Exam #1 F 2/13 Bonuses posted Are you genetically programed to be racist?

Fig 34.40 DNA is passed from generation to generation, and therefore can tell us about relationships between species.

How are we related to our ancestors, and where did we come from? Fig 34.42 How are we related to our ancestors, and where did we come from?

Traits coded for by mtDNA are inherited only through mother mitochondria

The mutation rate in human mtDNA is one nucleotide change per 20,000 years. OR A difference of one nucleotide between two people indicates a common relative 10,000 years ago. Fig 4

Two hypotheses about the origin of H. sapiens Multiregional hypothesis “Out of Africa” hypothesis

Relationships of different populations using mtDNA ~150,000ya 7 Daughters of Eve, fig. 1

X Two hypotheses about the origin of H. sapiens Multiregional hypothesis “Out of Africa” hypothesis

Relationships of different people using mtDNA. From Science v298 12/20/02 pg 2381 93-95% of genetic variation within population. 3-5% of genetic variation occurs between populations. 7 Daughters of Eve, fig. 2

“Man’s Most Dangerous Myth: the Fallacy of Race” by Ashley Montagu

“Man’s Most Dangerous Myth: the Fallacy of Race” by Ashley Montagu first published in 1942

There is no genetic definition of race.

Humans have been constantly moving and migrating Humans have been constantly moving and migrating. Any geographic location contains people with DNA from many different other areas...

Proposed model of human evolution/ migration Additional migrations Expansion from Asia to Africa Out of Africa of Homo sapiens Out of Africa Fig 9 Out of Africa of Homo erectus

Humans have been constantly moving and migrating Humans have been constantly moving and migrating. Any geographic location contains people with DNA from many different other areas...

The nervous system allows us to perceive the environment while the brain integrates the incoming signals to determine an appropriate response.

Input to brain is filtered. What are you paying attention to?

Active seeking of info versus Subconscious scanning for threats Are we evolutionarily adapted to detect certain threats?

Emotion Drives Attention: Detecting the Snake in the Grass Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 2001, Vol. 130, No. 3, 466-478 Arne Ohman, Anders Flykt, and Francisco Esteves

Ability to detect snake or spider versus flower or mushroom by grid position Fig 1. Emotion Drives Attention: Detecting the Snake in the Grass (2001) J. of Ex. Psy., Vol. 130, No. 3, 466-478

Ability to detect snake or spider versus flower or mushroom by grid position Fig 1. Emotion Drives Attention: Detecting the Snake in the Grass (2001) J. of Ex. Psy., Vol. 130, No. 3, 466-478

Ability to detect snake or spider versus flower or mushroom is relatively quicker in a larger grid Fig 2. Emotion Drives Attention: Detecting the Snake in the Grass (2001) J. of Ex. Psy., Vol. 130, No. 3, 466-478

The Role of Social Groups in the Persistence of Learned Fear (2005) SCIENCE 309 pg 785 Andreas Olsson, Jeffrey P. Ebert, Mahzarin R. Banaji, Elizabeth A. Phelps http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/309/5735/785 This perspective accompanies the article and has some useful background and further discussion: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/309/5 735/711

Conditioned fear: snakes/spiders Fig 1. The Role of Social Groups in the Persistence of Learned Fear (2005) SCIENCE 309 pg 785

Conditioned fear: race Fig 1. The Role of Social Groups in the Persistence of Learned Fear (2005) SCIENCE 309 pg 785

Conditioned fear: snakes/spiders race Fig 1. The Role of Social Groups in the Persistence of Learned Fear (2005) SCIENCE 309 pg 785

Is Race Necessarily a Defining Characteristic? Can race be erased? Coalitional computation and social categorization (December 18, 2001) PNAS vol. 98 no. 26 pg 15387–15392 Robert Kurzban, John Tooby, and Leda Cosmides http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/98/26/15387

Random Statements My birthday is in April. My birthday is in June. My birthday is in August. My birthday is in January. My birthday is in February. My birthday is in July. My birthday is in October. My birthday is in May. Can race be erased? Coalitional computation and social categorization (December 18, 2001) PNAS vol. 98 no. 26 pg 15387–15392

Coalition Membership I like orange. Hook em’. I like to wear overalls. Gig em’. Go Aggies. I like to wear chaps. I like Maroon. Go Horns. Can race be erased? Coalitional computation and social categorization (December 18, 2001) PNAS vol. 98 no. 26 pg 15387–15392

When alternate coalition membership information is introduced, race is ignored. I like orange. Hook em’. I like to wear overalls. Gig em’. Go Aggies. I like to wear chaps. I like Maroon. Go Horns.

Despite a lifetime's experience of race as a predictor of social alliance, less than 4 min of exposure to an alternate social world was enough to deflate the tendency to categorize by race. These results suggest that racism may be a volatile and eradicable construct that persists only so long as it is actively maintained through being linked to parallel systems of social alliance. Can race be erased? Coalitional computation and social categorization (December 18, 2001) PNAS vol. 98 no. 26 pg 15387–15392