In evolutionary biology, “Mismatch Theory,” or sometimes “Evolutionary Mismatch,” refers to a misalignment of traits and environments that’s the result of a previous alignment of the same.
It makes sense if you think in terms of things (people, plants, cultures, etc) adapting for a given norm over time, and then when that norm changes, some of those things will retain optimizations for the outgoing paradigm for a long while, before eventually changing or dying off (which creates a new paradigm, and the cycle continues). Until they change, though, many of their previously beneficial traits may be maladaptive because of that paradigm shift.
Totally. Another thought I had stems from Morgan Housel's 'The Psychology of Money' which I read recently. Essentially, we see the same maladaptations in our thinking. If money was tight growing up, many people cling to a scarcity mindset which could be seen through hoarding things "just in case", or being reluctant to spend money on even the most reasonable expenses, not because they're saving money, but because they feel so guilty for spending.
Similarly, I think our brain and body takes a long time to recover from stressful or traumatic expereinces because we've grow used to living in a state of heightened awareness to protect ourselves from threats, that even after the threat passes, we're still in fight/flight/freeze mode.
I think your examples from nature make it clear that it takes time to recognise and get out of a maladaptive state, but it can be done. People. cultures, and plants etc. are constantly in a state of change and growth.
Exactly! Difficult to see the change happening in those interstitial periods sometimes, but it does tend to happen with time, if we make the effort to move forward.
Fascinating thought that maladaptation is more likely to occur in periods of transition. I'll need to ponder this more...
It makes sense if you think in terms of things (people, plants, cultures, etc) adapting for a given norm over time, and then when that norm changes, some of those things will retain optimizations for the outgoing paradigm for a long while, before eventually changing or dying off (which creates a new paradigm, and the cycle continues). Until they change, though, many of their previously beneficial traits may be maladaptive because of that paradigm shift.
Totally. Another thought I had stems from Morgan Housel's 'The Psychology of Money' which I read recently. Essentially, we see the same maladaptations in our thinking. If money was tight growing up, many people cling to a scarcity mindset which could be seen through hoarding things "just in case", or being reluctant to spend money on even the most reasonable expenses, not because they're saving money, but because they feel so guilty for spending.
Similarly, I think our brain and body takes a long time to recover from stressful or traumatic expereinces because we've grow used to living in a state of heightened awareness to protect ourselves from threats, that even after the threat passes, we're still in fight/flight/freeze mode.
I think your examples from nature make it clear that it takes time to recognise and get out of a maladaptive state, but it can be done. People. cultures, and plants etc. are constantly in a state of change and growth.
Exactly! Difficult to see the change happening in those interstitial periods sometimes, but it does tend to happen with time, if we make the effort to move forward.