Biological Evolution. Darwin says organisms evolve through natural selection, which occurs because those individuals with a wider variety of traits are more likely to survive and produce more offspring. In other words, diversity of traits is essential for survival.
Psychological Evolution. In 1974, psychologist Sandra Bem published the Bem Sex-Role Inventory. The test measured where one’s sex-role traits fall on a scale ranging from “Traditional Male” to “Traditional Female,” with “Psychological Androgyny” falling in the middle of the scale. Traditional Male sex-roles are characteristics like competitiveness, aggressiveness, assertiveness, and domineering. Traditional Female sex-roles include traits like sensitivity, emotional, caring, and passive. The post-WWII childrearing culture of the US identified good parenting as teaching boys traditional male sex-roles (“You need to be tough, kid!), and teaching girls traditional female sex-roles (“Remember, honey, you must always nurture your children and support your husband, and make sure your household is well-run.”)
Bem’s message was that forcing children into rigid sex-roles limited their diversity and their ability to cope well with everyday life. For instance, what if a situation requires caring, sympathy, and displays of emotion? Well, the traditional male is lost; he doesn’t know how to behave without sacrificing his masculinity-dependent self-esteem. Similarly, what if a situation requires assertiveness and an aggressively competitive spirit? In this case, the traditional female is lost because to act in those ways would be a threat to her femininity. Thus, Bem says, teaching children to display traditional sex-roles severely limits their ability to adapt and cope—evolve—with a variety of situations. This dilemma is where psychological androgyny comes in. The androgynous woman is caring and sensitive, but if the situation demands it, she can also be aggressive and competitive. By the same token, the androgynous man is dominant, powerful, and tough, but if the situation demands it, he can also be emotional, sympathetic, and soft. Parents should, therefore, encourage androgyny—diversity of traits—in their children in order to foster psychological evolution, and help them be more effective at coping with stress.
Social Evolution. Evolution is based on the principle of diversity of traits, which increases the odds of survival. We believe this principle applies not only to biological development of a species, but also to the psychological of individuals within a species. How about social structures that individuals form? Does the principle of diversity also apply to those groupings? Could one argue, for instance, that a human society that accepts a wide range of interests, abilities, needs, and backgrounds—compared to a society that encourages homogeneity among its members—is stronger and healthier, and more likely to adapt and successfully meet challenges? Is diversity among members of a society necessary for survival of that society?
Psychology and Stress 