Developmental instability (DI) is an individual's inability to produce a specific developmental outcome under a given set of conditions, generally thought to result from random perturbations experienced during development. Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) — asymmetry on bilateral features that, on average, are symmetrical (or asymmetry deviating from that arising from design) — has been used to measure DI. Dating to half a century ago, and accelerating in the past three decades, psychological researchers have examined associations between FA (typically measured on bodily or facial features) and a host of outcomes of interest, including psychological disorders, cognitive ability, attractiveness, and sexual behavior. A decade ago, a meta-analysis on findings from nearly 100 studies extracted several conclusions. On average, small but statistically reliable associations between FA and traits of interest exist. Though modest, these associations are expected to greatly underestimate the strength of associations with underlying DI. Despite the massive sample size across studies, we still lack a good handle on which traits are most strongly affected by DI. A major methodological implication of the meta-analysis is that most studies have been, individually, woefully underpowered to detect associations. Though offering some intriguing findings, much research is the past decade too has been underpowered; hence, the newer literature is also likely noisy. Several large-scale studies are exceptions. Future progress depends on additional large-scale studies and researchers’ sensitivity to power issues. As well, theoretical assumptions and conceptualizations of DI and FA driving psychological research may need revision to explain empirical patterns.
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September 2022
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The cover of this issue of Emerging Topics in Life Sciences (volume 6, issue 3) features an image from the article by Jiang and Moubayidin, featuring examples of flower morphologies displaying different types of symmetry: (top left) bilateral symmetry in Pinguicula moranensis; (bottom left) biradial symmetry in Aubrieta deltoidei; (top right) 3-fold radial symmetry in Lilium auratum; (bottom right) 5-fold radial symmetry in Nemophila Discoidalis.
Review Article|
August 22 2022
Developmental instability, fluctuating asymmetry, and human psychological science
Steven W. Gangestad
Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87111, U.S.A.
Correspondence: Steven W. Gangestad (sgangest@unm.edu)
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
March 11 2022
Revision Received:
June 22 2022
Accepted:
July 25 2022
Online ISSN: 2397-8562
Print ISSN: 2397-8554
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society and the Royal Society of Biology
2022
Emerg Top Life Sci (2022) 6 (3): 311–322.
Article history
Received:
March 11 2022
Revision Received:
June 22 2022
Accepted:
July 25 2022
Citation
Steven W. Gangestad; Developmental instability, fluctuating asymmetry, and human psychological science. Emerg Top Life Sci 9 September 2022; 6 (3): 311–322. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/ETLS20220025
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