Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
2-2018
Abstract
Human psychological mechanisms are adaptations that evolved to process environmental inputs, turning them into behavioral outputs that, on average, increase survival or reproductive prospects. Modern contexts, however, differ vastly from the environments that existed as human psychological mechanisms evolved. Many inputs now differ in quantity and intensity or no longer have the same fitness associations, thereby leading many mechanisms to produce maladaptive output. We present the precepts of this evolutionary mismatch process, highlight areas of mismatch, and consider implications for psychological science and policy.
Keywords
mismatch, adaptive lag, supernormal stimuli, evolutionary psychology
Discipline
Psychology | Theory and Philosophy
Research Areas
Psychology
Publication
Current Directions in Psychological Science
Volume
27
Issue
1
First Page
38
Last Page
44
ISSN
0963-7214
Identifier
10.1177/0963721417731378
Publisher
Association for Psychological Science
Citation
LI, Norman P., VAN VUGT, Mark, & COLARELLI, Stephen M..(2018). The evolutionary mismatch hypothesis: Implications for psychological science. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 27(1), 38-44.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/2418
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721417731378