Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 Nov 6;115(45):11420-11427. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1720433115.
The present lack of sample diversity and ecological theory in psychological science fundamentally limits generalizability and obstructs scientific progress. A focus on the role of socioecology in shaping the evolution of morphology, physiology, and behavior has not yet been widely applied toward psychology. To date, evolutionary approaches to psychology have focused more on finding universals than explaining variability. However, contrasts between small-scale, kin-based rural subsistence societies and large-scale urban, market-based populations, have not been well appreciated. Nor has the variability within high-income countries, or the socioeconomic and cultural transformations affecting even the most remote tribal populations today. Elucidating the causes and effects of such broad changes on psychology and behavior is a fundamental concern of the social sciences; expanding study participants beyond students and other convenience samples is necessary to improve understanding of flexible psychological reaction norms among and within populations. Here I highlight two examples demonstrating how socioecological variability can help explain psychological trait expression: () the role of environmental harshness and unpredictability on shaping time preference and related traits, such as impulsivity, vigilance, and self-efficacy; and () the effects of industrialization, market integration, and niche complexity on personality structure. These cases illustrate how appropriate theory can be a powerful tool to help determine choices of diverse study populations and improve the social sciences.
目前，心理学在样本多样性和生态理论方面的欠缺，从根本上限制了其普遍性，并阻碍了科学的进步。尽管社会生态学在塑造形态、生理和行为的进化方面的作用尚未广泛应用于心理学领域，但我们还没有充分认识到这一点。迄今为止，心理学的进化方法更多地关注于寻找普遍性，而不是解释可变性。然而，小规模、以亲属为基础的农村生存社会与大规模、以市场为基础的城市人口之间的差异尚未得到很好的理解。高收入国家内部的可变性，或者影响到当今最偏远部落人口的社会经济和文化转型，也没有得到充分认识。阐明这种广泛变化对心理学和行为的原因和影响，是社会科学的一个基本关注点；将研究参与者从学生和其他方便的样本扩展到其他人群，对于提高对人群内部和之间灵活的心理反应规范的理解是必要的。在这里，我强调了两个例子，它们展示了社会生态的可变性如何有助于解释心理特征的表达：（）环境的严酷性和不可预测性在塑造时间偏好和相关特征（如冲动性、警惕性和自我效能感）方面的作用；（）工业化、市场一体化和生态位复杂性对人格结构的影响。这些案例说明了适当的理论如何成为帮助确定不同研究人群选择的有力工具，并改善社会科学。
