The evolved psychological apparatus

1. The evolved psychological apparatus By Evan and Tyler

2. Resource exploitation • Decline of flora and fauna as a direct result of human exploitation. • Indirect result of habitat loss due to human expansion.

3. Evolutionary informed model of homo economicus • Humans are not naturally conservationists. • Natural selection dictates that those with the greatest reproductive success are those that most readily exploit resources faster than their competitors. • Humans are not rational actors contrary to the view of modern economics. • Homo sapiens are more likely to discount the future and focus on more immediate goals. • Averse to relinquishing a prior gain.

4. Contingent Valuation Method • How much would person be willing to pay to preserve a non-economic good (i.e. clean air, wetlands, recreational areas, etc.) • Places an economic value onto a non-tradable good. • Is destroying a particular habitat worth the economic exploitation?

5. Risk as Variance of Expected Payoffs • Adaptations such as time preferences, social comparison processes, and sex differences may play important roles in conservation. • Humans will run the risk of living in a high variance environment if there is a significant upside to be attained.

6. Let’s talk about sex • Sex differences in risk acceptance and resource use. • Higher intrasexual competition in the ancestral environment may have lead men to be more risk accepting. • Men may be more willing to exploit the environment for social status and an increased likelihood for reproduction.

7. More Sex :/ • Men are significantly less likely to see a physician as women. • Men are more likely to disregard an unhealthy environment for a higher payoff (i.e. taking a better paying job in a more unhealthy environment).

8. Conclusions • Imperative to understand human psychology in an evolutionary context in order to combat environmental degradation. • As our way of life revolves around economics, finding economic values for environmental goods is a first step in conservation. • Women may play a large role influencing male psychology toward being health conscious.

9. Economics of conservation • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDP5IB4aSvQ

10. Discussion Questions • Given the limited economic means of the majority of homo sapiens around the world, is CVM actually a viable means of placing value on environmental and health goods? • Noting the differences between men and women regarding risk taking and health consciousness, in what ways could women possibly alter male psychology toward a more sustainable outlook? • Given the studies prevented, what is the most reasonable course of action for harnessing human psychology for the sake of sustainability?