Personality Theories, Evolutionary

Personality Variation

Most evolutionary personality psychologists have concluded that individual differences in personality traits are adaptive in nature and therefore the result of natural and sexual selection. Differences in personality traits allow people within human social groups to differ in the effectiveness with which they can play different roles within human societies. Personality differences are of utmost importance because humans must detect and react to the personality traits of others to successfully navigate the social landscapes in which humans reside. The individual differences seen in personality are the result of adaptation to different niches available within human social groups. This reduces competition among group members. Although some members who are similar in personality may compete for certain roles within a society, their degree of specialization means that they will not be required to compete against all group members.

For example, in our modern society, certain people who possess higher levels of intelligence, conscientiousness, and motivation (e.g., willingness to spend many years studying) may be good candidates for careers as neurosurgeons. Other individuals who possess higher levels of impulsive sensation-seeking and lower levels of neuroticism (and are thus less prone to fearfulness) might be better suited than others to become deep-sea welders. While both occupations could be considered highly stressful and highly specialized, they require different types of personality characteristics. Furthermore, even within fairly narrowly defined types of careers, different individuals will gravitate toward distinct roles and physical locations within those careers. Some people will strive to become brain surgeons in extremely prestigious hospitals, whereas others will be satisfied to hold less prestigious positions in order to be able to pursue other interests, such as spending time with family and friends. The same could be said for deep-sea welders. Although all deep-sea welders might be viewed as more risk taking than the average person in any population, some will naturally gravitate toward more dangerous jobs than others. Those more reckless and impulsive individuals might also engage in such dangerous practices as smoking cigarettes within oxygen-filled decompression chambers upon resurfacing. These are modern-day examples from Western industrial society, used here for purposes of illustration, but different roles that best suit different types of individuals can be found in any human society.

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