Understanding Risk-Taking Behavior: Insights from Evolutionary Psychology
Title
Understanding Risk-Taking Behavior: Insights from Evolutionary Psychology
Author
Machluf, Karin
Bjorklund, David F.
Research Area
Psychopathology
Topic
Risk‐Taking Behavior
Abstract
Evolutionary developmental psychology posits that natural selection has operated across the lifespan, but especially in childhood, shaping psychological mechanisms that foster survival during the early years of life and also preparing children for life as adults. The tenets of evolutionary developmental psychology are briefly reviewed, along with a summary of life‐history theory. Differential susceptibility theory and biological sensitivity to context theory are also outlined and applied to mental health. Adolescent risk‐taking behavior is then examined from an evolutionary developmental perspective, assessing the independent contributions of environmental harshness and unpredictability in early childhood to later psychological functioning.