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An evolutionary model of human development based on reproduction goals is neither evolutionary nor developmental

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2026

Paul Siegel Open the ORCID record for Paul Siegel [Opens in a new window]
Paul Siegel*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Purchase College/SUNY, Purchase NY, USA paul.siegel@purchase.edu https://www.purchase.edu/live/profiles/671-paul-siegel
*
*Corresponding author.
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Abstract

The Affordance Management Framework reduces the complexity of development to strategies for accomplishing reproduction-related goals. Even for an evolutionary model, this is rather odd. At every life stage, the proximal rather than distal function of goal-related behaviors is to accomplish gene transportation, without a mediating psychological rationale. I illustrate these problems with recent research findings on the developmental struggles of emerging adults.

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Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 49 , 2026 , e80
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press

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