Agreeableness, antagonism, and mental health across cultures

An Adaptationist Framework for Personality Science

“…In a recent longitudinal experience sampling study of daily emotional dynamics, Wendt et al (2019) found that, across three diverse samples, trait hostility (based on average experiences of anger in daily life) was the only emotional predictor of individual differences in self-assessed FFM/Big 5 Agreeableness. Finally, a recent review of evidence from emic and etic studies suggests that the associations of Agreeableness with anger-based aggression, hostility, and entitlement are cross-culturally universal (Thalmayer & Rossier, 2019).…”

“…The theory of evolution by natural selection is the organizing framework for the life sciences because of its unique value for understanding the origins and causal structure of organisms. The meta–theoretical framework known as evolutionary psychology was borne of the realization that the principles of evolutionary theories are as essential to the study of human psychology, behaviour, and culture as they are for understanding the properties of other life forms (Buss, 1984, 1995; Tooby & Cosmides, 1990a, 1992; Tooby & Devore, 1987). In what follows, we explain some key principles of evolutionary theories and illustrate how the adaptationist toolkit of evolutionary psychology can be used to discover and characterize the psychological mechanisms that together comprise the human mind and constitute the mechanistic underpinnings of personality variation.…”

“…Because this process of reverse engineering is susceptible to post hoc storytelling, Williams (1966) proposed that candidate adaptations be evaluated according to strict criteria, including whether the phenotype under investigation operates with efficiency and economy and appears organized with otherwise improbable precision to solve a specific adaptive problem—the way a key fits its lock. To conclude that a phenotype is an adaptation designed for a specific evolved function—rather than a by–product of an adaptation or noise (Tooby & Cosmides, 1990a)—it must exhibit evidence of special design . Empirically, this can be demonstrated by following a series of steps (Buss, 2019; Lewis, Al–Shawaf, Conroy–Beam, Asao, & Buss, 2017; Schmitt & Pilcher, 2004; Tooby & Cosmides, 1990a, 1992; Williams, 1966): Identify an adaptive problem recurrently faced by human ancestors (broadly defined) over sufficiently long stretches of their evolutionary past.…”

“…To conclude that a phenotype is an adaptation designed for a specific evolved function—rather than a by–product of an adaptation or noise (Tooby & Cosmides, 1990a)—it must exhibit evidence of special design . Empirically, this can be demonstrated by following a series of steps (Buss, 2019; Lewis, Al–Shawaf, Conroy–Beam, Asao, & Buss, 2017; Schmitt & Pilcher, 2004; Tooby & Cosmides, 1990a, 1992; Williams, 1966): Identify an adaptive problem recurrently faced by human ancestors (broadly defined) over sufficiently long stretches of their evolutionary past. This can be accomplished through empirically informed logical analysis or computational modelling of selection dynamics. Perform a task analysis of the adaptive problem; that is, elucidate the precise nature of the problem and the design features an adaptation would need in order to solve the adaptive problem effectively and efficiently. Now guided by working hypotheses about a hypothesized mechanism's evolved function and information–processing structure, test specific predictions derived from these hypotheses, ideally against competing hypotheses about evolved function or non–adaptive by–product hypotheses. Examine hypotheses regarding the proximate causation (e.g.…”

“…In fact, however, the outputs of a universal psychological architecture are often expected to exhibit manifest variability in relation to situational and culturally evolved variables (Barrett, 2015; Gangestad et al, 2006; Hagen & Hammerstein, 2005). Given the massive set of possible ‘on–the–ground’ contingencies involved in solving a given adaptive problem in a specific circumstance, an evolved behavioural regulation programme requires access to a decision architecture that can precisely tailor behavioural decisions to the current situational and cultural context (Buss, 1991a; Kyl–Heku & Buss, 1996; Smaldino, 2019; Sznycer & Lukaszewski, 2019; Tooby & Cosmides, 1990a).…”