Biases in niche construction

Abstract

Niche construction theory highlights the active role of organisms in modifying their environment. A subset of these modifications is the developmental niche, which concerns ecological, epistemic, social and symbolic legacies inherited by organisms as resources that scaffold their developmental processes. Since in this theory development is a situated process that takes place in a culturally structured environment, we may reasonably ask if implicit cultural biases may, in some cases, be responsible for maladaptive developmental niches. In this paper we wish to argue for an affirmative answer. In order to do so, we first propose to conceptualize implicit bias as embodied perceptual habits, and then proceed to show that these habits are at least partially responsible for maladaptive developmental niches of children with Down syndrome and autism. With this framework we thus hope to bring together two fields of research that haven't been explicitly connected: implicit bias and niche construction theory. Linking these two theories may bring benefits both to implicit bias researchers, who can extend this concept to characterize other sets of processes as biased, as well as to niche construction theorists, who will have a useful theoretical tool to diagnose maladaptive features of niches brought about by sociocultural biases.

Cognitive biases as an adaptive strategy in autism and schizophrenia spectrum: the compensation perspective on neurodiversity

“…In essence, neurodiversity advocates for reshaping these niches by challenging these stereotypes. It fosters environments that acknowledge and leverage the distinct cognitive strengths of neurodivergent individuals, thereby leading to a more inclusive and adaptive societal framework (14). By harnessing datasets from cognitome to phenome, the Nomothetic Network Psychiatry (NNP) approach, akin to evolutionary computational psychiatry, aspires to revolutionize psychiatric diagnosis and treatment, bridging existing fragmentation with a unified, data-driven lens that challenges conventional diagnostic criteria and potentially resolving its ongoing crisis (15)(16)(17).…”