Citation
King, P. E., Barrett, J. L., Greenway, T. S., Schnitker, S. A., & Furrow, J. L. (2018). Mind the gap: Evolutionary psychological perspectives on human thriving. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 13(4), 336-345.
Abstract
The amount of psychological literature focusing on human thriving and flourishing has grown in recent years, but this topic is currently subject to much conceptual ambiguity. Evolutionary psychology, though often not included in discussions on optimal human development, provides a framework that benefits considerations of human thriving. Humans exhibit a high degree of niche construction by which they alter their environment, in turn affecting their offspring. Such niche construction is enabled by unique human capacities, but these same capacities are then required to ‘mind the gap’ between human nature and the altered environmental niche. As such, thriving may in part be understood as the ability of the individual to navigate difficulties resulting from a mismatch between their nature and niche. Three unique features of the human species that are used to both create and navigate this gap are considered as they relate to the existing literature on human thriving.
Copyright
Year: 2024
Holder: Informa UK Limited
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2017.1291855
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