common ancestors.
• He pointed to the major changes that had been brought about in domestic
plants and animals by programs of selective breeding.

However, the most convincing evidence of evolution comes from direct observations of
rapid evolution in progress.

Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection

Darwin argued that evolution occurs through natural selection. He pointed out that
the members of each species vary greatly in their structure, physiology, and behavior
and that the heritable traits associated with high rates of survival and reproduction are
the most likely ones to be passed on to future generations. He argued that natural
selection, when repeated for generation after generation, leads to the evolution of
species that are better adapted to surviving and reproducing in their particular
environmental niche. Fitness, in the Darwinian sense, is the ability of an organism to
survive and contribute its genes to the next generation.

EVOLUTION AND BEHAVIOR

Some behaviors play an obvious role in evolution. For example, the ability to find food, avoid predation, or defend
one’s young obviously increases an animal’s ability to pass on its genes to future generations. Other behaviors play a
role that is less obvious but no less important—for example, social dominance and courtship displays.

Social Dominance
In some species, dominant males copulate more than non-dominant males and thus are more effective in passing on
their characteristics to future generations. Also, in some species, dominant females are more likely to produce more
and healthier offspring.

Courtship Displays
Courtship displays are thought to promote the evolution of new species. A new species begins to branch off from an
existing species when some barrier discourages breeding between a subpopulation of the existing species and the
remainder of the species. Once such a reproductive barrier forms, the subpopulation evolves independently of the
remainder of the species until cross-fertilization becomes impossible.

SAN MATEO MUNICIPAL COLLEGE PHYSIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY

Bachelor of Science in Psychology Karl Michael M. Valdulla, CHRA
© San Mateo Municipal College All Rights Reserved

COURSE OF HUMAN EVOLUTION

By studying fossil records and comparing current species, we humans have looked back in time and pieced together
the evolutionary history of our species—although some of the details are still controversial.

Evolution of Vertebrates
Complex multicellular water-dwelling organisms first appeared on earth about 600
million years ago. About 150 million years later, the first chordates evolved.
Chordates are animals with dorsal nerve cords—large nerves that run along the
center of the back, or dorsum. The first chordates with spinal bones to protect their
dorsal nerve cords evolved about 25 million years later. The spinal bones are called
vertebrae, and the chordates that possess them are called vertebrates. The first
vertebrates were primitive bony fishes.

Evolution of Amphibians
About 410 million years ago, the first bony fishes started to venture out of the
water. Fishes that could survive on land for brief periods of time had two great
advantages: They could escape from stagnant pools to nearby fresh water, and they
could take advantage of terrestrial food sources. The advantages of life on land
were so great that natural selection transformed the fins and gills of bony fishes to
legs and lungs, respectively—and so it was that the first amphibians evolved about
400 million years ago. Amphibians in their larval form must live in the water;
only adult amphibians can survive on land.

Evolution of Reptiles
About 300 million years ago, reptiles evolved from a branch of amphibians. Reptiles
were the first vertebrates to lay shell-covered eggs and to be covered by dry scales. Both
of these adaptations reduced the reliance of reptiles on watery habitats. A reptile does
not have to spend the first stage of its life in the watery environment of a pond or lake;
instead, it spends the first stage of its life in the watery environment of a shell-covered
egg. And once hatched, a reptile can live far from water because its dry scales greatly
reduce water loss through its water-permeable skin.

Evolution of Mammals
About 180 million years ago, during the height of the age of dinosaurs, a new
class of vertebrates evolved from one line of small reptiles. The females of this
new class fed their young with secretions from special glands called mammary
glands, and the members of the class are called mammals after these glands.
Eventually, mammals stopped laying eggs; instead, the females nurtured their
young in the watery environment of their bodies until the young were mature
enough to be born.

Emergence of Humankind
The order to which humans belong is the order primates. Primates of the tribe that includes humans are the
Hominins. This tribe is composed of at least six genera: Australopithecus, Paranthropus, Sahelanthropus, Orrorin, Pan,
and Homo.
Many experts believe that the Australopithecines evolved about 4 million years ago in Africa from a line of apes.
Australopithecines were only about four feet tall, and they had small brains, but analysis of their pelvis and leg bones
indicates that their posture was upright.
The first Homo species are thought to have evolved from one species of Australopithecus about 2 to 2.8 million years
ago. One distinctive feature of the early Homo species was the large size of their brain cavity, larger than that of
Australopithecus but smaller than that of modern humans. The early Homo species used fire and tools and coexisted

SAN MATEO MUNICIPAL COLLEGE PHYSIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY

Bachelor of Science in Psychology Karl Michael M. Valdulla, CHRA
© San Mateo Municipal College All Rights Reserved

in Africa with various species of Australopithecus for about a half-

million years, until the australopithecines died out. Early Homo
species also existed outside of Africa for about 1.85 million years.
About 275,000 years ago, early Homo species were gradually
replaced by modern humans—Homo sapiens. Then, about 130,000
years ago, modern humans began to migrate out of Africa.
Paradoxically, although the big three human attributes—large
brain, upright posture, and free hands with an opposable thumb—have been evident for hundreds of thousands of
years, most human accomplishments are of recent origin. Artistic products (e.g., wall paintings and carvings) did not
appear until about 40,000 years ago, ranching and farming were not established until about 10,000 years ago, and
writing was not invented until about 7,500 years ago.

EVOLUTION OF HUMAN BRAIN

Early research on the evolution of the human brain focused on size. This research was stimulated by the assumption
that brain size and intellectual capacity are closely related—an assumption that quickly ran into two problems. First, it
was shown that modern humans, whom modern humans believe to be the most intelligent of all creatures, do not have
the biggest brains. Second, the sizes of the brains of acclaimed intellectuals were found to be unremarkable. It is now
clear that, there is no clear relationship between overall human brain size and intelligence.

A more reasonable approach to the study of brain evolution has been to compare the evolution
of different brain regions. For example, it has been informative to consider the evolution of the
brain stem separately from the evolution of the cerebrum. In general, the brain stem regulates
reflex activities that are critical for survival (e.g., heart rate, respiration, and blood glucose level),
whereas the cerebrum is involved in more complex adaptive processes such as learning,
perception, and motivation.

The figure on the right is a schematic representation of the relative size of the brain stems and
cerebrums of several species that are living descendants of species from which humans evolved.
This figure makes three important points about the evolution of the human brain:
• The brain has increased in size during evolution.
• Most of the increase in size has occurred in the cerebrum.
• An increase in the number of convolutions has greatly increased the surface area of the
cerebral cortex, the outermost layer of cerebral tissue.

Although the brains of related species differ, there are fundamental similarities: All brains are
constructed of neurons, and the neural structures in the brains of one species can usually be found in the same locations
in the brains of related species.

UNDERSTANDING MAMMALIAN MATE-BONDING PATTERNS

Polygyny is a mate-bonding pattern in which one male forms mating bonds with more than one female. Polygyny is
most prevalent in mammals because females of most mammalian species can produce only a few offspring during their
lifetimes, whereas males have the capacity to sire many offspring.

Polyandry is a mate-bonding pattern in which one female forms mating bonds with more than one male. Polyandry
does not occur in mammals; it occurs only in species in which the contributions of the males to reproduction are
greater than those of the females.

Monogamy is a mate-bonding pattern in which enduring bonds are formed between one male and one female.
Monogamy is thought to have evolved in those mammalian species in which each female could raise more fit young if
she had undivided help.

SAN MATEO MUNICIPAL COLLEGE PHYSIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY

Bachelor of Science in Psychology Karl Michael M. Valdulla, CHRA
© San Mateo Municipal College All Rights Reserved

Several Predictions About Current Aspects of Human Mate Selection:

• Men in most cultures value youth and attractiveness in their mates more than women do; in contrast, women
value power and earning capacity more than men do.
• Physical attractiveness best predicts which women will bond with men of high occupational status.
• The major mate-attraction strategy of women is increasing their physical attractiveness; in men, it is displaying
their power and resources.
• Men are more likely than women to commit adultery.

FUNDAMENTAL GENETICS
Darwin did not understand two of the key facts on which his theory of evolution was based. He did not understand
why conspecifics differ from one another, and he did not understand how anatomical, physiological, and behavioral
characteristics are passed from parent to offspring. While Darwin puzzled over these questions, an unread manuscript
in his files contained the answers. It had been sent to him by an unknown Augustinian monk, Gregor Mendel.

MENDELIAN GENETICS
Mendel studied inheritance in pea plants. In designing his experiments, he made two wise decisions. He decided to
study dichotomous traits, and he decided to begin his experiments by crossing the offspring of true-breeding lines.
dichotomous traits occur in one form or the other, never in combination. True-breeding lines are breeding lines in
which interbred members always produce offspring with the same trait, generation after generation.

In one of his early experiments, Mendel studied the inheritance of

seed color: brown or white. He began by crossbreeding the offspring
of a line of pea plants that had bred true for brown seeds with the
offspring of a line of pea plants that had bred true for white seeds.
The offspring of this cross all had brown seeds. Then, Mendel bred
these first-generation offspring with one another, and he found that
about three-quarters of the resulting second-generation offspring
had brown seeds and about one-quarter had white seeds. Mendel
repeated this experiment many times with various pairs of
dichotomous pea plant traits, and each time the result was the same.

Four Main Ideas of Mendelian Genetics

1. There are two kinds of inherited factors for each dichotomous trait—for example, that a brown-seed factor and
a white-seed factor control seed color.
2. Each organism possesses two genes for each of its dichotomous traits—for example, each pea plant possesses
either two brown-seed genes, two white-seed genes, or one of each.
3. One of the two kinds of genes for each dichotomous trait dominates the other in heterozygous organisms—
for example, pea plants with a brown-seed gene and a white-seed gene always have brown seeds because the
brown-seed gene always dominates the white-seed gene.
4. For each dichotomous trait, each organism randomly inherits one of its “father’s” two factors and one of its
“mother’s” two factors.

DOMINANT VS RECESSIVE TRAITS

Dominant Traits Recessive Traits
Dominant traits are always expressed when Recessive traits are only expressed when no
present. dominant genes are present.

GENOTYPE VS PHENOTYPE
Genotype Phenotype
This refers to the underlying genetic makeup of a These are the observable traits or the traits that are
particular individual. actually displayed.

SAN MATEO MUNICIPAL COLLEGE PHYSIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY

Bachelor of Science in Psychology Karl Michael M. Valdulla, CHRA
© San Mateo Municipal College All Rights Reserved

HOMOZYGOUS VS HETEROZYGOUS
Homozygous Heterozygous
Organisms that possess two identical genes for a Organisms that possess two different genes for a
trait are said to be homozygous for that trait. trait are said to be heterozygous for that trait.

CHROMOSOMES
Genes are located on chromosomes—the threadlike structures in the nucleus of each cell. Chromosomes occur in
matched pairs, and each species has a characteristic number of pairs in each of its body cells; humans have 23 pairs.
The two genes (alleles) that control each trait are situated at the same location, one on each chromosome of a particular
pair.

Reproduction and Recombination

The process of cell division that produces gametes—egg cells and sperm cells—is
called meiosis. In meiosis, the chromosomes divide, and one chromosome of each
pair goes to each of the two gametes that results from the cell division. As a result,
each gamete has only half the usual number of chromosomes; and when a sperm
cell and an egg cell combine during fertilization, a fertilized egg cell (zygote) with
the full complement of chromosomes is produced.

In contrast to the meiotic creation of the gametes, all other cell division in the body
occurs by mitosis. Just prior to mitotic division, the number of chromosomes
doubles so that, when the cell divides, both daughter cells end up with the full complement of chromosomes.

Structure and Replication

Each chromosome is a double-stranded molecule of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Each
strand is a sequence of nucleotide bases attached to a chain of phosphate and deoxyribose;
there are four nucleotide bases: adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine. It is the sequence of
these bases on each chromosome that constitutes the genetic code.

Replication is a critical process of the DNA molecule. Without it, mitotic cell division would
not be possible. The two strands of DNA start to unwind. Then the exposed nucleotide bases
on each of the two strands attract their complementary bases, which are floating in the fluid
of the nucleus. Thus, when the unwinding is complete, two double-stranded DNA molecules,
both of which are identical to the original, have been created.

Chromosome replication does not always go according to plan; there may be errors. Sometimes, these errors are gross
errors. For example, in Down syndrome, there is an extra chromosome in each cell. But more commonly, errors in
duplication take the form of mutations—accidental alterations in individual genes. In most cases, mutations disappear
from the gene pool within a few generations because the organisms that inherit them are less fit. However, in rare
instances, mutations increase fitness and in so doing contribute to rapid evolution.

Sex Chromosomes and Sex-Linked Traits

There is one exception to the rule that chromosomes always come in matched pairs. The typical
chromosomes, which come in matched pairs, are called autosomal chromosomes; the one
exception is the pair of sex chromosomes—which determines an individual’s sex. In humans,
the 23rd pair of chromosomes is the sex chromosomes.

XX – Female
XY – Male

Traits influenced by genes on the sex chromosomes are referred to as sex-linked traits. All sex-linked traits are
controlled by genes on the X chromosome because the Y chromosome is small and carries few genes. Traits controlled

SAN MATEO MUNICIPAL COLLEGE PHYSIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY

Bachelor of Science in Psychology Karl Michael M. Valdulla, CHRA
© San Mateo Municipal College All Rights Reserved

by genes on the X chromosome occur more frequently in one sex than the other. If the trait is dominant, it occurs more
frequently in females. Females have twice the chance of inheriting the dominant gene because they have twice the
number of X chromosomes. In contrast, recessive sex-linked traits occur more frequently in males. The reason is that
recessive sex-linked traits are manifested only in females who possess two of the recessive genes—one on each of their
X chromosomes—whereas the traits are manifested in all males who possess the gene because they have only one X
chromosome. The classic example of a recessive sex-linked trait is color blindness. Because the color-blindness gene is
quite rare, females almost never inherit two of them and thus almost never possess the disorder; in contrast, every male
who possesses one color-blindness gene is color blind.

HOW GENES AFFECT BEHAVIOR?

Human behavior is subject to genetic variations. The ways in which individuals differ in their intellectual abilities,
personalities, and mental health are, to a large extent, functions of their inherited genetic predispositions. Decades of
research on twins, adoptees, and families have led to the inescapable conclusion that most reliably measured
psychological characteristics are influenced to some degree by genes. Behavior also shows signs of genetic influence;
the way one experiences stressful life events, for example, shows some genetic influence. Even personal aspects of
individuals, such as spirituality and political ideology, are affected to an extent by genes. It should come as no surprise,
then, that genes influence the ways in which families function and how family members relate to one another. Familial
relationships of all kinds—parent-child, sibling, and spousal—can be shown to be at least partially the product of
genetic factors.

SAN MATEO MUNICIPAL COLLEGE PHYSIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY

Bachelor of Science in Psychology Karl Michael M. Valdulla, CHRA