Question

Provide an example of a behavioral characteristic and explain how it may have developed through the influence of experience, heredity, or both.

Next, considering Darwin's principle of natural selection, give two examples of structural or behavioral characteristics that might confer selective advantages to human beings over other animals.

Answer 1

One of my behavioural characteristics the tendency to check my assignments or exam exam paper over and over again, before I submit it. I spend copious amounts of time revising what I have written. In my view, this is perhaps the result of heredity as my father and my mother, both are extremely cautious and detail oriented. I always find them checking if the gas has been properly switched off, the door has been properly locked, the lights have been turned off etc. In my case, I appear to do the same with my written work.

From Darwin’s principle, the characteristics that give us selective advantages over other animals is a larger brain to body ration and bipedalism. Given that our brain to body ratio is the highest among all species, it appears that our brains are capable of processing vast amounts of information and function in ways that other species are incapable of. Next, bipedalism allowed our hands to become free and these hands could perform several more functions such as develop tools.