Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Life History Strategies

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science

Synonyms

Fast and slow strategies; Life history tradeoffs; R and K strategies

Definition

Life history theory posits organisms face tradeoffs in how they allocate resources to reproduction, parenting, and growth. These patterns of resource allocation can be classified more broadly into life history strategies, which vary on a continuum from fast to slow. These distinctions can be applied to describe within species and between species differences. Slow strategies are marked by increased investment in growth, a delay in reproductive investment, and increased investment in parenting. In contrast, fast strategies are marked by early investment in reproduction at a cost of growth and a reduced investment in parenting in favor of further reproduction.

Introduction

Life History Strategies

Life history theory (LHT) is grounded in a simple premise – resources are limited and thus organisms face tradeoffs in how they “decide” to allocate those resources to growth, health maintenance, and various...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Barber, N. (1998). The role of reproductive strategies in academic attainment. Sex Roles, 38(3–4), 313–323. doi:10.1023/A:1018745419124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belsky, J. (2012). The development of human reproductive strategies progress and prospects. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 21(5), 310–316. doi:10.1177/0963721412453588.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belsky, J., Schlomer, G. L., & Ellis, B. J. (2012). Beyond cumulative risk: Distinguishing harshness and unpredictability as determinants of parenting and early life history strategy. Developmental Psychology, 48(3), 662–673. doi:10.1037/a0024454.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Boyce, W. T., Chesney, M., Alkon, A., Tschann, J. M., Adams, S., Chesterman, B., & Wara, D. (1995). Psychobiologic reactivity to stress and childhood respiratory illnesses: Results of two prospective studies. Psychosomatic Medicine, 57(5), 411–422. doi:10.1097/00006842-199509000-00001

    Google Scholar 

  • Brumbach, B. H., Figueredo, A. J., & Ellis, B. J. (2009). Effects of harsh and unpredictable environments in adolescence on development of life history strategies. Human Nature, 20(1), 25–51. doi:10.1007/s12110-009-9059-3.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Chisholm, J. S., Quinlivan, J. A., Petersen, R. W., & Coall, D. A. (2005). Early stress predicts age at menarche and first birth, adult attachment, and expected lifespan. Human Nature, 16(3), 233–265. doi:10.1007/s12110-005-1009-0.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Del Giudice, M., & Ellis, B. J. (2014). Evolutionary foundations of developmental psychopathology. Developmental Psychopathology, 1. doi:10.1002/9781119125556.devpsy201.

    Google Scholar 

  • Del Giudice, M., Ellis, B. J., & Shirtcliff, E. A. (2011). The adaptive calibration model of stress responsivity. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 35(7), 1562–1592. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2010.11.007.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Del Giudice, M., Gangestad, S. W., & Kaplan, H. S. (2015). Life history theory and evolutionary psychology. In D. M. Buss (Ed.), The handbook of evolutionary psychology (2nd ed., pp. 88–114). Hoboken: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeYoung, C. G. (2011). Intelligence and personality. In R. J. Sternberg & S. B. Kaufman (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of intelligence (pp. 711–737). New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, B. J., Figueredo, A. J., Brumbach, B. H., & Schlomer, G. L. (2009). Fundamental dimensions of environmental risk. Human Nature, 20(2), 204–268. doi:10.1007/s12110-009-9063-7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, B. J., Shirtcliff, E. A., Boyce, W. T., Deardorff, J., & Essex, M. J. (2011). Quality of early family relationships and the timing and tempo of puberty: Effects depend on biological sensitivity to context. Development and Psychopathology, 23(01), 85–99. doi:10.1017/S0954579410000660.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Figueredo, A. J., Vásquez, G., Brumbach, B. H., & Schneider, S. M. (2004). The heritability of life history strategy: The k-factor, covitality, and personality. Social Biology, 51(3–4), 121–143.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Finch, C. E., & Crimmins, E. M. (2004). Inflammatory exposure and historical changes in human life-spans. Science, 305(5691), 1736–1739. doi:10.1126/science.1092556.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Griskevicius, V., Delton, A. W., Robertson, T. E., & Tybur, J. M. (2011a). Environmental contingency in life history strategies: The influence of mortality and socioeconomic status on reproductive timing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100(2), 241. doi:10.1037/a0021082.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Griskevicius, V., Tybur, J. M., Delton, A. W., & Robertson, T. E. (2011b). The influence of mortality and socioeconomic status on risk and delayed rewards: A life history theory approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100(6), 1015. doi:10.1037/a0022403.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Griskevicius, V., Ackerman, J. M., Cantú, S. M., Delton, A. W., Robertson, T. E., Simpson, J. A., Thompson, M. E., & Tybur, J. M. (2013). When the economy falters, do people spend or save? Responses to resource scarcity depend on childhood environment. Psychological Science, 24, 197–205. doi:10.1177/0956797612451471

    Google Scholar 

  • Gurven, M., & Kaplan, H. (2007). Longevity among hunter-gatherers: a cross-cultural examination. Population and Development Review, 33(2), 321–365. doi:10.1111/j.1728-4457.2007.00171.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jonason, P. K., Webster, G. D., Schmitt, D. P., Li, N. P., & Crysel, L. (2012). The antihero in popular culture: Life history theory and the dark triad personality traits. Review of General Psychology, 16(2), 192–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karaolis-Danckert, N., Buyken, A. E., Sonntag, A., & Kroke, A. (2009). Birth and early life influences on the timing of puberty onset: Results from the DONALD (DOrtmund Nutritional and Anthropometric Longitudinally Designed) Study. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 90(6), 1559–1565. doi:10.3945/ajcn.2009.28259.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kuzawa, C. W., & Bragg, J. M. (2012). Plasticity in human life history strategy. Current Anthropology, 53(S6), S369–S382. doi:10.1086/667410.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mata, R., Josef, A. K., & Hertwig, R. (2016). Propensity for risk taking across the life span and around the globe. Psychological Science, 27(2), 231–243. doi:10.1177/0956797615617811.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moffitt, T. E., Caspi, A., Belsky, J., & Silva, P. A. (1992). Childhood experience and the onset of menarche: A test of a sociobiological model. Child Development, 63(1), 47–58. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.1992.tb03594.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nettle, D., Coall, D. A., & Dickins, T. E. (2011). Early-life conditions and age at first pregnancy in British women. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences, 278(1712), 1721–1727. doi:10.1098/rspb.2010.1726.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Proos, L. A., Hofvander, Y., & Tuvemo, T. (1991). Menarcheal age and growth pattern of Indian girls adopted in Sweden: I. Menarcheal age. Acta Paediatrica, 80(8–9), 852–858. doi:10.1111/j.1651-2227.1991.tb11960.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simpson, J. A., Griskevicius, V., Kuo, S. I., Sung, S., & Collins, W. A. (2012). Evolution, stress, and sensitive periods: The influence of unpredictability in early versus late childhood on sex and risky behavior. Developmental Psychology, 48(3), 674–686. doi:10.1037/a0027293.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sung, S., Simpson, J. A., Griskevicius, V., Kuo, S. I., Schlomer, G. L., & Belsky, J. (2016). Secure infant-mother attachment buffers the effect of early-life stress on age of menarche. Psychological Science, 27(5), 667–674. doi:10.1177/0956797616631958.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Szepsenwol, O., Simpson, J. A., Griskevicius, V., & Raby, K. L. (2015). The effect of unpredictable early childhood environments on parenting in adulthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 109(6), 1045–1067. doi:10.1037/pspi0000032.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Trivers, R. L. (1972). Parental investment and sexual selection. In B. G. Campbell (Ed.), Sexual selection and the descent of man: 1871–1971 (pp. 136–179). Chicago: Aldine.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, A. E., Li, Y. J., Griskevicius, V., Neuberg, S. L., & Kenrick, D. T. (2013). Putting all your eggs in one basket life-history strategies, bet hedging, and diversification. Psychological Science, 24(5), 715–722. doi:10.1177/0956797612461919.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Iris M. Wang, Nicholas M. Michalak & Joshua M. Ackerman

Authors
  1. Iris M. Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Nicholas M. Michalak
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Joshua M. Ackerman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Iris M. Wang , Nicholas M. Michalak or Joshua M. Ackerman .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland Univ Dept of Psycholgy, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana Weekes-Shackelford

  2. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  3. Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Psychological Sciences, Kansas State University, 492 Bluemont Hall, Manhattan, KS, USA

    Gary L Brase

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing AG

About this entry

Cite this entry

Wang, I.M., Michalak, N.M., Ackerman, J.M. (2016). Life History Strategies. In: Weekes-Shackelford, V., Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1926-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1926-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation