Human Life History Strategies

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary Psychology
• Human Behavioral Ecology
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Human life history (LH) strategies are theoretically influenced by developmental exposure to environmental cues.
• Recent models explore whether childhood factors affect adult LH via direct environmental sampling or internal somatic condition calibration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test whether external environmental harshness or internal health status primarily calibrates human life history strategies.
• To investigate the interplay between environmental exposures, health, and LH-related phenotypes.

Main Methods:

• Utilized three online surveys with over 26,000 participants.
• Assessed environmental harshness (socioeconomic status, neglect, crime), health status, and LH phenotypes (mating, anxiety, paranoia).
• Employed structural equation modeling to analyze direct and indirect effects.

Main Results:

• Harsh environments directly impacted latent LH strategy.
• Harsh environments also indirectly affected latent LH strategy through health status.
• Findings indicate a dual calibration mechanism for LH strategies.

Conclusions:

• Human life history strategies are calibrated by both external environmental cues and internal somatic condition.
• This dual calibration influences diverse psychological and behavioral outcomes.
• Suggests a complex adaptive system for human development and behavior.