The slow and fast life histories of early birds and night owls: Their future- or present-orientation accounts for their sexually monogamous or promiscuous tendencies

The slow and fast life histories of early birds and night owls: Their future- or present-orientation accounts for their sexually monogamous or promiscuous tendencies
Davide Ponzi, Andrea Henry, Konrad Kubicki, Nora Nickels, M. Claire Wilson, Dario Maestripieri (Oct 2014)
Evolution and Human Behavior

Abstract

In this study we tested the hypothesis that inter-individual variation in morningness-eveningness (i.e., chronotype) is associated with variation in a composite measure of life history (the mini-K) such that morning-types (i.e., early birds) exhibit traits typically associated with slow life histories while evening-types (i.e., night owls) exhibit traits typically associated with fast life histories. In addition, we tested the hypothesis that time perspective may be one of the psychological mechanisms mediating the relationship between chronotype and socio-sexuality. Study participants were 95 heterosexual young men, most of whom were university students. Chronotype, life-history traits, socio-sexuality, and time perspective were assessed with well-established self-report measures. Variations in chronotype and in life-history traits were significantly associated in the direction predicted by our hypothesis. Consistent with our second hypothesis, time perspective emerged as a significant mediator of the association between chronotype and socio-sexuality so that the future orientation of morning-types was associated with their long-term mating orientation and relatively low sexual experience, while the present orientation of evening-types was associated with their short-term mating orientation and greater sexual experience. Our study provides the first evidence that variation in chronotype may be adaptive and elucidates one of the psychological mechanisms underlying the life history and reproductive strategies of male early birds and night owls.

Fundamental Dimensions of Environmental Risk - The Impact of Harsh versus Unpredictable Environments on the Evolution and Development of Life History Strategies

Fundamental Dimensions of Environmental Risk - The Impact of Harsh versus Unpredictable Environments on the Evolution and Development of Life History Strategies

Bruce J. Ellis, Aurelio J. Figueredo, Barbara H. Brumbach, Gabriel L. Schlomer (2009)


Abstract

The current paper synthesizes theory and data from the field of life history (LH) evolution to advance a new developmental theory of variation in human LH strategies. The theory posits that clusters of correlated LH traits (e.g., timing of puberty, age at sexual debut and first birth, parental investment strategies) lie on a slow-to-fast continuum; that harshness (externally caused levels of morbidity-mortality) and unpredictability (spatial-temporal variation in harshness) are the most fundamental environmental influences on the evolution and development of LH strategies; and that these influences depend on population densities and related levels of intraspecific competition and resource scarcity, on age schedules of mortality, on the sensitivity of morbidity-mortality to the organism’s resource-allocation decisions, and on the extent to which environmental fluctuations affect individuals versus populations over short versus long timescales. These interrelated factors operate at evolutionary and developmental levels and should be distinguished because they exert distinctive effects on LH traits and are hierarchically operative in terms of primacy of influence. Although converging lines of evidence support core assumptions of the theory, many questions remain unanswered. This review demonstrates the value of applying a multilevel evolutionary-developmental approach to the analysis of a central feature of human phenotypic variation: LH strategy.

Reproductive Strategy and Sexual Conflict: Slow Life History Strategy Inihibts Negative Androcentrism

ReproductiveStrategy and Sexual Conflict: Slow Life History Strategy Inihibts Negative Androcentrism
P. R. Gladden, A. J. Figueredo, D. J. Andrejzak, D. N. Jones, and V. Smith-Castro
Journal of Methods and Measurement in the Social Sciences; 2013


Abstract

Recent findings indicate that a slow Life History (LH) strategy factor is associated with increased levels of Executive Functioning (EF), increased emotional intelligence, decreased levels of sexually coercive behaviors, and decreased levels of negative ethnocentrism. Based on these findings, as well as the generative theory, we predicted that slow LH strategy should inhibit negative androcentrism (bias against women). A sample of undergraduates responded to a battery of questionnaires measuring various facets of their LH Strategy, (e.g., sociosexual orientation, mating effort, mate-value, psychopathy, executive functioning, and emotional intelligence) and various convergent measures of Negative Androcentrism. A structural model that the data fit well indicated a latent protective LH strategy trait predicted decreased negative androcentrism. This trait fully mediated the relationship between participant biological sex and androcentrism. We suggest that slow LH strategy may inhibit negative attitudes toward women because of relatively decreased intrasexual competition and intersexual conflict among slow LH strategists.

MULTIPLE SUCCESSFUL TESTS OF THE STRATEGIC DIFFERENTIATION-INTEGRATION EFFORT (SD-IE) HYPOTHESIS

MULTIPLE SUCCESSFUL TESTS OF THE STRATEGIC DIFFERENTIATION-INTEGRATION EFFORT (SD-IE) HYPOTHESIS
Aurelio J Figueredo et al.; December 2013
Journal of Social, Evolutionary, and Cultural Psychology


Abstract

The Strategic Differentiation-Integration Effort (SD-IE) hypothesis predicts regulation by life history speed (K) of the magnitudes of the correlations among its components, such that individuals with slower life history strategies exhibit life history traits that are less correlated with each other than individuals with faster life history strategies. This conative differentiation among high-K individuals is proposed to arise due to the elevated social competition in stable, predictable environments faced by these individuals and to facilitate mutualistic rather than antagonistic social interaction strategies via social-ecological niche-splitting and domain-specific resource allocation. We tested the predictions of SD-IE regarding relations among life history traits using the Continuous Parameter Estimation Method on data from two college student convenience samples, one all-female sample (N=382) and one mixed-sex sample (N=205), as well as two nationally-representative samples of the US population, the MIDUS (National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States, N=2080) and the NLSY (National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, N=5082). The predicted SD-IE effects were statistically significant and in the expected negative direction among most indicators of the lower-order slow life history factors and among all indicators of the single higher-order slow life history Super-K factor.

The Pace of Life under Artificial Selection: Personality, Energy Expenditure, and Longevity Are Correlated in Domestic Dogs

The Pace of Life under Artificial Selection: Personality, Energy Expenditure, and Longevity Are Correlated in Domestic Dogs
Vincent Careau et al.; 2010


Abstract

The domestic dog has undergone extensive artificial selection resulting in an extreme diversity in body size, personality, life-history, and metabolic traits among breeds. Here we tested whether proactive personalities (high levels of activity, boldness, and aggression) are related to a fast “pace of life” (high rates of growth, mortality, and energy expenditure). Data from the literature provide preliminary evidence that artificial selection on dogs (through domestication) generated variations in personality traits that are correlated with life histories and metabolism. We found that obedient (or docile, shy) breeds live longer than disobedient (or bold) ones and that aggressive breeds have higher energy needs than unaggressive ones. These correlations could result from either human preference for particular trait combinations or, more likely, correlated responses to artificial selection on personality. Our results suggest the existence of a general pace-of-life syndrome arising from the coevolution of  personality, metabolic, and life-history traits.

Height among Women is Curvilinearly Related to Life History Strategy

Height among Women is Curvilinearly Related to Life History Strategy
Thomas V Pollet at al.; 2009


Abstract

It was hypothesized that women of medium height would show a more secure, long-term mating pattern characterized by less jealousy, less intrasexual competition and a “slower” life history strategy. In three samples of female undergraduate students clear support was found for these hypotheses. In Study 1, among 120 participants, height was curvilinearly related to well-established measures of possessive and reactive jealousy, with women of medium height being less jealous than tall as well as short women. In Study 2, among 40 participants, height was curvilinearly related to intrasexual competition, with women of medium height being less competitive towards other women than tall as well as short women. In Study 3, among 299 participants, height was curvilinearly related to the Mini-K, a well-validated measure of “slower” life history strategy, with women of medium height having a slower life history strategy than tall as well as short women. The results suggest that women of medium height tend to follow a different mating strategy than either tall or short women. Various explanations and implications of these results are discussed.

Life history strategy as a longitudinal predictor of relationship satisfaction and dissolution

Life history strategy as a longitudinal predictor of relationship satisfaction and dissolution
Sally G Olderbak, Aurelio Jose Figueredo; 2010
http://www.u.arizona.edu/~ajf/pdf/Olderbak%20&%20Figueredo%202010.pdf


Abstract

The present study tested whether a couple’s shared life history strategy predicts relationship satisfaction longitudinally and relationship dissolution. Through an integration of structural equation modeling and multilevel modeling, we found that a couple’s shared life history strategy: (1) directly predicted their average relationship satisfaction, (2) indirectly predicted the linear change in their relationship satisfaction, (3) indirectly predicted the variability about their average relationship satisfaction, and (4) directly, yet weakly, predicted their likelihood of experiencing relationship dissolution over a one-year period. Couples in a relationship with a slower average life history strategy were more likely to: (1) report higher average levels of relationship satisfaction, (2) have a positive trajectory of relationship satisfaction, (3) have less variability in relationship satisfaction, and (4) were less likely to experience relationship dissolution. This suggests that the influence of life history strategy decreases over the course of the relationship.

Evolution of Monogamy, Paternal Investment, and Female Life History in Peromyscus

Evolution of Monogamy, Paternal Investment, and Female Life History in Peromyscus
Eldin Jasarevic, Drew H Bailey et al.; 2013


Abstract

The timing of reproductive development and associated trade-offs in quantity versus quality of offspring produced across the life span are well documented in a wide range of species. The relation of these aspects of maternal life history to monogamy and paternal investment in offspring is not well studied in mammals, due in part to the rarity of the latter. By using five large, captive-bred populations of Peromyscus species that range from promiscuous mating with little paternal investment (P. maniculatus bairdii) to social and genetic monogamy with substantial paternal investment (P. californicus insignis), we modeled the interaction between monogamy and female life history. Monogamy and high paternal investment were associated with smaller litter size, delayed maternal reproduction that extended over a longer reproductive life span, and larger, higher quality offspring. The results suggest monogamy and paternal investment can alter the evolution of female life-history trajectories in mammals.

‘Slow’ reproductive strategy: A negative predictor of depressive symptomatology

‘Slow’ reproductive strategy: A negative predictor of depressive symptomatology
Cezar Giosan; 2013


Abstract

The present study examined the associations between a high-K (slow) life history strategy and depressive symptomatology. The participants were a sample of 494 male utility workers who underwent psychological evaluations. It was hypothesised that high-K will correlate negatively with, and will be a negative predictor of, depressive symptomatology. The results confirmed the predictions, showing that high-K accounts for 15% of the variance in depressive symptomatology after controlling for risk factors for depression such as demographics, prior traumatic experiences, past depression, and recent negative life events. Implications of the results are discussed.

Slow and steady wins the race: Life history, mate value, and mate settling

Slow and steady wins the race: Life history, mate value, and mate settling
H M Dillon et al.; Available online 9 June 2013, Article in Press
Personality and Individual Differences;


Abstract

Life history theory explains how individuals decide to invest their limited resources, which involves several trade-offs. Particularly relevant to the current work, individuals can choose to invest in current or delayed reproduction (a slow life history strategy), which implicates a trade-off between the quantity and the quality of one’s offspring. Choosing to delay reproduction allows for increased self-investment, and previous research has demonstrated that traits requiring self-investment are related to higher mate value. As such, the current study hypothesizes that slow life history strategy will predict high personal mate value and high levels of partner mate-value within heterosexual partnerships. Similarly, those with a slow life history strategy should display fewer tendencies toward mate-settling. The current work employs both subjective and objective measures of mate value within mateships to investigate these hypothesized relationships. As hypothesized, significant positive relationships among life history and mate value were detected, suggesting that a slower life history strategy corresponds to high ratings of mate value for both self and partner. Also, life history strategy is a significant predictor of subjective, objective, and Mate Value Inventory ratings of partner and self. Further implications and potential future works are discussed.

[Dennis Mangan wrote a comment on this article:
http://mangans.blogspot.co.at/2013/06/life-history-and-mate-value.html]

Systematic cognitive biases in courtship context: women's commitment–skepticism as a life-history strategy?

Systematic cognitive biases in courtship context: women's commitment–skepticism as a life-history strategy?
Kerstin Cyrus et al.; 2011


Abstract

According to error management theory (EMT) [Haselton M.G., & Buss D.M. (2000). Error management theory: a new perspective on biases in cross-sex mind reading. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 81–91], evolved psychological mechanisms can lead to systematic cognitive errors whenever costs of false-positive and false-negative decisions have been asymmetrical over evolutionary history. In a courtship context, sex differences in reading commitment intent in a potential partner seem to be a result of these psychological mechanisms. EMT predicts a bias in women toward underperception of men's commitment intentions. Haselton and Buss found evidence for a commitment–skepticism bias in studies testing young women. These findings have not been replicated yet in the published literature. The present two studies compared postmenopausal women with fertile women in a German sample, extending EMT with a life-history perspective. According to the original commitment–skepticism hypothesis, women err on the side of underestimating prospective mates' commitment to avoid the high costs of pregnancy without support. We hypothesize that for postmenopausal women the costs of errors would be more equal or possibly reversed, such that these women face greater costs of missed opportunities with investing partners who could assist them in caring for extant offspring and grand offspring than from falsely assuming that a partner was committed. Therefore, we hypothesize that commitment–skepticism will not occur in postmenopausal women. Confirming our predictions, whereas we replicated the commitment–skepticism in the younger sample, postmenopausal women did not show a bias toward underinferring men's commitment intentions.

‘Slow’ reproductive strategy: A negative predictor of depressive symptomatology

‘Slow’ reproductive strategy: A negative predictor of depressive symptomatology
Cezar Giosan; 2013
Australian Journal of Psychology


Abstract

The present study examined the associations between a high-K (slow) life history strategy and depressive symptomatology. The participants were a sample of 494 male utility workers who underwent psychological evaluations. It was hypothesised that high-K will correlate negatively with, and will be a negative predictor of, depressive symptomatology. The results confirmed the predictions, showing that high-K accounts for 15% of the variance in depressive symptomatology after controlling for risk factors for depression such as demographics, prior traumatic experiences, past depression, and recent negative life events. Implications of the results are discussed.

Placing intelligence into an evolutionary framework or how g fits into the r–K matrix of life-history traits including longevity

Placing intelligence into an evolutionary framework or how g fits into the r–K matrix of life-history traits including longevity
J P Rushton; 2004
http://psychology.uwo.ca/faculty/rushtonpdfs/INTEL2004r-KLifeHistories.pdf


Abstract

First, I describe why intelligence (Spearman’s g) can only be fully understood through r–K theory, which places it into an evolutionary framework along with brain size, longevity, maturation speed, and several other life-history traits. The r–K formulation explains why IQ predicts longevity and also why the gap in mortality rates between rich and poor has increased with greater access to health care. Next, I illustrate the power of this approach by analyzing a large data set of life-history variables on 234 mammalian species and find that brain size correlates r=.70 with longevity (.59, after controlling for body weight and body length). A principal component analysis reveals a single r–K life-history factor with loadings such as: brain weight (.85), longevity (.91), gestation time (.86), birth weight (.62), litter size ( .54), age at first mating (.73), duration of lactation (.67), body weight (.61), and body length (.63). The factor loadings remain high when body weight and length are covaried. Finally, I demonstrate the theoretical importance of this approach in restoring the concept of bprogressQ to its proper place in evolutionary biology showing why, over the last 575 million years of evolutionary competition of finding and filling new niches, there has always been (and likely always will be) broom at the top.

The Heritability of Life History Strategy

The Heritability of Life History Strategy: The K-Factor, Covitality, and Personality

A J Figueredo et al., 2004

http://midus.wisc.edu/findings/pdfs/811.pdf

Abstract

Archival data from the MIDUS survey (Brim et al., 2000), a nationally representative sample, on 309 MZ and 333 DZ twin pairs aged 25-74 years were used to test the psychometrics and behavioral genetics of life history strategy. We organized 253 of the originally administered 2,000 questions into 30 scales measuring life history traits (e.g., quality of family relationships and altruism towards kin), medical symptoms (e.g., thyroid problems), personality traits (e.g., neuroticism, extraversion, conscientiousness), and social background (e.g., financial security). A single higher-order factor, indicating a general life history strategy, composed of three lower-order factors, was replicated. Factor analyses were then performed on the genetic variance-covariance matrices. We found that (a) a single higher-order factor explained the preponderance of the genetic correlations among the scales and (b) this higher-order factor was itself 68 percent heritable and accounted for 82 percent of the genetic variance among the three component lower-order factors.

[http://digressionality.blogspot.co.at/2013/03/the-heritability-of-life-history.html]

Shared life history strategy as a strong predictor of romantic relationship satisfaction

Shared life history strategy as a strong predictor of romantic relationship satisfaction 

S Olderbak & A J Figueredo; 2012

http://shell.newpaltz.edu/jsec/articles/volume6/issue1/Olderbak_Vol6Iss1.pdf

Abstract

We test a romantic couple’s shared Life History Strategy (LHS) as a primary predictor of romantic relationship satisfaction against competing theories. First, we demonstrated that, when compared against the couples’ shared level of supportive communication and the geographical distance separating the partners, the pure shared-partner LHS variance, rather than unique partner-specific variance, is the strongest predictor of relationship satisfaction. Then, we revised the measurement model and demonstrated that, when compared against the couple’s disassortative mating on LHS, a couple’s mean LHS was the sole predictor of relationship satisfaction, and also a strong predictor of the couple’s assortative mating on indicators of LHS. Thus, shared LHS seems to be the most critical predictor of relationship satisfaction when compared to supportive communication, geographical distance separating the partners, and the couple’s assortative mating on indicators of LHS.