Social and Personality Development An Evolutionary Synthesis

Perspectives in Developmental Psychology

Series Editor: Michael Lewis Rutgers Medical School University oj Medicine and Dentistry oj New Jersey New Brunswick, New Jersey

ASSESSMENT OF YOUNG DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED CHILDREN Edited by Theodore D. Wachs and Robert Sheehan

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENTAL AND CHILD PSYCHOTHERAPY Edited by Stephen R. Shirk

THE DIFFERENT FACES OF MOTHERHOOD Edited by Beverly Birns and Dale Hay

FATHERING BEHAVIORS The Dynamics of the Man-Child Bond Wade C. Mackey

PSYCHOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENT AND HISTORY Edited by Klaus F. Riegel

SOCIAL AND PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT An Evolutionary Synthesis Kevin B. MacDonald

Social and Personality Development An Evolutionary Synthesis

Kevin B. MacDonald California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, California

Plenum Press • New York and London

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

MacDonald, Kevin B. Social and personality development: an evolutionary synthesis / Kevin B.

MacDonald. p. cm. - (Perspectives in developmental psychology)

Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4757-0294-1 ISBN 978-1-4757-0292-7 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-4757-0292-7

I. Socialization. 2. Social psychology. 3. Personality in children. 4. Parent and child. I. Title. 11. Series. HM13I.M23 1988

© 1988 Plenum Press, New York Softcover reprint ofthe hardcover I st edition 1988 A Division of Plenum Publishing Corporation 233 Spring Street, New York, N.Y. 10013

All rights reserved

88-25364 CIP

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher

To my mother

Preface

This volume is an attempt to integrate the theory and data of social and personality development within a modem evolutionary framework. The various chapters are not meant to be read in isolation from one another but rather are intended to form an integrated whole. There is thus a great deal of cross-referencing between chapters and to some extent they all stand or fall together. This also suggests that the accuracy (or usefulness) of a particular chapter cannot be judged until the book is comprehended as a whole.

Chapter 1 deals with the theoretical foundations of this enterprise, and the focus is on the compatibility of mainstream approaches within the field to a modem evolutionary approach. Chapters 2-4 concern what I view to be the fundamental proximal mechanisms underlying social and personality development. Chapter 2, on temperament and person­ality development, is particularly central to the rest of the volume because these processes are repeatedly invoked as explanatory concepts at later points in the volume.

If the theory of temperament is one central pillar of the volume, Chapter 5, on family processes, is the other. The perspective developed there on the evolution of the family is central to much of the discussion in Chapter 6 on aggression and sex differences as well as the discussion of the development of altruism in Chapter 8. Chapter 5 is the first chapter to emphasize modem evolutionary theory and the remaining chapters continue and expand this perspective in several of the central areas of social development, including moral reasoning (Chapter 7) and the wider context of human development (Chapter 9).

This work culminates a long process of attempting to develop a unified account of social and personality development based on evolutionary theory. It draws on a wide range of theory and data, and I have benefited from the help of a great many individuals in trying to put it together. None of this would have been possible without the help of Ross Parke. The time I spent at the University of Illinois on a postdoctoral fellowship and the discussions we had exposed me to a great many ideas that have found their way into this book.

Since coming to California State University-Long Beach, I have also benefited greatly from conversations with Robert Thayer on the subject of personality, and his work is a major part of the theory developed in the Appendix to Chapter 2. The other major influence in the areas of temperament and personality development has been Mary K. Rothbart. The more I thought about these issues and my own data, the more I realized that

vii

viii PREFACE

she had developed a theory which was powerful enough to incorporate the central data on personality development and was yet simple enough to incorporate into an adaptationist account of personality. Her critical comments on Chapter 2 and several other chapters are greatly appreciated. I would also like to thank Virginia Douglas for her critical reading of Chapter 2 and for her encouragement in the area of the linkages between the theory of temperament and conceptualizing clinical diagnoses.

One of the main purposes behind the book is to integrate modem evolutionary theory with the data and theory of developmental psychology. In this endeavor I have benefited greatly from the help and encouragement of William Charlesworth, a true pioneer in the area of applying models and ideas deriving from evolutionary biology to the area of child development. His work is responsible for the prominence in this volume of thinking in terms of resources as being fundamental to an evolutionary approach. This aspect of the book has also benefited from the work of sociobiologically oriented researchers on child development, including Jerome Barkow, Robert Burgess, James Chisholm, Patricia Drap­er, Henry Harpending, Dennis Krebs, Jeffrey Kurland, Charles Lumsden, Nancy Segal, Martin Smith, and Glenn Weisfeld. I have tried to feature their work and integrate it with the other areas of social and personality development. Another source of help in this area has been Michael McGuire whose critical readings of earlier versions of several of the chapters were very helpful. I would also like to thank Richard Lerner, who has given me the opportunity to develop several of the ideas presented here and whose work in the area of plasticity and early experience parallels my own work.

Finally, thanks of another kind must be given to my wife Susan who has patiently put up with several relocations and the need to adjust her own academic career to mine. Her encouragement has been indispensable. My children, Joshua and Geoffrey, also deserve a great deal of credit, since they have served as unwitting case studies in my ongoing attempt to understand temperament and personality. It has been said that every parent with more than one child believes in the importance of temperament, and I am no exception.

KEVIN B. MACDONALD

Long Beach, California

Contents

Chapter 1. Theoretical Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

I. Introduction ....... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 II. Philosophical Issues and World Views ........................... 2

A. Rationalist Philosophers of Science: Kuhn, Lakatos, and Lauden ... 2 B. Three Research Traditions in Developmental Psychology ......... 4 C. An Alternate Perspective: Philosophical Realism ................ 5

III. General Theoretical Issues ..................................... 7 A. The Nature-Nurture Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 B. Continuity ............................................... 14 C. Plasticity, Sensitive Periods, and the Intensity

of Environmental Stimulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 IV. Evolutionary Theory and the Theoretical Traditions of Social

Development ................................................ 20 A. Ethological Theory ........................................ 20 B. Contemporary Evolutionary Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 C. Evolutionary Biology and Social Learning Theory .... . . . . . . . . . . . 29 D. Evolutionary Biology and Cognitive-Developmental Theory ....... 30

V. Theoretical Fragmentation or Integration? ......................... 32

Chapter 2. Temperament and Personality Development ........ 41

I. Theories of Temperament ........... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 A. The New York Longitudinal Study (NYLS) .................... 41 B. The Theory of Rothbart and Derryberry ....................... 43 C. The Theory of Buss and Plomin ............................. 44 D. The Theory of Goldsmith and Campos ........................ 45 E. Integration of Theories ..................................... 45

II. Self-Regulation as Sensitivity to Rewards, with an Emphasis on the Positive Social Reward System: Evidence for a Third Personality Dimension ............................... 49

IX

x CONTENTS

III. Biological and Environmental Influences on Temperament ........... 56 A. Behavioral Genetic Research ................................ 56 B. Proximal Biological Correlates of Emotionality and

Sensation Seeking ......................................... 58 C. Cross-Cultural Research and the Effects of Powerful Early

Environments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 D. Temperament and Adaptation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

IV. The Stability of Temperament .................................. 62 V. Appendix ................................................... 63

A. A More Detailed Theory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 B. Arousal and Reward ....................................... 67 C. Implications for Learning Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 D. Predictions Resulting from the Theory ........................ 69 E. Conclusion............................................... 72

Chapter 3. The Development of the Emotions ................ 77

I. Theories of Emotional Development ............................. 77 A. The Theory of Carrol Izard ................................. 77 B. The Theory of L. Alan Sroufe ............................... 79 C. The Theory of Campos and Barrett ........................... 81 D. The Theory of Jerome Kagan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 E. The Theory of Lewis and His Colleagues ...................... 83 F. Summary of Theoretical Positions ............................ 85

II. Parent-Child Interaction as an Example of Emotional Processes in Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 A. The Emotional Content of Parent-Child Interaction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 B. A Theory of Affect Regulation in the Context

of Parent-Child Interaction ................................. 91 C. The Socialization of Emotions in Parent-Child Physical Play. . . . . . 101

III. The Development of the Emotions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 A. Emotions in Infancy ....................................... 109 B. Emotions in Childhood and Adolescence: The Importance of

Cognitions and Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Chapter 4. Social and Biological Events in Infancy and Their Relevance for Later Behavior. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

I. Attachment in Evolutionary Perspective .......................... 117 A. The Ethological Theory of Attachment ........................ 117 B. Attachment as an Environment-Expectant Genetic System versus

Attachment as a Trait ...................................... 123 C. Issues in the Predictive Validity of Attachment ................. 126 D. Attachment as a Developmental Task ......................... 130

II. Aberrations in Attachment and Later Behavior. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 A. Animal Studies ........................................... 132 B. Human Studies of Orphanage Rearing and Adoption. . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 C. Conclusion............................................... 135

CONTENTS xi

Chapter 5. Parent-Child Relationships and the Transmission of Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

I. Global Parenting Styles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 A. Dimensions of Parenting and Their Correlates .................. 140 B. Bidirectional Processes and Nonshared Environmental Effects ..... 141

II. The Family and the Socialization of Children in Evolutionary and Historical Perspective ......................................... 142 A. Centripetal Tendencies within Families and the Context of

Development. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 B. Familial Affective Relationships in Cross-Cultural Context. . . . . . . . 145 C. Familial Affective Relations in Evolutionary Perspective. . . . . . . . . . 151 D. Implications for Developmental Mechanisms ................... 152 E. The Family and Adaptation in Contemporary Society ............ 153

III. Centrifugal Tendencies within Families and Their Effects on Children. . 156 A. Adaptation in Contemporary Societies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 B. Divorce in a Sociobiological Context ......................... 157

IV. Affective Relationships within the Family and the Transmission of Culture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

V. General Effects of Decrements in Parental Investment and an Evolutionary Analysis of Parental Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 A. Effects of Decreases in Parental Investment .................... 164 B. Parental Control as an Aspect of Parental Investment ............ 166

VI. Appendix ................................................... 169 A. Social Structure and Child Rearing among the Gusii in Evolutionary

Perspective. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 B. Social Structure and Child Rearing among the !Kung in Evolutionary

Perspective. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Chapter 6. Topics in the Development of Aggression, Peer Relations, and Sex Differences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

I. Issues in the Development of Aggression ......................... 183 A. An Evolutionary Perspective on the Development of Aggression ... 183 B. Environment-Expectant Affective Systems and the Development

of Aggression ............................................ 186 C. Temperament and Aggression............................... 195 D. Conclusion............................................... 197

II. Issues in the Development of Peer Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 A. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 B. Friendship as Reciprocity ................................... 199 C. How Young Children Get What They Want .................... 201 D. Affective Reciprocity in Friendship. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 E. The Similarity of Friends in Evolutionary Perspective ............ 204 F. Social Status Differences among Peers ........................ 205

III. Sex Differences in Development ................................ 211 A. Evolutionary Theory and Sex Differences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

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B. Predictions from Evolutionary Theory and Their Rationale ........ 214 C. Proximal Mechanisms in the Development of Sex Differences ..... 229

Chapter 7. Moral and Altruistic Development I: The Roles of Cognition and Context ......................... 237

I. The Cognitive-Developmental Approach to Moral Reasoning ......... 237 A. Piaget on Moral Development ............................... 237 B. Kohlberg on Moral Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239 C. A Sociobiological Perspective ............................... 240

II. Rest's Component Model of Moral Behavior ...................... 244 III. A Review of the Literature on Moral Reasoning from the Perspective of

Sociobiological Theory ........................................ 245 A. The Importance of Cost-Benefit Analysis in Moral Reasoning. . .. . 246 B. Moral Reasoning as Justification of Self-Interest ................ 248 C. The Link between Moral Reasoning and Moral Behavior ......... 251 D. Cross-Cultural Data: The Primacy of Self-Interest, Reciprocity, and

Social Relationships ....................................... 253 IV. Research on Norms Related to Altruism and Morality ............... 255 V. Reasoning about Altruistic Events ............................... 259

VI. Summary and Conclusion ...................................... 261

Chapter 8. Moral and Altruistic Development II: The Importance of Socialization and Affect ...................... 263

I. Descriptive Studies of Emotions and Their Role in Motivating Altruism ........................................ 264

II. Three Sociobiological Hypotheses ............................... 266 A. Sociobiological Hypothesis 1 ................................ 266 B. Sociobiological Hypothesis 2 ................................ 270 C. Sociobiological Hypothesis 3 ................................ 274

III. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281 A. Integration of the Socialization-Affective and the Cognitive-

Developmental Approaches to Morality and Prosocial Behavior .... 281 B. An Evolutionary Analysis of Guilt and Moral Rectitude .......... 283 C. The Proximal Mechanisms Underlying Self-Interest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

Chapter 9. Development in a Wider Context: Evolutionary Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 289

I. Evolution and Ideology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290 A. More on Economic Production and Social Controls as Contextual

Variables ................................................ 290 B. Production, Social Controls, and Ideology ..................... 291 C. Resource Availability as a Contextual Variable: Theory .......... 293 D. Evolutionary Models of Cultural Variation ..................... 294

CONTENTS Xlll

II. Socialization beyond the Family and Peer Systems ................. 296 A. The Case of the Soviet Union ............................... 296 B. The Case of Nazi Germany ................................. 298 C. The Case of Ancient Sparta ................................. 301 D. Contextual Influences on Development in a Contemporary Liberal

Democracy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304 III. Resource Availability as a Contextual Variable: Empirical Data ....... 307 IV. Conclusion and Integration ..................................... 310

References ............................................. 313

Index ................................................. 341

Social and Personality Development