3.2.2.5.1 Darwin's evolutionary theory of non-verbal communication Quiz: AQA Psychology, Unit 6

The 20 questions

1. What did Darwin propose about non-verbal communication?

   • That non-verbal expressions are caused only by each society's culture and are not found in other species
   • That non-verbal expressions evolved and are adaptive, helping animals and humans survive and communicate
   • That non-verbal expressions are learned entirely from parents, with no biological basis
   • That non-verbal expressions are random movements with no function, later fixed by chance

2. What does 'adaptive' mean in Darwin's theory?

   • A trait learned quickly in childhood, so it can be changed later by experience
   • A trait that helps an organism survive and reproduce, so it tends to be passed on
   • A trait shared by every member of a species at all times, whatever the environment
   • A trait that appears only in adults and disappears after puberty with no survival function

3. Darwin argued some expressions are shared across cultures. Which expression is an example?

   • Showing fear with wide eyes and a raised brow, seen in many cultures around the world
   • A hand gesture for goodbye found only in one language community in a remote valley
   • A style of clothing for formal events that varies widely from one country to the next
   • A regional accent found only in one country and never in any other part of the world

4. Which evidence would support Darwin's view that a non-verbal expression is adaptive?

   • Showing that a signal has no effect on the behaviour of any other animal that sees it
   • Showing that a signal is used in exactly the same way by every member of a species
   • Showing that a signal is used only by adults who learned it through years of teaching
   • Showing that a signal helps animals avoid harm or signal to others in a way that aids survival

5. Which is most consistent with Darwin's view of emotional expressions?

   • Facial expressions are unique to humans, so no animal has any expression resembling an emotion
   • Facial expressions are random muscle twitches with no link to feelings, so they cannot be compared
   • Facial expressions are controlled entirely by language, so they cannot exist without words
   • Facial expressions of emotion are similar across species, suggesting a shared evolutionary origin

6. A species' threat display looks similar across populations living far apart. Which idea does this best support?

   • That the display is an inherited, adaptive signal, not something each population invented separately
   • That the display has no function, because similar behaviour across populations proves randomness
   • That the display is caused by local weather, which changes the animal's appearance over seasons
   • That the display was taught by the researcher during observation sessions in each area in that setting

7. Which book by Darwin is associated with his ideas about emotional expression?

   • On the Origin of Species, which argued that species change through natural selection over time
   • Principles of Geology, which described how landforms change through slow natural processes
   • The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, comparing expressions across humans and other animals
   • The Descent of Man, which discussed the evolution of humans from earlier primates over generations

8. Which prediction does Darwin's theory make about a non-verbal signal shared across species?

   • It is likely to have a function kept through natural selection because it helped ancestors survive
   • It is likely to be learned independently by every individual, so it differs between members
   • It is likely to disappear within one generation, since signals cannot be passed on
   • It is likely to appear only in species with large brains and complex language systems

9. Why is Darwin's theory sometimes described as a 'functional' account of non-verbal behaviour?

   • It explains expressions only by their appearance, with no reference to what they achieve for the animal
   • It explains expressions by what they achieve for survival and reproduction, such as signalling threat or attraction
   • It explains expressions only as cultural habits, with no biological factor involved
   • It explains expressions as random by-products of muscle movement with no link to function

10. Which concept is central to Darwin's account of how traits spread?

    • Cognitive dissonance, where people change beliefs to match behaviour when the two conflict
    • Social learning, where individuals copy behaviour they observe in other group members
    • Classical conditioning, where an animal learns to link a neutral stimulus with a reward
    • Natural selection, where traits aiding survival and reproduction become more common over generations

11. A display helps males win mates in a species. Which prediction does Darwin's theory make?

    • Males with stronger displays are more likely to pass the display trait to their offspring
    • Males with stronger displays always produce offspring that do not display at all
    • Males with stronger displays lose the trait quickly, since it reduces their chance of reproduction
    • Males with weaker displays have more offspring, since display traits never affect reproduction

12. Which statement about 'innate' non-verbal behaviour is accurate?

    • It is present from birth or early in life, without needing to be learned from others
    • It is learned slowly over many years through formal education, so it is never present at birth
    • It is never found in animals, so it is a purely human ability with no evolutionary history
    • It appears only after a child has learned to speak, depending on the vocabulary acquired

13. Which behaviour could Darwin's theory explain as an adaptive response to danger?

    • A smile at a joke heard before, which shows learned social habits from the group
    • A wave to a friend across the street, copied from television programmes at home
    • A sudden flinch and raised arms when a loud noise startles a person, protecting the body from harm
    • A bow when greeting a teacher, which shows learned politeness in a school setting

14. What does it mean that Darwin saw non-verbal communication as 'evolved'?

    • It was invented by societies in recent centuries and spread through trade between countries
    • It developed over many generations through natural selection, shaped by how well signals helped survival
    • It developed through individual choice, with each person designing their own signals as a child
    • It was created all at once by a single ancestor and has not changed since then

15. A critic says Darwin's theory cannot explain why some expressions differ across cultures. Which reply best fits the theory?

    • Expressions differ only because people lie about their feelings, so cultural differences are not real
    • All expressions must be identical across cultures, so any difference shows the theory is wrong
    • No expressions can differ across cultures, so the critic's observation is impossible in practice
    • Some expressions may be innate and others learned, so biology and culture can both shape behaviour

16. A similar expression in humans and related primates suggests what, in Darwin's terms?

    • That they inherited it from a common ancestor, through their shared evolutionary lineage
    • That fish invented it independently by chance, since fish and humans share no history
    • That birds learned it from watching humans in the wild, since they share the same cities
    • That humans copied the expression from dogs, since dogs were the first animals humans lived with

17. Why did Darwin compare human and animal expressions?

    • To prove humans are not animals, so their emotional signals must differ from every other species
    • To look for shared patterns that might point to a common evolutionary origin for emotional signals
    • To show that animals are better communicators than humans in every respect of emotion in daily life
    • To count the muscles used in each species, so he could rank animals by intelligence

18. Which limitation applies to Darwin's evolutionary account of non-verbal communication?

    • It is based on one animal only, so it cannot be applied to any other species at all
    • It is difficult to test directly, since evolutionary changes happened long ago and cannot be watched
    • It has been fully tested, and no researcher has questioned any part of its evidence since the 1870s
    • It claims expressions have no function, so it cannot explain why any signal is useful to animals in daily life

19. A baby cries when hungry, before any learning has taken place. How could Darwin explain this?

    • The cry is learned from hearing adults cry during the first days of life in the home
    • The cry is a random noise with no function, produced as the lungs fill with air after birth
    • The cry is a cultural habit babies pick up from their parents after reading about crying in books
    • The cry is an inherited signal that brings carers to meet the baby's needs, so it has survival value

20. Which phrase best summarises Darwin's view of the origin of non-verbal communication?

    • Non-verbal communication evolved through natural selection because the signals helped their users survive and reproduce
    • Non-verbal communication appeared suddenly in humans and has not been found in any other animal species
    • Non-verbal communication developed entirely through social rules, with no link to biology or survival
    • Non-verbal communication was designed by a single creator and has never changed since its first appearance

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