《生命历史理论与进化心理学》.pdfVIP

Life History Theory and Evolutionary Psychology Hillard S. Kaplan1 Steven W. Gangestad2 1Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico 2 Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico Running Head: LIFE HISTORY AND EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY September 9, 2004 DRAFT : Do not cite without authors’ permission. Life History and Evolutionary Psychology 2 Life History Theory and Evolutionary Psychology The evolution of life is the result of a process in which variant forms compete to harvest energy from the environment and convert it into replicates of those forms. Individuals “capture” energy from the environment (through foraging, hunting, or cultivating) and “allocate” it to reproduction and survival-enhancing activities. Selection favors individuals who efficiently capture energy and effectively allocate it to enhance fitness within their ecological niche. Energy does not come for free. Were individuals able to expend unlimited energy at no cost, in principle they could evolve to grow and develop so rapidly they could begin reproducing immediately after birth, massively produce offspring, and preserve themselves such that they never age. In biological reality, however, individuals must live within finite energy “budgets” (themselves earned through energy and time expenditures), never spending more than they have available. Allocation of a finite budget entails trade-offs and hence forces decisions about the relative value of possible ways to spend. Acquiring one expensive item means giving up others; consumption today may entails less tomorrow. In the face of trade-offs, how should a budget be spent? People managing their personal expenses presumably spend it based on what they value (even if sometimes only fleetingly and later regrettably). Moreover, their decisions are often based on in