Old Stuff

At the final I will pass out a sheet that has four questions on it drawn from the eight below. You will have to answer 3 of those four. Each will be worth 12 pts (=36pts)

1. Describe studies that appear to support the notion of a frontally-mediated STM distinct from LTM.
2. What is social cognition and what mental processes are thought to be critical to it?
3. Why is the anterior paracingulate cortex thought to be especially important to theory of mind.
4. What contribution to moral thinking does the temporal lobe make? Describe the specific differences between the function of the STS (superior temporal sulcus) and the temporal poles.
5.What evidence from the ultimate game indicates that rDLPC-impaired subjects have a more difficult time resisting selfish interests?
6. How do genetic studies support the notion of male competition and female choice operating in our past.
7. What was the disagreement between Darwin and Wallace concerning the evolution of the human mind and how is that debate cast today?
8. What selection pressures likely produced fluid intelligence and what purpose would it have served (and continues to serve)?

New Stuff

At the final I will pass out a sheet that has 5 questions on it drawn from the eight below. You will have to answer 4 of the five. Each will be worth 15 pts (=60pts). Thus, the final will have a total of seven questions worth 96pts.

1. What is a hominin and what are the four “adaptive complexes” that characterize hominins?
2. Discuss the earliest stone tools. How were they made, what were they used for, what do they indicate about hominin intelligence?
3. What characteristics indicate that erectus crossed an important threshold in human evolution?
4. What evidence indicates that erectus made (some) tools for social and not practical reasons?
5. What specific benefits do Coolidge and Wynn propose came from a nest-to-ground transition in sleep?
6. Describe the spatial and technical intelligence of Homo heidelbergensis. What aspects of WM are involved in these abilities?
7. Discuss the “evidence” for symbolism among Neanderthals such as burials, use of pigments, and “art.” How convincing is this evidence?
8. Why does Eric Trinkaus argue that “it is we” who are unusual and not Neanderthals?