In the present research, we examined the role of intelligence in reproductive ecology with the hypothesis that intelligence has some characteristics of a slow life-history behavioral trait. We did this by analyzing the associations between intelligence, environmental harshness in childhood (parental investment, family dysfunction and economic poverty), and three fertility-related outcomes: planned and observed age at first reproduction and expected total fertility. Data was collected on a large sample of adults ( N = 1475). Nonlinear, quadratic relations between harsh environment and intelligence were detected: the highest intellectual abilities were found in participants who lived in conditions of intermediate harshness. Furthermore, intelligence was positively associated with both planned and observed age at first reproduction and negatively with expected total fertility. Finally, the interactions between environment and intelligence in the prediction of these outcomes were found: individuals with a lower intellectual capacity who grew up in families with decreased maternal investment plan to have their first child earlier in their lifetime; on the other hand, lower intellectual capacities interacted with elevated paternal investment to predict higher expected number of children. Obtained results largely support the hypothesis of intelligence as a trait which contributes to a slow life-history dynamics. However, they imply that the relations between intelligence and childhood environment, especially family relations, may be complex. Study findings reveal the fruitfulness of an evolutionary ecological approach to intelligence in contemporary humans.

中文翻译：

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人类的认知生态学：智力在生殖生态学中的作用

在本研究中，我们以智力具有缓慢的生活史行为特征的假设为基础，研究了智力在生殖生态学中的作用。为此，我们分析了智力，童年时期的环境恶劣程度（父母投资，家庭功能障碍和经济贫困）与三个与生育率有关的结果之间的关联：生育的计划和观察年龄以及预期的总生育率。收集了大量成年人的数据（N = 1475）。检测到恶劣环境与智力之间存在非线性，二次关系：在中等中等恶劣条件下的参与者中发现了最高的智力。此外，智力与计划生育和观察到的第一次生育年龄呈正相关，与预期总生育率呈负相关。最后，在预测这些结果时发现了环境与智力之间的相互作用：智力能力较低的人在母亲投资计划减少的家庭中长大，因此他们的第一个孩子早年出生；另一方面，较低的智力水平与较高的父亲投资相互影响，以预测较高的预期儿童人数。获得的结果在很大程度上支持了智力假设这一特质，这是导致生活史动态变化缓慢的原因。但是，它们暗示智力与儿童环境之间的关系，尤其是家庭关系，可能很复杂。