Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-nmvwc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-25T21:17:04.217Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Adaptive developmental plasticity might not contribute much to the adaptiveness of reproductive strategies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 February 2009

Lars Penke
Affiliation:
MRC Center for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, Scotland, United Kingdom. lars.penke@ed.ac.ukhttp://www.larspenke.eu

Abstract

Del Giudice's model belongs among those that highlight the role of adaptive developmental plasticity in human reproductive strategies; but at least three other forms of evolutionary adaptation also influence reproductive behavior. Similar to earlier models, the existing evidence suggests that Del Giudice's hypothesized effects are rather weak. In particular, adult attachment styles are hardly predictive of outcomes visible to natural selection.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Belsky, J. (2005) The developmental and evolutionary psychology of intergenerational transmission of attachment. In: Attachment and bonding: A new synthesis, ed. Carter, C.S., Ahnert, L., Grossmann, K. E., Hrdy, S. B., Lamb, M. E., Porges, S. W. & Sachser, N., pp. 169–98. MIT Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Birnbaum, G. E., Reis, H. T., Mikulincer, M., Gillath, O. & Orpaz, A. (2006) When sex is more than just sex: Attachment orientations, sexual experience, and relationship quality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 91:929–43.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ellis, B. J. (2004) Timing of pubertal maturation in girls: An integrated life history approach. Psychological Bulletin 130:920–58.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Feeney, J. A. (1999) Adult romantic attachment and couple relationships. In: Handbook of attachment: Theory, research and clinical applications, ed. Cassidy, J. & Shaver, P. R., pp. 355–77. Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Fraley, R., Brumbaugh, C. C. & Marks, M. J. (2005) The evolution and function of adult attachment: A comparative and phylogenetic analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 89:731–46.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gangestad, S. W. & Simpson, J. A. (2000) The evolution of human mating: Trade-offs and strategic pluralism. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 23:573–87; discussion 597–644.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harpending, H. & Cochran, G. (2002) In our genes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 99:1012.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hoier, S. (2003) Father absence and age at menarche: A test of four evolutionary models. Human Nature 14:209–33.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hollander, J. (2008) Testing the grain-size model for the evolution of phenotypic plasticity. Evolution 62:1381–89.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hyde, J. S. (2005) The gender similarities hypothesis. American Psychologist 60:581–92.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jackson, J. J. & Kirkpatrick, L. A. (2007) The structure and measurement of human mating strategies: Towards a multidimensional model of sociosexuality. Evolution and Human Behavior 28:382–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kirkpatrick, L. A. & Davis, K. E. (1994) Attachment style, gender and relationship stability: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 66:502–12.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lehnart, J. & Neyer, F. J. (2006) Should I stay or should I go? Attachment and personality in romantic relationships across young adulthood. European Journal of Personality 20:475–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lenton, A., Penke, L., Todd, P. M. & Fasolo, B. (in press) The heart does have its reasons: Social rationality in mate choice. In: Social rationality, ed. Hertwig, R., Hoffrage, U. & the ABC Research Group. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Neberich, W., Lehnart, J., Penke, L. & Asendorpf, J. B. (in press) Family of origin, age at menarche, and reproductive strategies: A test of four evolutionary-developmental models. European Journal of Developmental Psychology.Google Scholar
Penke, L. & Asendorpf, J. B. (in press) Beyond global sociosexual orientations: A more differentiated look at sociosexuality and its effects on courtship and romantic relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.Google Scholar
Penke, L., Denissen, J. J. A. & Miller, G. F. (2007a) Evolution, genes, and inter-disciplinary personality research. European Journal of Personality 21:639–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Penke, L., Denissen, J. J. A. & Miller, G. F. (2007b) The evolutionary genetics of personality. European Journal of Personality 21:549–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Penke, L., Todd, P. M., Lenton, A. & Fasolo, B. (2007c) How self-assessments can guide human mating decisions. In: Mating intelligence: Sex, relationships, and the mind's reproductive system, ed. Geher, G. & Miller, G. F., pp. 3775. Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Pigliucci, M. (2005) Evolution of phenotypic plasticity: Where are we going now? Trends in Ecology and Evolution 20:481–86.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schaller, M. & Murray, D. R. (2008) Pathogens, personality and culture: Disease prevalence predicts worldwide variability in sociosexuality, extraversion, and openness to experience. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 95:212–21.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schmitt, D. P. (2005a) Is short-term mating the maladaptive result of insecure attachment? A test of competing evolutionary perspectives. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 31:747–68.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schmitt, D. P. (2005b) Sociosexuality from Argentina to Zimbabwe: A 48-nation study of sex, culture, and strategies of human mating. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 28:247–75; discussion 275–311.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schmitt, D. P., Alcalay, L., Allensworth, M., Allik, J., Ault, L., Austers, I., Bennett, K. L., Bianchi, G., Boholst, F., Borg Cunen, M. A., Braeckman, J., Brainerd, E. G. Jr., Caral, L. G. A., Caron, G., Casullo, M. M., Cunningham, M., Daibo, I., De Backer, C., De Souza, E., Diaz-Loving, R., Diniz, G., Durkin, K., Echegaray, M., Eremsoy, E., Euler, H. A., Falzon, R., Fisher, M. L., Fowler, R., Fry, D. P., Fry, S., Ghayur, M. A., Giri, V. N., Golden, D. L., Grammer, K., Grimaldi, L., Halberstadt, J., Haque, S., Hefer, E., Herrera, D., Hertel, J., Hitchell, A., Hoffman, H., Hradilekova, Z., Hudek-Kene-evi, J., Huffcutt, A., Jaafar, J., Jankauskaite, M., Kabangu-Stahel, H., Kardum, I., Khoury, B., Kwon, H., Laidra, K., Laireiter, A., Lakerveld, D., Lampart, A., Lauri, M., Lavallée, M., Lee, S., Leung, L.C., Locke, K. D., Locke, V., Luksik, I., Magaisa, I., Marcinkeviciene, J., Mata, A., Mata, R., McCarthy, B., Mills, M. E., Mkhize, N. J., Moreira, J., Moreira, S., Moya, M., Munyea, M., Noller, P., Olimat, H., Opre, A., Panayiotou, A., Petrovic, N., Poels, K., Popper, M., Poulimenou, M., P'yatokha, V., Raymond, M., Reips, U., Reneau, S. E., Rivera-Aragon, S., Rowatt, W. C., Ruch, W., Rus, V. S., Safir, M. P., Salas, S., Sambataro, F., Sandnabba, K. N., Schleeter, R., Schulmeyer, M. K., Schütz, A., Scrimali, T., Shackelford, T. K., Sharan, M. B., Shaver, P. R., Sichona, F., Simonetti, F., Sineshaw, T., Sookdew, R., Speelman, T., Sümer, H. C., Sümer, N., Supekova, M., Szlendak, T., Taylor, R., Timmermans, B., Tooke, W., Tsaousis, I., Tungaraza, F. S. K., Turner, A., Vandermassen, G., Vanhoomissen, T., Van Overwalle, F., Van Wesenbeek, I., Vasey, P. L., Verissimo, J., Voracek, M., Wan, W. W. N., Wang, T., Weiss, P., Wijaya, A., Woertment, L., Youn, G. & Zupanèiè, A. (2003a) Are men universally more dismissing than women? Gender differences in romantic attachment across 62 cultural regions. Personal Relationships 10:307–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmitt, D. P., Alcalay, L., Allik, J., Ault, L., Austers, I., Bennett, K. L., Bianchi, G., Boholst, F., Borg Cunen, M. A., Braeckman, J., Brainerd, E. G. Jr., Caral, L. G. A., Caron, G., Casullo, M. M., Cunningham, M., Daibo, I., De Backer, C., De Souza, E., Diaz-Loving, R., Diniz, G., Durkin, K., Echegaray, M., Eremsoy, E., Euler, H. A., Falzon, R., Fisher, M. L., Foley, D., Fry, D. P., Fry, S., Ghayur, M. A., Golden, D. L., Grammer, K., Grimaldi, L., Halberstadt, J., Herrera, D., Hertel, J., Hoffman, H., Hradilekova, Z., Hudek-Kene-evi, J., Jaafar, J., Jankauskaite, M., Kabangu-Stahel, H., Kardum, I., Khoury, B., Kwon, H., Laidra, K., Laireiter, A., Lakerveld, D., Lampart, A., Lauri, M., Lavallée, M., Lee, S., Leung, L.C., Locke, K. D., Locke, V., Luksik, I., Magaisa, I., Marcinkeviciene, J., Mata, A., Mata, R., McCarthy, B., Mills, M. E., Moreira, J., Moreira, S., Moya, M., Munyea, M., Noller, P., Opre, A., Panayiotou, A., Petrovic, N., Poels, K., Popper, M., Poulimenou, M., P'yatokha, V., Raymond, M., Reips, U., Reneau, S. E., Rivera-Aragon, S., Rowatt, W. C., Ruch, W., Rus, V. S., Safir, M. P., Salas, S., Sambataro, F., Sandnabba, K. N., Schulmeyer, M. K., Schütz, A., Scrimali, T., Shackelford, T. K., Shaver, P. R., Sichona, F., Simonetti, F., Sineshaw, T., Sookdew, R., Speelman, T., Spyrou, S., Sümer, H.C., Sümer, N., Supekova, M., Szlendak, T., Taylor, R., Timmermans, B., Tooke, W., Tsaousis, I., Tungaraza, F. S. K., Vandermassen, G., Vanhoomissen, T., Van Overwalle, F., Vanwesenbeek, I., Vasey, P. L., Verissimo, J., Voracek, M., Wan, W. W. N., Wang, T., Weiss, P., Wijaya, A., Woertment, L., Youn, G., & Zupanèiè, A. (2003b) Universal sex differences in the desire for sexual variety: Tests from 52 nations, 6 continents, and 13 islands. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 85:85104.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Todd, P. M., Penke, L., Fasolo, B. & Lenton, A. P. (2007) Different cognitive processes underlie human mate choices and mate preferences. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 104:15011–16.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tooby, J. & Cosmides, L. (2005) Conceptual foundations of evolutionary psychology. In: The handbook of evolutionary psychology, ed. Buss, D. M., pp. 567. Wiley.Google Scholar
West-Eberhard, M. J. (2003) Developmental plasticity and evolution. Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar