Evolutionary psychology and demography

Mateo Peñaherrera-Aguirre and Michael A. Woodley of Menie

Chapter 16 in Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology, 2026, pp 272-286 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Over the past three decades, evolutionary research using cross-national and cross-regional data has highlighted how biogeographical factors shape population-level variation in biodemographic life history and cognitive ability scores. This chapter reviews recent empirical evidence, demonstrating that ecological and evolutionary pressures have a significant impact on human life history and population-level cognitive ability, extending beyond the influence of contemporary macroeconomic or sociopolitical development. It further presents findings from 23 meta-analyses and one meta-meta-analysis assessing the strength of associations between national cognitive ability (NCA) scores and diverse variables across biosocial domains, including: physical ecology, population genetics, biodemography, epidemiology, macroeconomics, sociopolitical and cultural institutions, cognitive ecology, and cross-national personality differences. The meta-meta-analysis revealed a robust and significant effect of NCA across all domains (β=0.609, p

Keywords: Social Biogeography; Population Differences; Demography; Life History; National Cognitive Ability; Meta-meta-analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035332496
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