Why do we expect to see behavioral flexibility within a species as genetically homogenous as ours?

Posted: August 5th, 2013

Behavioral Flexibility in Human Beings

Behavioral flexibility is a response of species to a changing environment by adaptation to it. This paper will explain what brings about the behavioral flexibility of man. The reason as to why animals and human beings have behavioral flexibility can be explained through the evolutionary theory. This theory stipulates that evolution occurs through natural selection. Evolution means change in the inherited characteristics across generations. In natural selection, nature, that is, the ecosystem of a species, determines the survival of the species and its traits. For example, different skin colors in human beings are means of adapting to sunlight at various latitudes.

Change occurs either naturally or due to human activities that alter the environment. For example, human body proportion is patterned according to different geographical areas. This explains the existence of racial diversities. To explain behavioral flexibility, Life-history theory, a branch of evolutionary theory will be used.

Behavioral flexibility is brought about by individual response in trying to survive different ecological conditions. People will respond differently depending on the different conditions they are exposed to. An individual living in an area with abundant resources for survival would behave differently as compared to an individual living in an area with minimal resources for survival. These different conditions bring about different behavioral patterns of species.