Individual development in a bio-cultural perspective.

TLDR

Biological and cultural inheritance shape daily human behavior, yet individuals actively select a limited set of activities, values, and interests through psychological selection linked to the quality of subjective experience. Cross‑cultural studies show that optimal experience (flow) drives the selective transmission of bio‑cultural information and shapes bio‑cultural evolution.

Abstract

Biological and cultural inheritance deeply influence daily human behavior. However, individuals actively interact with bio-cultural information. Throughout their lives, they preferentially cultivate a limited subset of activities, values, and personal interests. This process, defined as psychological selection, is strictly related to the quality of subjective experience. Specifically, cross-cultural studies have highlighted the central role played by optimal experience or flow, the most positive and complex daily experience reported by the participants. It is characterized by high involvement, deep concentration, intrinsic motivation, and the perception of high challenges matched by adequate personal skills. The associated activities represent the basic units of psychological selection. Flow can therefore influence the selective transmission of bio-cultural information and the process of bio-cultural evolution.