Evolutionary Psychiatry / Clinical Evolutionary Psychology
As noted in the table below, adaptationist hypotheses regarding the etiology of psychological disorders are often based on analogies with evolutionary perspectives on medicine and physiological dysfunctions (see in particular, Randy Nesse and George C. Williams' book Why We Get Sick). Evolutionary psychiatrists and psychologists suggest that some mental disorders likely have multiple causes.
| Possible Causes of Psychological 'Abnormalities' from an Adaptationist Perspective Summary based on information in Buss (2011), Gaulin & McBurney (2004), Workman & Reader (2004) |
||
|---|---|---|
| Possible cause | Physiological Dysfunction | Psychological Dysfunction |
| Functioning adaptation (adaptive defense) | Fever / Vomiting
(functional responses to infection or ingestion of toxins) |
Mild depression or anxiety
(functional responses to mild loss or stress) |
| By-product of an adaptation(s) | Intestinal gas
(byproduct of digestion of fiber) |
Sexual fetishes (?)
(possible byproduct of normal sexual arousal adaptations that have 'imprinted' on unusual objects or situations) |
| Adaptations with multiple effects | Gene for malaria resistance, in homozygous form, causes sickle cell anemia | Adaptation(s) for high levels of creativity may also predispose schizophrenia or bi-polar disorder
(adaptations with both positive and negative effects, perhaps dependent on alternate developmental trajectories) |
| Malfunctioning adaptation | Allergies
(over-reactive immunological responses) |
Autism
(possible malfunctioning of theory of mind module) |
| Frequency-dependent morphs | The two sexes / Different blood and immune system types | Personality traits and personality disorders
(may represent alternative behavioral strategies dependent on the frequency of the strategy in the population) |
| Mismatch between ancestral & current environments | Modern diet-related Type 2 Diabetes | More frequent modern interaction with strangers (compared to family and close friends) may predispose greater incidence of depression & anxiety |
| Tails of normal (bell shaped) curve | Very short or tall height | Tails of the distribution of personality traits (e.g., extremely introverted or extroverted) |
See several topic areas, and the associated references, below.
- Agoraphobia
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Drug abuse
- Schizophrenia
- Unhappiness
Read more about this topic: Evolutionary Medicine
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