Attachment; Environmental unpredictability and harshness; Evolutionary personality psychology; Life history strategy; Life history theory; Trade-offs Show
DefinitionVarious theories and models of evolutionary psychology posit that personality traits are part of adaptive strategies regulating behavioral adaptation to various environmental (ecological and/or social) conditions encountered during childhood. Life history theory provides the most comprehensive framework to understand how circumstances experienced in early life might influence personality. It proposes that personality traits develop into a certain profile depending on different conditional factors. Actual circumstances define resource allocation, that is, how the individual utilizes available resources (e.g., food, parental support, etc.) in order to maximize survival and/or reproduction. The most dominant environmental components to affect allocation strategies are level of mortality, level of stability or... This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution. Belsky, J., Steinberg, L., & Draper, P. (1991). Childhood experience, interpersonal development, and reproductive strategy: An evolutionary theory of socialization. Child Development, 62(4), 647–670. CrossRef Google Scholar Belsky, J., Schlomer, G. L., & Ellis, B. J. (2012). Beyond cumulative risk: Distinguishing harshness and unpredictability as determinants of parenting and early life history strategy. Developmental Psychology, 48(3), 662. CrossRef Google Scholar Bjorklund, D. F. (2015). Developing adaptations. Developmental Review, 38, 13–35. CrossRef Google Scholar Bjorklund, D. F., & Ellis, B. J. (2014). Children, childhood, and development in evolutionary perspective. Developmental Review, 34(3), 225–264. CrossRef Google Scholar Bouchard, T. J., Jr. (2004). Genetic influence on human psychological traits: A survey. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 13(4), 148–151. CrossRef Google Scholar Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachment and loss: Vol. 3. Loss: Sadness and depression. New York: Basic Books. Google Scholar Brumbach, B. H., Figueredo, A. J., & Ellis, B. J. (2009). Effects of harsh and unpredictable environments in adolescence on development of life history strategies. Human Nature, 20(1), 25–51. CrossRef Google Scholar Buss, D. M. (2009). How can evolutionary psychology successfully explain personality and individual differences? Perspectives on Psychological Science, 4(4), 359–366. CrossRef Google Scholar Buss, D. (2015). Evolutionary psychology: The new science of the mind. New York: Psychology Press. CrossRef Google Scholar Del Giudice, M. (2014). An evolutionary life history framework for psychopathology. Psychological Inquiry, 25(3–4), 261–300. CrossRef Google Scholar Del Giudice, M., Gangestad, S. W., & Kaplan, H. S. (2015). Life history theory and evolutionary psychology. In D. M. Buss (Ed.), The handbook of evolutionary psychology. Vol. 1. Foundations (2nd ed., pp. 88–114). New York: Wiley. Google Scholar Ellis, B. J. (2013). The hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis: A switch-controlled, condition-sensitive system in the regulation of life history strategies. Hormones and Behavior, 64(2), 215–225. CrossRef Google Scholar Griskevicius, V., Ackerman, J. A., Cantu, S. M., Delton, A. W., Robertson, T. E., Simpson, J. A., … Tybur, J. M. (2013). When the economy falters, do people spend or save? Responses to resource scarcity depend on childhood environment. Psychological Science, 24, 197–205. CrossRef Google Scholar Kaplan, H. S., & Gangestad, S. W. (2005). Life history theory and evolutionary psychology. In The handbook of evolutionary psychology (pp. 68–95). Hoboken, NJ, US: John Wiley & Sons Inc. Google Scholar Mischel, W., & Shoda, Y. (1999). Integrating dispositions and processing dynamics within a unified theory of personality: The cognitive-affective personality system. In Handbook of personality: Theory and research (Vol. 2, pp. 197–218). New York: Guilford Press. Google Scholar Nettle, D. (2006). The evolution of personality variation in humans and other animals. American Psychologist, 61(6), 622. CrossRef Google Scholar Simpson, J. A., Griskevicius, V., & Kim, J. S. (2011). Evolution, life history theory, and personality. In L. M. Horowitz & S. Strack (Eds.), Handbook of interpersonal psychology: Theory, research, assessment, and therapeutic interventions (pp. 75–89). Hoboken: Wiley. Google Scholar Tooby, J., & Cosmides, L. (1990). The past explains the present: Emotional adaptations and the structure of ancestral environments. Ethology and Sociobiology, 11(4–5), 375–424. CrossRef Google Scholar Young, E. S., Simpson, J. A., Griskevicius, V., Huelsnitz, C. O., & Fleck, C. (2019). Childhood attachment and adult personality: A life history perspective. Self and Identity, 18(1), 22–38. CrossRef Google Scholar Download references Author informationAuthors and Affiliations
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Rights and permissionsReprints and Permissions Copyright information© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG About this entryCite this entryBirkas, B. (2019). Early Environmental Effects on Personality and Individual Differences. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1624-1 What are the environmental factors that affect individual differences?Environment consists of physical, intellectual, social, moral, political, economic and cultural forces. All these forces cause individual differences. Modern psychologists believe that individual differences are caused by both heredity and environment.
How does environment affect an individual?The environment can facilitate or discourage interactions among people (and the subsequent benefits of social support). For example, an inviting space with comfortable chairs and privacy can encourage a family to stay and visit with a patient. The environment can influence peoples' behavior and motivation to act.
How does heredity and environment affect individual differences?Heredity and environment are responsible for producing qualities such as the personality of a human being. Behavior genetics determines the heredity and the environment interaction make individual differences in development.
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