title: Life history theory and human reproductive behavior : Environmental/contextual influences and heritable variation.
abstract: The purpose of this article is to develop a model of life history theory that incorporates environmental influences, contextual influences, and heritable variation. I argue that physically or psychologically stressful environments delay maturation and the onset of reproductive competence. The social context is also important, and here I concentrate on the opportunity for upward social mobility as a contextual influence that results in delaying reproduction and lowering fertility in the interest of increasing investment in children. I also review evidence that variation in life history strategies is influenced by genetic variation as well. Finally, I show that cultural shifts in the social control of sexual behavior have had differential effects on individuals predisposed to high- versus low-investment reproductive strategies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, California State University-Long Beach, 90840-0901, Long Beach, CA. kmacd@csulb.edu.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: MacDonald
keywords: Human development; Intelligence; Life history theory; Reproductive strategies