for instance, can all be traced in part to shared family influences
(roughly 10 to 25 percent; Lichtenstein & Pedersen, 1997; Rowe
et al., 1998); this was probably more the case in generations past.
Heritabilities of different life outcomes can be expected to range
widely at any one time, depending on which roles and activities a
culture or subculture currently coerces or allows its members to en-
tertain. Variation in life outcomes will be more heritable (more in-
fluenced by genetic proclivities) in settings where people are free to
pursue whichever jobs and life styles they prefer than in settings
where people essentially have no choice.
In short, niche development is the gene-driven but culturally
constrained development of our most global social roles, activities,
and life achievements, with occupations being perhaps most key
among them in the world today. It is the process by which we help
create and take our place in society. The next question is, How does
this process proceed, and what determines how well it turns out.
Niche Development Principles. The foregoing five-trait develop-
ment process suggests how people become unique psychological and
social beings, partly by creating and seeking culturally valued but
genetically compatible niches in society. But why are some individ-
uals more successful than others in doing so? Although we cannot
know anyone’s genotype from observing their phenotype, people
certainly do seem to differ in the degree of person-environment
fit they achieve. Is this owing to internal factors, external ones, or
both? Nature-nurture partnership theory suggests the following five
principles of niche development for explaining why some individu-
als are more likely than others to attain congruent life niches. All
the principles relate to the menus of life niches and formative expe-
riences to which individuals are exposed (or expose themselves to)
during development.
- Culture as a finite minute of possible life choices
- Life course as a gradual, uncertain journey from birth niche to
adult niche
GOTTFREDSON’S THEORY OF CIRCUMSCRIPTION, COMPROMISE, AND SELF-CREATION 123