Universal Adaptive Strategy Theory
Universal Adaptive Strategy Theory is an evolutionary theory developed by J. Philip Grime in collaboration with Simon Pierce describing the evolutionary and ecological change life history theory trade-offs that organisms face when the resources they gain from the environment are allocated to either growth, maintenance or regeneration. CSR theory is a specific application of this theory to plant communities and microorganisms.[1]
CSR selection theory was developed to model plant ecologies, but attempts have been made at using it to model life history tradeoffs among species in general under the broader UAST framework, and directly as CSR.[2] The theory separates plant species into three broad life-history strategy categories: Competitors (C): species adapted to rapid growth and monopolization of resources, Stress-Tolerators (S): plants adapted to harsh, resource limited environments, and Ruderals (R): plants adapted to invest in propagation related features (like seed production and dispersion) rather than individual plant quality.[3]
Applying CSR analogically to human life-history strategies would involve the three axes representing C as resource acquisition, reflected in somatic growth, skill acquisition, and status capture; S as somatic maintenance, general resiliency under stress; and R as rapid reproduction in unfavorable/unpredictable conditions (corresponding to ruderal growth among plants). Using this analogy, ruderal cleanly overlaps with the r/fast-life strategy, and C and S overlap with proposed aspects of the slow-life or K strategy.[4] However, the 'rapid growth' aspect of C does tie in with characteristics of a typical fast-life history strategy, such as early pubertal maturation.[5]
Thus, it seems to main difference in applying CSR to human life-history strategies would involve splitting the slow-life/K factor into two axes of somatic growth vs. maintenance. The rest of this article attempts to apply CSR-selection theory to human behavior in a highly speculative manner.
Resolving r/K selection and experimental deviations[edit | edit source]
r/K selection theory did not answer some problems regarding reproduction. Firstly, it does not deal with Behavioral sink and its differentiation between monogamy and hypergamous single motherhood, as environmental stability and parenting effort are not necessarily aligned. Secondly, proponents of r/K-selection theory would often place the sexually promiscuous with receptive homosexuals, when in fact the biomarkers for receptive homosexuals[6] are the same biomarkers for strict monogamy conformists[7], "beliefs in superstition" (which is a stand-in for religious fundamentalism)[8] and verbal IQ[9], which matches up the silhouette of K-selected social conservatives. Inversely, the biomarker that predicts masculinity also predicts greed[10], law-breaking[11], preference of feminism[12] and child sexual abuse[13], which matches up the silhouette of r-selected "upper class liberals".
Introduction to CSR-selection[edit | edit source]
One way to resolve this problem, is with the CSR-selection theory[14] (also known as Universal Adaptive Strategy Theory) by John Philip Grime, later elaborated upon by Kirk Winemiller and K.A. Rose. It is composed of three forms of mating: Ruderal (characterized by environmental scarcity with necessity towards parental security), Competitive (characterized by environmental and parental stability), and Stress-Tolerant (characterized by lack of parental effort in a safe environment). Some have since added a new form of mating called "Salmonid" (complete dissolution of environmental security and parenting effort) mirroring life history theories in fish ecology [15][16] to represent those that are diametrically opposed to Competitive strategy, whilst being between Ruderal and Stress-Tolerant strategies. Principled Components has been identified that easily divides r/K-selection and Life History theory into two axes[17][18]:
- Spread of Reproduction (Sexual Distribution) vs Distribution of Mortality Risk (Distribution of Deaths), which is analogue to Opportunistic and Periodic (Equality) vs Equilibrium and Salmonid (Inequality)
- Fertility, Life Expectancy and Generation Time (Slower Existential Life) vs Mean Sexual Reproductive Rate (Faster Sexual Mating Life), which is analogue to Periodic and Equilibrium (Cohesion) vs Salmonid and Opportunistic (Instability)
The Four Major Forms of Selectivity:
- Opportunistic: Those that believe in competitive polygamy and radical patriarchy, and has earlier sexual maturity rate. Their childhoods often has male scarcity, and are unitarily chaotic (side effect of feminism). They respond by increasing male supply to compensate (which birth order can effect sibling sex ratios, also leads to more resource redistribution), and exploring new possibilities.
- Periodic: Those that believe in gynocentric monogamy, and has high fertility. Their childhoods often has scarcity of males and resources, and the environment are often fluctuating and unpredictable (side effect of "third wave" post-modern feminism and insurrection). They respond by restoring resource abundance (resources correlates to fertility and social cohesion), and reduce the unpredictability of the environment.
- Equilibrium: Those that believe in hypergamy and "second wave" feminism, and has high survival rate. Their childhood often has resource scarcity but not necessarily male scarcity, and the environment is often seasonal and predictable (side effect of entrepreneurship). They respond by inducing male scarcity (which in some case can reduce social instability, also reflated to increasing economic freedom), and creating environment monocultures.
- Salmonid: Those that believe in "sexual uprising" and atomization, e.g. "third wave" feminism, post-modernism, and insurrectionism, and has high mortality rate. Their childhood often lacks scarcity, and the environment are often homogenous and constant (side effect of industriousness). They often manufacture resource scarcity and chaos (through social polarization) to "get even".
Application to human mating and quantification ala TFM[edit | edit source]
This theory can be applied to human mating as well, as observed by TFM His hypothesis matched Ruderal strategy with hard/traditionalist patriarchy/individualism and polygamy, Competitive strategy with soft/gynocentric/feministic patriarchy/individualism and monogamy, and Stress-Tolerant strategy with collectivist feminism, hypergamy and single motherhood. To extend this theory to Salmonid strategy, it can be associated to chaotic mating and "traditionalist collectivism".
To extend each mating strategy with quantifiable metrics
- Ruderal strategy would correlate to lower age at marriage
- Competitive strategy would correlate to high net fertility rate
- Stress-Tolerant strategy would correlate to low infant mortality
And modeling each transition (borrowed from Ages of Discord by Peter Turchin[19])
- Ruderal-to-Competitive transition (or social absolutism) can be quantified by high social cohesion and political velocity
- Competitive-to-Stress-Tolerant transition (or increase in individualism) to be quantified by high capital-income deviation or Gini/Theil index
- Salmonid transition ("leftism" and social collapse) as low income-to-GDP
A major critique of this theory is based on refuting the idea of the "cyclical theory of history", and that Peter Turchin has critiqued Strauss-Howe Generational Theory as its inability to be definitive, and instead proposed his own theory based on regulating or "negative" feedback loops. A secondary critique of this theory is that the indices listed above has no quantitative measure on whether one prefer monogamy over polygamy or hypergamy as a mating strategy. Mating effort vs parental effort is a hotly debated subject, as currently there are only "lifetime sexual partner count" and "age of first intercourse" which can be heavily misreported[20], and subjective preference indices e.g. Relationship Orientation Questionnaire (Schwarz & Hassebrauck), Sociosexual Orientation Inventory (Simpson & Gangestad), Sex Drive (Ostovich & Sabini), Social Desirability Scale (Marlowe & Crowne), and Mating Effort Scale and Parenting Effort Scale (Kruger).
Other Coincidental Relationship[edit | edit source]
Faith[edit | edit source]
Competitive strategist propensity towards cults[21] and faith[22] (contrast to the lack of it in Salmonid strategists). Within OkCupid[23], there are some strong patterns: strong homophily between non-religious, Buddhists, and Jews, but weaker for Agnostics and Jews; Muslims being generally unpreferred; Hindu males being unpreferred, but less so for Hindu females; Jewish males being universally preferred; Christian homophily, but weaker for Catholics when compared to Protestants. Catholics, Agnostics and Jews in general have faster life-history compared to Protestants, staunch atheists and Buddhists, as the former are historically more war-heavy whilst the latter is more commerce-heavy. Lack of religious fundamentalism also leads to more matches[23]. According to IFS[24], Catholics are more male-dominant than Protestants, and Jews are more male-dominant than Buddhists. Also, Muslims are male dominant, whilst Hindus are more female dominant. From this we can safely assume three factors: the more masculine a denomination is, the more heterophilic it becomes towards the faith; non-Abrahamic homophily are stronger than Abrahamic homophily; hyper-masculinized religions receive radically diverging matches base on ethnic SES differences (Jews vs Muslims), whilst hyper-feminized religions has the largest dating gaps between males and females.
Politics and Hobbies[edit | edit source]
Competitive strategist sees education and wealth as the same thing[25] (compared to Stress-Tolerant strategists who disregards education, and Salmonid strategists who sees them as polar opposites). According to OkCupid data[26], Competitive strategists are the most preferred in dating, and Stress-Tolerant strategists are the least preferred (with Salmonid being slightly better than Ruderal). There are word use differences between the US Political Axes[27]: those that are sex-heavy are mor likely to tout words related to the military and hunting (Republican), drug use and social justice (Democrat); whilst those that are love-heavy are more likely to talk about faith and family (Republican), intellectualism and relaxation (Democrat).
Defining factors of proving or disproving this theory[edit | edit source]
- Recognize that the Alpha-Beta-Omega trifecta (or ChildNeedsFather[28] Sigma-Alpha-Beta and Gamma-Delta-Omega) can be mapped to the CSR-Selection theory
- Mating strategy can be compared with Lover-Provider-Friend strategies by ThePowerMoves[29] and the three circles of PSILoveYou[30]
- Being able to pair up mating/parenting effort and preference with data on reproductive strategies and socio-political beliefs e.g. Right-Wing Authoritarianism (Altemeyer), Social Dominance Orientation (Pratto, Sidanius, Stallworth, & Malle), Identification With All Humanity Scale (McFarland, Webb & Brown), Dominance-Prestige Scales (Cheng, Tracy & Henrich), Schwartz Value Survey and Portrait Values Questionnaire (Schwartz), Unified Motive Scales (Schönbrodt), Personal Value Questionnaire (McClelland), Leadership Descriptors (Ehrhart & Klein), Values Survey Module (Hofstede)
CSR Theory and TFM Cycles[edit | edit source]
| Life History | Opportunistic/Ruderal | Periodic/Competitive | Equilibrium/Stress-Tolerant | Salmonid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Selection Pressure[14] | Predation | Weak | Scarcity | Convergent |
| Modern Stages | Traditionalist Patriarchy | Gynocentric Patriarchy | Feminism | Atomization |
| Sexual Skew | Feminine | Convergent | Masculine | Divergent |
| Governing Principle | Individualist/Subjective Traditionalism | Individualist/Subjective Feminism | Collective/Objective Feminism | Collective/Objective Traditionalism |
| Childhood Scarcity by TFM | Complete Scarcity | Resource Scarcity | Lack of Scarcity | Male Scarcity |
| Ending Cause into Adulthood | Seasonal Environment
Cultural Norms (High) |
Constant Environment
Loss of Fear (Awakening) |
Unpredictable Environment
Societal Collapse (Unraveling) |
Social Restructuring
(Crisis) |
| Adulthood Scarcity and
Female Mating Strategy |
Resource Scarcity (Male Overabundance)
Competitive Polyamory |
Lack of Scarcity (Comfort)
Monogamy |
Male Scarcity (Economic High)
Hypergamy and Single Motherhood |
Complete Scarcity (Struggle)
"Sexual Uprising" |
| Social Characteristics of Adult Females | Hyper-Feminine Artist
Spinster Nomad's Parent/Child |
Gender Neutral Prophet
Hero's Parent/Child |
Hyper-Masculine Nomad
TradWife Artist's Parent/Child |
High Variance Hero
Prophet's Parent/Child |
| Adult Mating Counter-Pattern | 80-20 Rule and mass inceldom | Dual Mating Strategy and Beta Orbiter | Oral Contraception and Sexual Role Reversal (incl. Femdom) | Female Vocel and Male Chadsexual |
| Offspring Defining Trait | Maturation Rate
e.g. Gen X Individualism |
Fertility Rate
e.g. Post-war Millenial Nutrition |
Survival Rate
e.g. Monster Parenting on Zoomers |
Mortality Rate
e.g. what caused the Baby Booms |
| Priority | Reproduction | Survival | Complacency | (NONE) |
| Lewis Model | Reactive
Asia Pacific & India |
Multiactive
Slavs, Latins & MENA |
Linear Active
WEU and Anglos |
Anti-Multiactive
High IQ "Atlantis" |
| Feminism | Metamodern 4th Wave & Anti-Feminism | Pre-Feminism 1st Wave | Modern 2nd Wave | Post-Modern 3rd Wave |
| Example Generations | Silent or Generation Z | Baby Boomers | Generation X | GI Generation or Millenials |
| Generational Binary Divide[31] | Purely Education Divide | Haves vs Have-nots | Purely Income Divide | Education v Income |
| Schwartz Model[32][33] | Conservation | Transcendence | Openness | Self-Enhancement |
| Core Schwartz | Conformity (Tradition) | Universalism | Stimulation (Hedonism) | Power |
| Peripheral Schwartz | Security | Benevolence | Self-Direction | Achievement |
| Philosophy | Horney/Fromm (Safety & Security) | Jung (Higher Meaning) | Freud/Erikson (Pleasure) | Adler (Will-to-Power) |
| Core Representation | Right Wing Authoritarianism | Light Triad and Identification With All Humanity | Dark Triad | Vulnerable Dark Triad and Social Dominance Orientation |
| Alignment | Lawful or High Binding (Anti-Villain) | Good or High Individualizing (Hero) | Chaotic or Low Binding (Anti-Hero) | Evil or Low Individualizing (Villain) |
| OkCupid Politics[26] | Authoritarian | "US Republican" | "US Democrat" | Libertarian |
| Alternative | Feminine Eros | Higher Logos | Masculine Thymos | Thanatos |
| Leadership Desire[34][35] | Relational - Manage & Move | Platonic - Praise & Raise | Charismatic - Fire Fast | Task-Oriented - Remediate & Separate |
Strauss-Howe Analogue to the CSR Theory[edit | edit source]
| Strauss-Howe Analogue | Artist | Prophet | Nomad | Hero |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reputation As Child | placid | spirited | bad | good |
| Coming of Age | unfulfilling | sanctifying | alienating | empowering |
| Primary Focus Coming of Age | inter-dependency | inner-world | self-sufficiency | outer-world |
| Young Adulthood | improving | reflecting | competing | building |
| Transition in Midlife | conformist to experimental | detached to judgmental | frenetic to exhausted | energetic to hubristic |
| Leadership Style Entering Elderhood | pluralistic, indecisive | righteous, austere | solitary, pragmatic | collegial, expansive |
| Reputation as Elder | sensitive | wise | tough | powerful |
| Treatment as Elder | liked | respected | abandoned | rewarded |
| How it is Nurtured | overprotective | relaxing | under-protective | tightening |
| How it Nurtures | under-protective | tightening | overprotective | relaxing |
| Positive Reputation | caring, open-minded, expert | principled, resolute, creative | savvy, practical, perceptive | selfless, rational, competent |
Correlation with the Racepill and Ethnic Theory of Attraction[edit | edit source]
See Ethnic Theory of Attraction, Ethnicel and Racepill for more information.
Questions for the reader[edit | edit source]
- Is this why Boomers are more likely to use inceldom and joblessness as an insult?
- Is this why r/WhereAreAllTheGoodMen[36] are filled with Generation X feminist women?
- Is this why male Millennials are becoming more Chadsexual (Zyzz idolization, "post physique")?
- Is this why Zoomers are feminized (as E-Boys and Femboys) beyond repair, and are more likely to be "Fashy"?
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41396-023-01486-x
- ↑ https://www.sciengine.com/AES/doi/10.5846/stxb202101060055
- ↑ https://auf.isa-arbor.com/content/early/2025/04/10/jauf.2025.014
- ↑ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329905263_Life_History_Theory
- ↑ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10960661/
- ↑ https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-87338-0
- ↑ https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2014.0977
- ↑ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2009.01.051
- ↑ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2005.03.016
- ↑ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886909001214
- ↑ https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00254/full
- ↑ https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01011
- ↑ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41398-018-0326-0
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-42562-7
- ↑ https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1139/f97-026?journalCode=cjfas
- ↑ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165783618303606
- ↑ https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-019-0938-7
- ↑ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S109051382030060X
- ↑ https://peterturchin.com/ages-of-discord
- ↑ https://gss.norc.org/Documents/reports/methodological-reports/MR068.pdf
- ↑ https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/6E5meTmEiEQXqKmBt/the-cult-deficit-analysis-and-speculation
- ↑ https://archive.fo/F5StT
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 https://www.gwern.net/docs/psychology/okcupid/howracesandreligionsmatchinonlinedating.html
- ↑ https://ifstudies.org/blog/sex-ratios-in-the-pews-is-there-really-a-deficit-of-men-in-american-churches
- ↑ https://wid.world/document/brahmin-left-versus-merchant-right-changing-political-cleavages-in-21-western-democracies-1948-2020-world-inequality-lab-wp-2021-15/
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 https://theblog.okcupid.com/the-democrats-are-doomed-or-how-a-big-tent-can-be-too-big-fdc9bf8be312
- ↑ https://www.globaldatinginsights.com/news/using-dating-profile-words-can-reveal-personal-politics/
- ↑ https://childneedsfather.com/alpha-beta-gamma-delta-omega-sigma-personality
- ↑ https://thepowermoves.com/lover-provider-friend-dating-strategies/
- ↑ https://psiloveyou.xyz/nice-guys-incels-a-visual-representation-7dd8d5f27d01
- ↑ https://wid.world/document/brahmin-left-versus-merchant-right-changing-political-cleavages-in-21-western-democracies-1948-2020-world-inequality-lab-wp-2021-15/
- ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18175471
- ↑ https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1030.0048
- ↑ https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10869-019-09671-6.pdf
- ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/performance-values-matrix-adrian-boothman-jp
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/WhereAreAllTheGoodMen/