7 Matching Annotations
  1. Jul 2023
    1. Why are we drawn to people who are clearly not 00:20:59 in the business of public service but want to abuse us and often show us that they are strong men who are oriented towards conquering and dominating rather than serving us? And that puts the mirror back on us. And the answer, I think, is partly to do with evolutionary psychology.
      • key observation
        • we often vote for "strong men" who are not in the business of public service but are oriented towards conquering and dominating due to a cognitive bias developed from tens of thousands of years of evolution.
        • in ancient times, a physically strong man to lead us often increased our chances of survival.
        • This is no longer true today, but that cognitive bias is still with us because evolution takes a long time.
        • Hence, this cognitive bias to select strong men is maladaptive today.
  2. Feb 2023
    1. belief perseverance
      • belief perseverance
      • definition
        • a cognitive bias in which people encountering evidence that runs counter to their beliefs will, instead of reevaluating what they’ve believed up until now, tend to reject the incompatible evidence
    1. we describe a conceptual framework for understanding adaptive sources of dysfunction – for identifying and combating “adaptations gone awry.”
      • we describe a conceptual framework
      • for understanding adaptive sources of dysfunction
      • for identifying and combating “adaptations gone awry.”
    2. Each reflects the operation of psychological mechanisms that were designed through evolution to serve important adaptive functions, but that nevertheless can produce harmful consequences.
      • Each of these 4 problems
        • anxiety disorder
        • domestic violence
        • racial prejudice
        • obesity
      • reflects the operation of psychological mechanisms
      • that were designed through evolution
      • to serve important adaptive functions, - but that nevertheless can produce harmful consequences.
    3. What do anxiety disorders, domestic violence, racial prejudice, and obesity all have in common?
      • question
        • What do
          • anxiety disorders,
          • domestic violence,
          • racial prejudice, and
          • obesity
      • all have in common?
      • answer
        • maladaptive cognitive biases!
    4. mismatches between current environments and ancestral environments
      • cognitive biases may cause dysfunction due to mismatches between:
        • current environments and
        • ancestral environments
    5. from aggression and international conflict to overpopulation and the destruction of the environment, people display a capacity for great selfishness and antisocial behavior. Can an evolutionary perspective – with its inherent focus on the functionality of human behavior – help explain the occasionally self-destructive and maladaptive side of human nature?
      • from aggression and international conflict to overpopulation and the destruction of the environment,
      • people display a capacity for great selfishness and antisocial behavior.
      • Can an evolutionary perspective
      • with its inherent focus on the functionality of human behavior
      • help explain the occasionally self-destructive and maladaptive side of human nature?