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Types of Selection

Types of Selection

Natural selection influences the frequencies of particular alleles and phenotypes within populations in several different ways. Primarily, natural selection can be directional, stabilizing, or disruptive. Directional selection favors one extreme trait and shifts the population towards that phenotype while selecting against individuals displaying alternate traits. Stabilizing selection favors an intermediate trait with a narrow range of variation. Deviation from the optimal phenotype towards an...

Natural Selection and Mating Preferences

Natural Selection and Mating Preferences

The principle of natural selection posits that organisms better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. This principle is closely intertwined with mating preferences, a key aspect of sexual selection, which evolutionary psychologists believe is driven by instincts to propagate one's genes. Such instincts significantly influence mating behaviors and preferences between genders.
Females, due to their biological roles in conception, pregnancy, and nursing,...

Frequency-dependent Selection

Frequency-dependent Selection

When the fitness of a trait is influenced by how common it is (i.e., its frequency) relative to different traits within a population, this is referred to as frequency-dependent selection. Frequency-dependent selection may occur between species or within a single species. This type of selection can either be positive—with more common phenotypes having higher fitness—or negative, with rarer phenotypes conferring increased fitness.

Bias

Bias

Bias refers to any tendency that prevents a question from being considered unprejudiced. In research, bias occurs when one outcome or answer is selected or encouraged over others in sampling or testing. Bias can occur during any research phase, including study design, data collection, analysis, and publication.
In statistics, a sampling bias is created when a sample is collected from a population, and some members of the population are not as likely to be chosen as others (remember, each member...

The Representativeness Heuristic

The Representativeness Heuristic

The representative heuristic describes a biased way of thinking, in which you unintentionally stereotype someone or something. For example, you may assume that your professors spend their free time reading books and engaging in intellectual conversation, because the idea of them spending their time playing volleyball or visiting an amusement park does not fit in with your stereotypes of professors.

What is Natural Selection?

What is Natural Selection?

Natural selection is an evolutionary process in which individuals with survival-promoting traits reproduce at higher rates. These favorable traits become more common within a population or species. Naturally selected traits initially arise via random genetic mutations. In order for selection to occur, there must be variation within a population, the trait controlling the variation must be heritable, and there must be an evolutionary advantage for variation in the trait.

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The Intentional Selection Assumption.

Joseph Colantonio¹, Kelley Durkin², Leyla Roksan Caglar¹

¹Department of Psychology, Rutgers University-Newark, Newark, NJ, United States.

Frontiers in Psychology

|November 12, 2021

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

People infer goals when presented options, influencing choices. This Intentional Selection Assumption framework shows social context shapes decision-making by affecting sampling assumptions.

Keywords:

context decision making intentional selection social social cognition

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Social Psychology
Decision Science

Background:

Social context significantly impacts decision-making processes.
Existing models often overlook how social cues shape option selection.
The role of inferred intentions in decision-making requires further exploration.

Purpose of the Study:

To introduce and define the Intentional Selection Assumption (ISA) framework.
To explore how social context, specifically inferred intentions, influences decision-making.
To bridge normative and subjective principles in choice behavior through sampling inferences.

Main Methods:

Drawing analogies from concept learning literature on sampling inferences.
Developing and presenting a theoretical framework for the Intentional Selection Assumption.
Conducting two behavioral experiments to test the ISA's predictions.

Main Results:

Social-contextual cues were found to influence choice behavior.
Evidence supports the induction of sampling assumptions based on social context.
Decision-makers exhibit flexibility in response to social cues without compromising utility-based preferences.

Conclusions:

The Intentional Selection Assumption provides a novel lens for understanding social influences on decision-making.
Inferred intentions and sampling assumptions play a crucial role in how individuals process presented options.
This framework highlights the interplay between social context, cognitive processes, and choice behavior.