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Human Biological and Psychological Diversity

DOI:10.1007/s40806-016-0081-5
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Abstract and Figures

Many evolutionary psychologists have asserted that there is a panhuman nature, a species typical psychological structure that is invariant across human populations. Although many social scientists dispute the basic assumptions of evolutionary psychology, they seem widely to agree with this hypothesis. Psychological differences among human populations (demes, ethnic groups, races) are almost always attributed to cultural and sociological forces in the relevant literatures. However, there are strong reasons to suspect that the hypothesis of a panhuman nature is incorrect. Humans migrated out of Africa at least 50,000 years ago and occupied many different ecological and climatological niches. Because of this, they evolved slightly different anatomical and physiological traits. For example, Tibetans evolved various traits that help them cope with the rigors of altitude; similarly, the Inuit evolved various traits that help them cope with the challenges of a very cold environment. It is likely that humans also evolved slightly different psychological traits as a response to different selection pressures in different environments and niches. One possible example is the high intelligence of the Ashkenazi Jewish people. Frank discussions of such differences among human groups have provoked strong ethical concerns in the past. We understand those ethical concerns and believe that it is important to address them. However, we also believe that the benefits of discussing possible human population differences outweigh the costs.
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THEORETICAL ARTICLE
Human Biological and Psychological Diversity
Bo Winegard
1
&Benjamin Winegard
2
&Brian Boutwell
3
Published online: 17 January 2017
#Springer International Publishing 2017
Abstract Many evolutionary psychologists have asserted
that there is a panhuman nature, a species typical psycholog-
ical structure that is invariant across human populations.
Although many social scientists dispute the basic assumptions
of evolutionary psychology, they seem widely to agree with
this hypothesis. Psychological differences among human pop-
ulations (demes, ethnic groups, races) are almost always at-
tributed to cultural and sociological forces in the relevant lit-
eratures. However, there are strong reasons to suspect that the
hypothesis of a panhuman nature is incorrect. Humans migrat-
ed out of Africa at least 50,000 years ago and occupied many
different ecological and climatological niches. Because of
this, they evolved slightly different anatomical and physiolog-
ical traits. For example, Tibetans evolved various traits that
help them cope with the rigors of altitude; similarly, the Inuit
evolved various traits that help them cope with the challenges
of a very cold environment. It is likely that humans also
evolved slightly different psychological traits as a response
to different selection pressures in different environments and
niches. One possible example is the high intelligence of the
Ashkenazi Jewish people. Frank discussions of such differ-
ences among human groups have provoked strong ethical
concerns in the past. We understand those ethical concerns
and believe that it is important to address them. However,
we also believe that the benefits of discussing possible human
population differences outweigh the costs.
Keywords Differences .Diversity .Evolution .Genetics .
Populations .Psychology .Race
Introduction
The Arctic is a horrifically cold, often bleak, and an almost
perpetually snow-covered region of the globe with long, dark
winters and brief summers. During those long winters, tem-
peratures often range between −40 and 0 °F. And yet, the
Arctic is not a desolate desert of snow. Roughly 400,000 na-
tive peoples inhabit the region and have been there since well
before the invention of space heaters or electric underwear.
How do these people meet the exigencies of survival in such
a cold, inhospitable environment?
The answer is a combination of cultural and biological
adaptations. The Inuit, for example, have developed a sophis-
ticated array of tools and weapons to facilitate survival in their
harsh environment (Kelly 2013). They have learned effective
ways of hunting and fishing calorie-dense animals such as
seals and whales. Cultural transmission alone, however, is
not responsible for the Inuit’sremarkablecapacitytothrive
in the Arctic. They also have various physiological (and per-
haps even psychological) adaptations that allow them to func-
tion in the cold, including fat insulation of vital organs, bodies
with a high volume to surface area ratio, and a high basal
metabolic rate which produces more body heat than other
*Bo Winegard
winegard@psy.fsu.edu; https://www.researchgate.net/profile/
Bo_Winegard
Benjamin Winegard
bwinegard@carroll.edu; http://www.carroll.edu/bwinegard/index.cc
Brian Boutwell
boutwellb@slu.edu; http://www.slu.edu/college-for-public-health-
and-social-justice/contact-us/brian-boutwell-phd
1
Psychology Department, Florida State University, 1107 West Call
Street, Tallahassee, FL 32301, USA
2
Psychology Department, Carroll College, 1601 N Benton Ave,
Helena, MT 59625, USA
3
School of Social Work, Department of Epidemiology, Saint Louis
University, One Grand Blvd, Saint Louis, MO 63103-2097, USA
Evolutionary Psychological Science (2017) 3:159–180
DOI 10.1007/s40806-016-0081-5
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