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Table 1 Tinbergen’s Four Questions (Plus one) with illustrative examples from a module on personality

From: Using Tinbergen’s Four Questions (Plus One) to Facilitate Evolution Education for Human-Oriented Disciplines

Question

Consideration

Example

How does it work?

Proximate causation

Male aggression levels are at least partially modulated by androgenic hormones (Book et al. 2001)

Why does it work?

Ultimate causation

Extroverts have more mating success, but also run extra risks, selecting for a balance between extro- and introversion (Nettle 2005)

How does it develop?

Ontogeny

One’s place in the family hierarchy (i.e., birth order) can influence the personality traits he or she adopts (Sulloway 1997)

How did it evolve?

Phylogeny

Aspects of the dopamine system modulate sensation seeking across the animal kingdom (see Fidler et al. 2007 for evidence and a short review)

What role does culture play?

Culture

A more structured society may have selected for genes that code for lower extroversion and impulsivity in China (Chang et al. 1996)