Life History Theory

Psychopathy is generally considered to be a male adaptation. While studies have elucidated a relationship to freely circulating testosterone, less is known about the role of prenatal testosterone (PT) in the development of primary and secondary psychopathy and how this pertains to sex differences. In this study (N = 148), digit ratio (2D:4D) was used to investigate the relationship between prenatal testosterone and primary and secondary psychopathy. In addition, quality of recalled maternal bonding was measured to see if postnatal experience could affect the influence of PT on psychopathic behaviours. Low LH2D:4D predicted primary and secondary psychop-athy in women. In men, low maternal care predicted primary psychopathy and high maternal protection predicted secondary psychopathy. Low maternal care also predicted primary psychopathy in women. Lower levels of maternal care and higher levels of maternal control contributed to primary psychopathy above and beyond PT. Lower levels of maternal care were also an influential factor for secondary psychopathy above and beyond PT, although higher levels of mother control were not.

Life-history theory has been developed in biology to explain the variation in timing of fertility, growth, developmental rates, and death of living organisms, as well as events directly tied to these parameters. The theory is useful in explaining variations in age-specific human fertility and mortality patterns, as well as understanding how the human life course evolved to patterns so divergent from those that characterize our close primate relatives. Surprisingly, this same theory can also be used to explain why people often ignore the long-term consequences of behaviors that produce short-term gain.

Although evolutionary psychology has been successful in explaining some species-typical and sex- differentiated adaptations, a large question that has largely eluded the field is this: How can the field success- fully explain personality and individual differences? This article highlightssomepromising theoretical directions for tackling this question. These include life-history theory, costlysignalingtheory,environmentalvariabilityinfitness optima, frequency-dependent selection, mutation load, and flexibly contingent shifts in

Life history theory aims to explain the relationship between life events, recognizing that the fertility and growth schedules of organisms are dependent on environmental conditions and an organism’s ability to extract resources from its environment. Using models from life history theory, we predict life expectancy to be positively correlated with educational investments and negatively correlated with adolescent reproduction and total fertility rates. Analyses of UN data from 193 countries support these predictions and demonstrate that, although variation is evident across world regions, strong interactions exist among life expectancy, reproductive investments, and educational attainment, and these relationships occur independently of economic pressures and disease burdens. The interactions are strongest, however, in countries with a life expectancy of ≥60 years as these countries tend to have stable economies and a limited HIV/AIDS burden. These findings suggest that policies aimed at influencing education and reproductive decisions should consider environmental characteristics that drive people’s expectations about their longevity.

https://doktori.hu/index.php?menuid=193&lang=HU&vid=23181

különösen:
http://doktori.btk.elte.hu/folk/paalzsuzsanna/tezis.pdf

IN ENGLISH:
Short summary
of the PhD. thesis from Mrs. Zsuzsanna Paál:
“A rural society on its way to urbanisation?"
The thesis follows with attention the process of cultural changes in a (non-Hungarian) European
region. As a consequence of the European unification and under the pressure of the accelerating
modernisation Italian peasant families have gone through a radical change in their way of life.
This thesis reveals through case studies the life of a micro-region of northern Italy perhaps last in
the urbanisation proceses - the villages in the vicinity of Padova.
The five chapters of the thesis give the reader an insight into the rural economy and social life of
the "proper peasants" in the Padova region.
Certain social, historical statistical and demographical phenomena are also discussed from the
viewpoint of the north - south comparison (second chapter) in order to put the problems of the
Padova micro-region into broader context. The thesis follows life histories of whole families
throughout the 20th century (first chapter) by using the family history method widely accepted in
social sciences. The ethnographical collection - which serves as a basis for further examination -
consists of a series of in situ collected an later edited oral presentations of family stories (third
chapter). The interviewees speak about a sinking world in which they spent the majority of their
lives and which is on the brink of disappearence against their will. However they are able to
speak about it in a rich and undistorted way. During the reading of citations from these persons -
frequent in he thesis - one can feel their sublime spirit. The author presents in the fourth chapter
the atmosphere of the traditional kinship families and the many divergent transitional ways of life
after its decay while the subjects of household and its surroundings, foodstuff, kitchen, trousseau
and clothing are discussed in the fifth chapter.
The author wishes to express and emphasize her view - even by putting a question mark into the
title of the present thesis - that the changes are uneven: the traditional (kinship) attitude to life
and the material culture which manifests itself in economy and in everyday objects fade away at
very different speed. Although one can still find a few examples of surviving material culture and
gastronomy (like home-made cheese) the case studies point to the conclusion that changes in
attitude and mentality are much slower than those related to material culture. As a consequence
of this we are witnesses of a change which is vitually fast but in fact it is much slower than it
seems to be.
The thesis offers the possibility of comparison to other European regions in many fields of
interest. Such question for example is a private life issue which fundametally affects one`s whole
life: male peasant youngsters from well-to-do families face difficulties in finding proper partner
for marriage in the 20th century. An another issue can be the appearance of "leading a double
life" in different European regions.
In the summary of the thesis Paál tries to define the relative position of the Padova region rural
society compared to other European ones, and gives a more flexible interpretation for the terms
of "eastern" and "western" types of rural communities.

Budapest, 2003

In this paper we describe teenage pregnancy and motherhood in the United Kingdom. This has been regarded as a key social policy issue for some time and is the focus of policy intervention under the current administration. We argue that policy has been based on simple models of teenage pregnancy that have failed to take into account the complex biological nature of reproductive behavior. Our claim is that the U.K. government would be well advised to take a life-history approach to this issue, and we outline what this means and what is currently known as a consequence of research in this area, concluding with lessons that should be drawn by those working in policy.

The paper explores Mannheim’s insistence on the importance of generational analysis in sociology, then draws on empirical biographical data to argue that education, both initial and post-initial, plays a powerful role in sustaining generational differences. I conclude by asking whether, in modern societies, generation is not only a major factor in shaping life chances, but is widely viewed as a legitimate source of social and economic inequalities right across the life course.

Machiavellianism is a well-studied topic in several branches of psychology. Still, it has received little attention from a
developmental perspective. Previous retrospective studies linked Machiavellianism to poor parental care, but actual reports
of adolescents who live in their family of origin have been ignored so far. Therefore, we investigated the relationship
between Machiavellianism and parental attachment in adolescence and possible sex differences based on life history theory.
An adolescent sample (N = 376; 17.27 ± .77 years of age) completed the Mach-IV and the maternal and paternal versions of
revised Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA-R). According to our results, significant sex differences emerged in
the relationship between Machiavellianism and attachment to parents. For girls, maternal alienation proved to be the only
significant predictor of Machiavellianism, whereas for boys, low intensity and quality of verbal communication with father
predicted higher levels of Machiavellianism. Results are discussed from an evolutionary perspective of socialization and fromthe perspective of emotion regulation.

The aim of this project was to study the consequences of litter investment on physical characteristics in primiparous and multiparous sows in 3 Norwegian breeds (Norsvin Duroc [n = 12], Norsvin Landrace [n = 12], and crossbreeds [Norsvin Landrace and Swedish Yorkshire {n = 15}]). We predicted that the maternal sow line (Norsvin Landrace) would invest more in their litter in term of higher weight at birth, resulting in a higher litter weight of weaned piglets but with the consequence of greater loss in body condition and a higher prevalence of shoulder lesions. It was predicted that this should be more pronounced in primiparous sows than in multiparous sows. As predicted, the maternal pure line (Norsvin Landrace) had higher litter investment in terms of litter weight at birth (P = 0.003) and litter weight at weaning (P = 0.050) as well as higher total litter investment (litter weight at weaning plus weight of dead piglets [stillborn and mummified piglets and weight of piglets that died after farrowing but before weaning]; P = 0.050) and suffered larger losses of body condition (P = 0.016) and had a higher prevalence of shoulder lesions (P = 0.008) during lactation than other breeds. Moreover, only in Norsvin Landrace was development of shoulder lesions related to inadequate feed consumption (P = 0.006). This has
become a major welfare concern of modern pig breeding. Although primiparous and multiparous sows had similar litter sizes, primiparous sows had lower litter investment in terms of litter weight at birth (P = 0.032) and litter weight at weaning (P = 0.007) as well as total litter investment (P = 0.008). Primiparous sows suffered greater losses in body condition (P = 0.012) and developed more shoulder lesions (P = 0.026) due to lower total feed consumption (P < 0.001) during
lactation than multiparous sows. Especially in the highly productive maternal line (Norsvin Landrace), development of shoulder lesions during the lactation period was more pronounced in primiparous sows than in multiparous sows (P < 0.001). The selection program
has shifted the balance to greater investments in earlier life, when sows still need resources for their own growth and development. This has resulted in a larger number of weaned piglets but at a higher sow
welfare cost in terms of higher losses in body condition and a higher prevalence of shoulder lesions. Our results pinpoint the importance of improving the balance between economic traits and traits that improve
welfare and longevity of the sows.

Religion is positively correlated with subjective well-being across a variety of contexts, but convincing causal models are lacking. Some researchers have suggested that religion may boost self-control, and thus well-being, by requiring effortful rituals. This article proposes that costly signaling theory provides a vital explanatory tool for understanding these relationships. Signaling theories posit that religious adherents signal their commitment to religious collectives through difficult or anhedonic activities and rituals, creating a cost barrier for entry which protects religious communities against free riders. Because costly signaling behaviors require the inhibition of prepotent responses and intentional exposure to aversive stimuli, committed adherents build self-control over time. Subjective well-being is thus modeled as a longitudinal product of subjective investment in a religious social collective and the self-regulation abilities that emerge from signaling that investment. This emphasis on a feedback cycle driven by social signaling represents a novel contribution to investigations of religion and well-being. New longitudinal research in social investment theory and self-control lends the model conceptual credibility.

Adolescent sexual behaviour may show clustering in neighbourhoods, schools and friendship networks. This study aims to assess how experience with sexual intercourse clusters across the social world of adolescents and whether predictors implicated by life history theory or personality traits can account for its between-individual variation and social patterning. Using data on 2877 adolescents from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, we ran logistic multiple classification models to assess the clustering of sexual experience by approximately 17.5 years in schools, neighbourhoods and friendship networks. We examined how much clustering at particular levels could be accounted for by life history predictors and Big Five personality factors. Sexual experience exhibited substantial clustering in friendship networks, while clustering at the level of schools and neighbourhoods was minimal, suggesting a limited role for socio-ecological influences at those levels. While life history predictors did account for some variation in sexual experience, they did not explain clustering in friendship networks. Personality, especially extraversion, explained about a quarter of friends' similarity. After accounting for life history factors and personality, substantial unexplained similarity among friends remained, which may reflect a tendency to associate with similar individuals or the social transmission of behavioural norms.

Although there have been recent advances in knowledge and thinking regarding life history conceptualizations of psychopathology, there is still a missing link. That is, although life history strategies may set the stage for the development of various psychopathologies, we believe there is a missing key factor in understanding individuals' risk profiles of psychopathology. This study explored whether schemas and expectations might help differentiate between those who experience psychopathology and those who do not in a student and community sample. In the current cross-sectional study (N = 378), we examined the associations between life history indicators and experiences of anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive symptomatology, and substance use, as well as the possible mediating and moderating effects of schema and expectations on the associations, respectively. We found several significant mediational pathways with indicators of a faster life strategy predicting increased levels of dysfunctional schemas, and in turn predicting increased experiences of depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive symptomatology, but not substance use. Moreover, although expectations did not significantly moderate the mediational pathways, expectations were a significant predictor of depression and anxiety, with those who reported having their expectations rarely met reporting increased experiences of depression and anxiety. Although this research is preliminary in nature, it has provided initial insight into how our schemas and expectations might play a role, alongside life history strategies, in better understanding individuals' risk profiles for psychopathology.

Human sexuality is fascinating. Though it is such an integral part of our everyday lives, our understanding is lacking (to say the least)--especially when it comes to female sexuality. "Human" sexuality has been studied for nearly a hundred years, but the findings were usually in regard to males (as was most psychological research at the time). Because of this unbalance, this research attempts to answer questions solely surrounding female sexuality. In order to truly piece apart female sexuality, one hundred and forty five females at a small college in the Northeast were given three sexuality scales: (The Sexual Self-Efficacy Scale for Female Functioning (SSES) (Bailes et al., 1998), The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) (Rosen et al., 2000) and The Sexual Self-Schema Scale (SSSS) (Andersen & Cyranowski, 1994)). Additionally, to ascertain what variables play key roles in female sexuality, they were also given the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEI-Que) (Schutte et al., 1998), The High-K scale (Giosan, 2006), The Mating Intelligence Scale (slightly revised) (MI) (Geher & Kaufman, 2007), and The Perceived Stress Reactivity Scale (PSRS) (Schlotz, Yim, Zoccola, Jansen & Schulz, 2011). Statistical analyses show that Emotional Intelligence and Life History Strategy are strongly positively correlated with higher levels of sexuality.

The magnitude of the compensatory response inherent to fish population seems to be questioned with each new generation of scientists and regulators. The major reason for this is the demand by some that compensation be completely understood at the process level before compensation can be factored into population predictions. We first discuss several lines of evidence for the existence of compensation, and the reasons why compensation is so difficult to measure at the process level. We then offer life history theory as a general framework for improving our understanding of the likely magnitude of compensation in fish population dynamics. We use detailed, individual-based models and field data for yellow perch-walleye, striped bass, and a lake community to illustrate the complexity of compensation, and to show that predictions for a particular population require site-specific information. Analyses show that the life stage and magnitude of density-dependence can vary for different populations of the same species, and that population responses can depend on the arrangement of the food web. We must stop reinventing the density-dependence wheel; too many resources (both natural and monetary) are at stake. We suggest using three approaches for addressing the compensation issue: (1) life history theory for providing a sound basis for qualitatively understanding fish population dynamics and the magnitude of compensation; (2) age- and stage-structured matrix models for screening-level analyses to identify populations that may be at unacceptable risks of decline and therefore require additional analyses; and (3) individual-based models for better understanding the complexities of compensation at the process level and for impact assessment of at-risk, well-studied populations.