The Dissenter

#1110 Willem Frankenhuis: Human Development in Harsh and Unpredictable Environments

Jun 13, 2025
Guest
Willem Frankenhuis
Willem Frankenhuis, an Associate Professor of Evolutionary Psychobiology, dives into how harsh environments shape human development. He challenges the idea that adversity only impairs growth, revealing how stress can foster resilience and unique cognitive skills. Frankenhuis discusses impulsivity as an adaptive response in uncertain situations and introduces the concept of the 'desperation threshold' to explain behavior in deprived communities. He emphasizes the beauty of phenotypic plasticity, urging a nuanced perspective on overcoming adversity.
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INSIGHT

Defining Harsh and Unpredictable Environments

  • Harshness in environments is often measured by age-specific morbidity and mortality rates, though proxies like violence exposure are used in research.
  • Unpredictability refers to random variation in these rates over time or space, crucial for understanding human development contexts.
INSIGHT

Understanding Expected Childhood

  • Expected childhoods vary and impact developmental mechanisms evolved in humans for environmental adaptation.
  • Interdisciplinary data from anthropology, primatology, and history is essential to understand typical childhood experiences across evolution.
INSIGHT

Adversity: Impairment or Adaptation?

  • Childhood adversity is often seen as impairing cognition, but it can also lead to adaptive strategies in harsh environments.
  • It's vital to distinguish between impairments and developmental adaptations when studying impacts of adversity.
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