Evolving Evolutionary Psychology Narvaez, Darcia; Moore, David S.; Witherington, David C. ...
The American psychologist,
04/2022, Letnik:
77, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Which evolutionary theory can best benefit psychological theory, research, and application? The most well-known school of evolutionary psychology has a narrow conceptual perspective (a.k.a., "Narrow ...Evolutionary Psychology" or NEP). Proponents of NEP have long argued that their brand of evolutionary psychology represents a full-fledged scientific revolution, with Buss (2020) recently likening NEP's scientific impact to that of a Copernican or Darwinian paradigm shift. However, NEP stands on two traditions that are now the subjects of serious debate and revision: the neo-Darwinian adaptationist framework within evolutionary biology, and the computationalist "mind-as-computer" framework within cognitive science. Although NEP calls itself revolutionary, the significant revolutions taking place today in both evolutionary biology and cognitive science reveal NEP to be rooted in the orthodoxies of the past. We propose a more inclusive, developmental evolutionary psychology theory (DEPTH) better suited for our field in multiple ways, from acknowledging epigenesis to incorporating developmental science. To discern appropriate baselines for human nature and for human becoming, one must integrate developmental neuroscience, anthropology, and cognitive archeology. To be of value in addressing and remedying the challenges facing humanity, psychological theories must recognize the central importance of our plasticity, evolved developmental niche, and deep history.
Public Significance Statement
Understanding humans and our behavior requires unpacking our evolutionary heritages and developmental pathways. We inherit much more than genes. Biology, environment, and culture are seamlessly intertwined, in both individual development and evolution. Every individual constructs their personhood through real-time engagement with the world, so it matters what kind of relational experiences the individual has. In contrast to the most prominent evolutionary psychology theory that emphasizes the stranglehold of humanity's evolutionary past, a developmental evolutionary psychology theory orients to dynamic development in the present, taking epigenetics and plasticity seriously. This approach is better able to guide research and practice, and free people from the disempowering belief in biological determinism.
Disciplines like evolutionary developmental psychology admirably focus on trying to rehabilitate narrow evolutionary psychology (NEP) from within, by adding a developmental focus to NEP's tenets of ...adaptationism and computationalism. We argue, however, that these tenets are fundamentally incompatible with taking psychology and its development seriously, and that the kinds of modifications introduced by evolutionary developmental psychologists do not go deep enough to qualitatively change the nondevelopmental outlook of NEP.
We agree with Arocha’s criticism of psychological science’s reliance on statistical procedures that factor out intraindividual variability and the complex dynamics inherent to behavior, as well as ...with his call for the adoption of a metatheoretical framework that embraces such variability. However, we disagree that scientific realism provides such a framework, given its reductive privileging of certain forms of explanation over others. We advocate, instead, a process-relational paradigm and the explanatory pluralism that it supports, allowing psychological science to more dynamically, and realistically, model individual human behavior.
Aging and sun exposure are the leading causes of skin cancer. It has been shown that epigenetic changes, such as DNA methylation, are well established mechanisms for cancer, and also have emerging ...roles in aging and common disease. Here, we directly ask whether DNA methylation is altered following skin aging and/or chronic sun exposure in humans.
We compare epidermis and dermis of both sun-protected and sun-exposed skin derived from younger subjects (under 35 years old) and older subjects (over 60 years old), using the Infinium HumanMethylation450 array and whole genome bisulfite sequencing. We observe large blocks of the genome that are hypomethylated in older, sun-exposed epidermal samples, with the degree of hypomethylation associated with clinical measures of photo-aging. We replicate these findings using whole genome bisulfite sequencing, comparing epidermis from an additional set of younger and older subjects. These blocks largely overlap known hypomethylated blocks in colon cancer and we observe that these same regions are similarly hypomethylated in squamous cell carcinoma samples.
These data implicate large scale epigenomic change in mediating the effects of environmental damage with photo-aging.
•Cas9-guided adaptor ligation for nanopore sequencing allows amplification free enrichment of the mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) in long read sequencing, generating full length mtDNA reads.•Long read ...mtDNA sequencing of a blood sample from a patient with an mtDNA-linked syndrome allows phasing of mutations, identifying multiple distinct mtDNA populations.•Long read mtDNA sequencing from human muscle samples can map age-induced mtDNA deletions.
The mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) is an important source of disease-causing genetic variability, but existing sequencing methods limit understanding, precluding phased measurement of mutations and clear detection of large sporadic deletions. We adapted a method for amplification-free sequence enrichment using Cas9 cleavage to obtain full length nanopore reads of mtDNA. We then utilized the long reads to phase mutations in a patient with an mtDNA-linked syndrome and demonstrated that this method can map age-induced mtDNA deletions. We believe this method will offer deeper insight into our understanding of mtDNA variation.
A series of interrelated analyses were conducted on 2 samples of college students to examine the reliability and validity of the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ) and to develop and ...validate a short version of the scale. Factor analyses were conducted and tended to approximate Cloninger's proposed model. Novelty Seeking predicted a range of substance use and abuse measures, and substance use disorders. Harm Avoidance was unrelated to substance use but predicted alcohol problems and dependence phenomena. No support was found for the quadratic and specific interaction effects proposed by
Cloninger (1987a)
.
The Short-TPQ, a 44-item scale derived through exploratory factor analysis, demonstrated levels of reliability and validity quite comparable to those of the full scale. These results provide moderate support for the reliability and validity of both the TPQ and the Short-TPQ.
The book begins by detailing the nature of race relations in the counties under study and then provides a detailed look at many of the counties' lynchings and court cases ending in executions.
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