Error management theory

Error Management (EM) is an extensive theory of perception and cognitive biases that was created by David Buss and Martie Haselton. The cognitive biases refer to biases and heuristics that have survived evolutionary history because they at the least held slight reproductive benefits. The premise of the theory is built around the drive to reduce or manage costly reproductive errors. According to the theory, when there are differences in the cost of errors made under conditions of uncertainty, selection favors "adaptive biases"; these adaptive biases ensure that the less costly survival or reproductive error will be committed. The theory itself is still in its early stages of development, although similar ideas have been touched on since the beginning of evolutionary psychology. The authors are currently "testing and refining" the theory.