adaptation

psychology

Also known as: adaptability

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Last updated

July 23, 2026

Quick Summary

In psychology, adaptation refers to the process by which individuals adjust to new conditions or maintain equilibrium between their needs and their environment. This process begins with a need or motive and ends when that need is satisfied, often involving exploration and problem-solving.1

Evolutionary psychology views behaviors, thoughts, and feelings through the lens of evolutionary biology, suggesting that current human traits are predispositions that aided ancestors in survival and reproduction. This field, with roots in Charles Darwin's work, explores how inherited mechanisms help individuals succeed in environments similar to those encountered by their ancestors.2

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human intelligence
…psychologists have generally agreed that adaptation to the environment is the key to understanding both what intelligence is and what it does. Such adaptation may occur in a variety of settings: a student in school learns the material he needs to know in order to do well in a course;…
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…psychologists have generally agreed that adaptation to the environment is the key to understanding both what intelligence is and what it does. Such adaptation may occur in a variety of settings: a student in school learns the material he needs to know in order to do well in a course;…
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memory
The significance of forgetting
Although the adaptive value of forgetting may not be obvious, dramatic instances of sudden forgetting (as in amnesia) can be seen to be adaptive. In this sense, the ability to forget can be interpreted as having been naturally selected in animals. Indeed, when one’s memory of an…
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Although the adaptive value of forgetting may not be obvious, dramatic instances of sudden forgetting (as in amnesia) can be seen to be adaptive. In this sense, the ability to forget can be interpreted as having been naturally selected in animals. Indeed, when one’s memory of an…
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international relations
Structures, institutions, and levels of analysis
…apparent, however, only because such adaptation can be viewed as reinforcing the neorealist thesis that institutions reflect the existing international structure: when that structure changes, they must change accordingly if they are to survive. Thus, NATO was able to survive because it underwent a transformation. At the same time, NATO’s…
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…apparent, however, only because such adaptation can be viewed as reinforcing the neorealist thesis that institutions reflect the existing international structure: when that structure changes, they must change accordingly if they are to survive. Thus, NATO was able to survive because it underwent a transformation. At the same time, NATO’s…
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John Henry Holland
…emergence and individual and organizational adaptation. For example, beginning about 1977, Holland developed an artificial market based on a few simple rules and with competing “agents.” In addition to developing a system of payments and rewards for his agents, he “bred” them by creating the first genetic algorithms—essentially enabling his…
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…emergence and individual and organizational adaptation. For example, beginning about 1977, Holland developed an artificial market based on a few simple rules and with competing “agents.” In addition to developing a system of payments and rewards for his agents, he “bred” them by creating the first genetic algorithms—essentially enabling his…
Read More