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

类似问题

If someone is arguing with you and says: 'It is absurd that the theory of evolution proposes that structures as complex as human eyes evolved by chance alone!', how should you respond?

There are several aspects of evolution that the Modern Synthesis does not account for. Match each of these challenges with its definition. 1: Epigenetics 2: Phenotypic plasticity 3: Neutral theory 4: Negative selection

A fundamental difference between Darwinian and Lamarckian evolution is:

Which of the following is best described by the term ‘modern synthesis’?

All of the following are misconceptions about evolution EXCEPT

Biologist Charles Darwin believed that the age of the Earth was much older than the age of the Earth that was estimated by the physicist William Thomson (also known as Lord Kelvin).

A project has a required return of 12.6 percent, an initial cash outflow of $42,100, and cash inflows of $16,500 in Year 1, $11,700 in Year 2, and $10,400 in Year 4. What is the net present value?

更多留学生实用工具

智能学习助手

风格化写作助手

论文查重助手

文献引用助手

课堂转译助手

课堂笔记助手

Quiz搜索助手

学校历年真题

智能刷题助手

智能匹配练习

希望你的学习变得更简单