Behavioral genetic variation, adaptation and maladaptation: an evolutionary perspective

Evolutionary psychology seeks to understand the adaptive, evolved nature of humans by considering the forces of natural selection that gave rise to it. Individual humans also exhibit maladaptation, however, and some of the variation in maladaptive conditions is heritable. An evolutionary perspective can shed light on these phenomena too. Recent work suggests that developmental imprecision importantly affects the fitness of organisms and some of the genetic influences have been identified. Both theory and evidence that developmental imprecision underlies human cognitive maladaptation has begun to accumulate, although the manner in which the developing brain is affected remains largely unknown.