The Evolutionary Mismatch Hypothesis: Implications for Psychological Science
Li. N. P., Van Vugt, M., & Colarelli., S. M. (2017). The evolutionary mismatch hypothesis: Implications for psychological science. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 1-7. DOI: 10.1177/0963721417731378
Abstract
Human psychological mechanisms are adaptations that evolved to process environmental inputs, turning them into behavioral outputs that, on average, increase survival or reproductive prospects. Modern contexts, however, differ vastly from the environments that existed as human psychological mechanisms evolved. Many inputs now differ in quantity and intensity or no longer have the same fitness associations, thereby leading many mechanisms to produce maladaptive output. We present the precepts of this evolutionary mismatch process, highlight areas of mismatch, and consider implications for psychological science and policy.
Keywords: mismatch, adaptive lag, supernormal stimuli, evolutionary psychology
https://doi.org/10.1177/096372141773137
https://doi.org/10.1177/096372141773137
https://doi.org/10.1177/096372141773137