A Psychological Model and Measurement of the Fast-Slow Life History Strategy.

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary Psychology
• Behavioral Ecology
• Human Development

Background:

• Human life history (LH) variation arises from developmental responses to early environments.
• Psychological constructs, including LH, can be measured through questionnaires linked to underlying traits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and validate the fast-slow scale (FSS), a novel questionnaire for assessing adult LH strategies.
• To examine trade-offs in energy, resources, time, and life domains (sexuality, sociality, cognitive style) related to LH strategies.

Main Methods:

• Development of the 35-item fast-slow scale (FSS).
• Two validation studies involving 1,491 community participants.
• Assessment of internal structural and external nomological validity.

Main Results:

• The FSS effectively measures fast-slow LH strategies in adults.
• Validation studies confirmed the scale's internal structure.
• External nomological validity was supported by the studies.

Conclusions:

• The fast-slow scale (FSS) is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring adult life history strategies.
• The FSS can be used to study individual differences in LH strategies and their environmental correlates.