Abstract
Evolutionary theories and principles have a great deal to offer personality psychology. In this chapter, we highlight how certain evolutionary theories-especially those related to Life History Theory-can generate novel and important insights into not only why certain personality traits exist, but how and why people score differently on certain traits and why some traits cluster together more than others do. Evolutionary theories can provide unique insights because they address deeper "why" questions that focus on the ultimate origins, purposes, and functions of a given trait or behavior. We suggest that the field of personality is well positioned to take full advantage of one of the most powerful sets of ideas in the social and life sciences-the modern evolutionary perspective.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Handbook of Interpersonal Psychology: Theory, Research, Assessment, and Therapeutic Interventions |
| Subtitle of host publication | Theory, research, assessment, and therapeutic inte |
| Editors | L. M. Horowitz, S. Strack |
| Place of Publication | New York, NY |
| Publisher | Wiley |
| Pages | 75-89 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780470471609 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2011 |
Keywords
- Evolution
- Life History Theory
- Natural selection
- Personality