Human nature and personality variation: Reconnecting evolutionary psychology with the science of individual differences

Maestripieri, Dario; Boutwell, Brian B.

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104946

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…All modern behavioral sciences recognize that a full understanding of the human mind and human behavior requires an appreciation of characteristics that are shared by all or most human beings as well as characteristics that show high variability at the individual, group, or population level (which are in part the result of genes and in part of environment and experience, including culture) (Maestripieri & Boutwell, 2022). Subjective processes play an important role in our understanding of normative mental and behavioral functioning as well as of individual and group differences in mind and behavior.…”

Section: Science Can Explore Subjective Processes and Produce Knowled...mentioning

confidence: 99%

On the unity of knowledge: Integrating scientific and humanistic approaches in evolutionary psychology and a call for papers for a special issue on consilience.

Maestripieri,

Jurgensen

2025

Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences

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The integration of scientific and humanistic disciplines in academic research and teaching ("consilience") is grounded in the concept of the unity of knowledge. Opponents of consilience argue that there is a difference between factual or propositional knowledge (i.e., "objective" knowledge) produced by science and philosophy through theory, empirical data, or logic-based argumentation, and "understanding," defined as "knowledge in the form of realization" (or "knowing what's like to…"), produced by the humanities and the arts through the subjectivity of individual perception, or lived experience, or cultural or moral relativity. We argue that "understanding" is not a distinct type of knowledge, but simply perspective-taking. Moreover, both the sciences and the humanities can explore and explain both subjective and objective aspects of self-knowledge (i.e., of what it means to be human). Therefore, we assert that all knowledge is objective knowledge and there is no conceptually valid argument for the separation of science and humanities. Evolutionary psychology has been at the forefront of the consilience movement for 30 years. Moreover, there are many examples of "consilient" explorations of the human mind and human behavior, which blended evolutionary biology, philosophy, and literature, dating back to the publication of Darwin's The Origins of Species (1859). We believe that evolutionary psychology can continue to play a pivotal role in the implementation of the "consilience" agenda and issue a Call for Papers for a Special Issue of Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences on the topic of Consilience. Public Significance StatementIt has been claimed that the sciences produce objective, factual knowledge, whereas the humanities and the arts may lead to a different kind of subjective knowledge called "understanding." We argue that "understanding" is not a type of knowledge, but simply perspective-taking. There is only one knowledge, and both the sciences and the humanities can contribute to it. Evolutionary psychology can continue to play a pivotal role in interdisciplinary and "consilient" investigations of the human mind and human behavior.

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Section: Science Can Explore Subjective Processes and Produce Knowled...mentioning

confidence: 99%

On the unity of knowledge: Integrating scientific and humanistic approaches in evolutionary psychology and a call for papers for a special issue on consilience.

Maestripieri,

Jurgensen

2025

Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences

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“…Negative consequences of impaired self-control manifests in outcomes ranging from performance on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task to self-reported and officially recorded instances of fraudulent and violent behavior ( Bechara et al, 1999 ; Boutwell et al, 2020 ). Because of its interplay with regions involved in threat and fear assessments ( Marek et al, 2013 ), as well as those linked to memory formation ( Preston and Eichenbach, 2013 ), it seems all the more possible that impaired executive functioning is relevant for victimization risk (see Bechara et al, 1999 ; Shin et al, 2006 ).…”

Section: Brief Primers On Evolution Executive Function and Self-controlmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution, the Cognitive Sciences, and the Science of Victimization

Gajos,

Boutwell

2024

Evol Psychol

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Despite clear aversion to such labels, one of the most impactful criminological theories is rooted in cognitive science. Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory has been repeatedly tested, replicated relatively well, and has since reached beyond its original scope to explain other important outcomes like victimization. However, the work never viewed itself as part of a larger scientific landscape and resisted the incursion of neuroscience, cognitive science, and evolutionary theory from the start. This missed opportunity contributes to some of the theory's shortcomings. We begin by considering relevant literatures that were originally excluded and then conduct a new analysis examining the cognitive underpinnings of victimization in a high-risk sample of adolescents. We used the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study ( n = 3,444; 48% female; 49% Black, 25% Hispanic) which contained sound measures of self-control and intelligence, as well as four types of adolescent victimization. Self-control was robustly associated with all forms of victimization, whereas intelligence had generally no detectable effect. We discuss how these findings fit into a broader understanding about self-control and victimization.

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On the Usefulness of Behavior Genetics: Using Family Studies in Evolutionary Psychological Science to Improve Causal Inference and Sharpen Theory

Boutwell,

Maestripieri

2023

Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology

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Human nature and personality variation: Reconnecting evolutionary psychology with the science of individual differences

Cited by 4 publications

References 63 publications

On the unity of knowledge: Integrating scientific and humanistic approaches in evolutionary psychology and a call for papers for a special issue on consilience.

On the unity of knowledge: Integrating scientific and humanistic approaches in evolutionary psychology and a call for papers for a special issue on consilience.

Evolution, the Cognitive Sciences, and the Science of Victimization

On the Usefulness of Behavior Genetics: Using Family Studies in Evolutionary Psychological Science to Improve Causal Inference and Sharpen Theory

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