Which of the following statements are TRUE about evolutionary theory?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Evolution explains population-level phenomena because it describes changes in trait or allele frequencies across groups over generations.

1) Relevant knowledge points and concepts
- Evolutionary theory: change in heritable traits (allele frequencies) in a population over generations via mechanisms such as natural selection, genetic drift, mutation, and gene flow.
- Heritability: selection can only act on traits with a genetic component that is transmitted across generations.
- Levels of explanation: evolution operates at the population (and gene) level; proximate causes (development, learning, immediate environment) explain individual phenotypes.
- Gene–environment interaction: phenotype results from both genetic and environmental influences; evolutionary processes shape genetic distributions, not immediate environmental effects.

2) Step-by-step reasoning
- Evolution requires variation in traits that is heritable. If a psychological trait is not heritable, selection cannot produce evolutionary change in that trait across generations.
- Evolutionary change is measured as shifts in frequencies within a population; it predicts population-level trends (e.g., increased frequency of alleles conferring higher fitness), not deterministic outcomes for particular individuals.
- Because environment and development shape individual outcomes, saying “evolution is more about genes than environment” is false: evolution concerns genetic change, but phenotypes reflect both genes and environment, and selection acts on phenotypes produced by that interaction.
- Individual differences can be described by developmental, environmental, and genetic causes, but evolutionary theory primarily explains why particular trait distributions exist or change in populations over time, not the unique cause of one person's trait.

3) Calculations: none required.

4) Why the correct answer is correct
- “Evolution explains population-level phenomena” correctly captures that evolution is about shifts in trait/allele frequencies across groups and generations.

5) Why other options are incorrect
- “Evolution acts on psychological traits that are not heritable”: incorrect because heritability is required for evolutionary change.
- “Evolution is more about genes than environment”: misleading; evolutionary outcomes depend on gene–environment interactions and selection acts on phenotypes shaped by both.
- “Evolution explains individual differences”: incomplete/misleading; it explains patterns of variation in populations over time, not the proximate causes of individual differences.

Conclusion: The correct choice is “Evolution explains population-level phenomena,” which matches the provided answer.

Which of the following statements are TRUE about evolutionary theory?单项选择题

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