An evolutionary model of low mood states

Nettle, Daniel

doi:10.1016/j.jtbi.2008.10.033

Cited by 47 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 29 publications

(47 reference statements)

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“…Depression may help individuals pause and reduce wasteful or risky behaviour during adverse situations or periods of poor condition. This has been suggested generally (Nesse, 1990;Nettle and Bateson, 2012;Nettle, 2009), and for instance, to minimize losses when goals are unobtainable (e.g., "learned helplessness"; (Klinger, 1975;Seligman, 1975Seligman, , 1972Wrosch et al, 2003) or when an individual is socially defeated (Sloman et al, 2003). Some have highlighted that such altered decision making may be especially important for the navigation of complex social dilemmas that carry the risk of straining relationships and losing social partners (Allen and Badcock, 2003;Watson and Andrews, 2002).…”

Section: Functioning Adaptations Are An Alternative Pathway To Major mentioning

confidence: 99%

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An adaptationist perspective on the etiology of depression

Durisko

Mulsant

Andrews

2015

Journal of Affective Disorders

113

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Section: Functioning Adaptations Are An Alternative Pathway To Major mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Depressed mood, indecisiveness, anhedonia, withdrawal Allen and Badcock, 2003;Nettle and Bateson, 2012;Nettle, 2009;Sloman et al, 2003;Watson and Andrews, 2002 Minimize losses (giving up)…”

Section: Bias Cognitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An adaptationist perspective on the etiology of depression

Durisko

Mulsant

Andrews

2015

Journal of Affective Disorders

113

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Importantly, this includes opportunities that could dramatically increase reproductive fitness, such as opportunistic short-term mating (Schmitt, 2004). Although high openness is associated with greater creativity, it is also associated with social withdrawal, delusional thoughts, and risk for schizophrenia and related disorders (McCreery & Claridge, 2002;Nettle, 2009). In short, the pursuit of any given personality strategy is associated with both potential benefits and potential costs (Buss, 1990;DeKay & Buss, 1992).…”

Section: The Benefits and Costs Of Personality Traitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolved individual differences: Advancing a condition-dependent model of personality

Lewis

2015

Personality and Individual Differences

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a b s t r a c tThe field of personality psychology offers a wealth of robust empirical research and a successful descriptive taxonomy, but neither explains the origins of the structure of human personality nor elaborates a generative framework for predicting the specific conditions that evoke the development of distinct personality traits. Exploration of traditional personality constructs within an evolutionary adaptive individual differences framework may help fill this explanatory gap. Personality traits exhibit functional features and patterns of variation expected from psychological adaptations designed to solve survival-and reproduction-related challenges recurrently faced during our species' evolutionary history. Conditiondependent evolutionary models of personality have been proposed for decades, but only recently have begun to see empirical investigation. These models posit that species-typical psychological mechanisms take as input cues from the individual's phenotype that would have been ancestrally linked to differential cost-benefit tradeoffs of alternative personality strategies, and produce as output personality trait levels with the greatest probabilistic net benefit for the individual. This paper elaborates a more nuanced conceptual framework that builds on earlier conceptualizations of condition-dependent traits to yield new and untested hypotheses about personality trait variation and covariation. It then describes clear future research directions for empirically investigating these readily testable hypotheses.

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“…A mathematical model of MDD inspired by this logic predicts risk aversion for people close to, but above, a critical threshold, and risk-seeking for those below it, a refinement that may illuminate manic states, which can be triggered by adversity. 61 Although Allen and Badcock 57 make a strong case that low mood is a response to social adversity and heightens social vigilance, the case is weaker for a reduction in social risk, per se. Indeed, there is overwhelming evidence that depressed people work less and parent less, [62][63][64][65][66][67] which would seem to reduce the mean payoffs of these critical social relationships (μ) rather than reducing their variation (σ); this fact may require incorporating a trade-off between risk and return 68,69 into the theory.…”

Section: Allen and Badcockmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolutionary Theories of Depression: A Critical Review

Hagen

2011

Can J Psychiatry

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We critically review evolutionary theories of major depressive disorder (MDD). Because most instances of MDD appear to be caused by adversity, evolutionary theories of MDD generally propose that sadness and low mood evolved as beneficial responses to adversity, and that MDD is dysfunctional sadness and low mood. If so, MDD research should focus much more heavily on understanding the healthy functions of sadness and low mood to better understand how they dysfunction. A debate about the boundary between healthy sadness and MDD is then reviewed. In part, this debate turns on whether MDD's costliest symptoms could provide unknown benefits. Therefore, the review concludes by discussing 2 theories that explore possible benefits of prolonged anhedonia and suicidality.Can J Psychiatry. 2011;56(12):716-726. Clinical Implications• The clinical implications depend on which, if any, of these evolutionary theories of MDD is correct. In general, if MDD is dysfunctional sadness or low mood, then the primary goal of psycho-or chemotherapy would be to restore healthy sadness and low mood, and not simply to reduce MDD symptoms. Conversely, if MDD is functional, then therapy would aim to solve the social problem that triggered the MDD.• In particular, if MDD is an involuntary subordinate strategy, then therapy should involve encouraging patients to let go of important but seemingly unobtainable life goals that involve conflicts with higher-status people. However, if the analytical rumination hypothesis is correct, then therapy should instead focus on identifying and solving the complex life problem that triggered the MDD. In some patients, and contrary to the involuntary subordinate strategy hypothesis, this may involve redoubling efforts to achieve a seemingly unobtainable life goal.• Finally, all psychosocial theories of MDD imply that it may be possible to prevent MDD by identifying and avoiding social risk factors. For instance, the credible signalling hypothesis highlights the potent MDD risk posed by the confluence of social conflict, powerlessness, and adversity, each of which, in principle, could be reduced with appropriate interventions. Limitation• The primary limitation of all evolutionary theories of MDD is that, although each is a reasonably parsimonious account of known facts about MDD, few of their novel predictions have been explored. In other words, these theories are largely untested.

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An evolutionary model of low mood states

Cited by 47 publications

References 29 publications

An adaptationist perspective on the etiology of depression

An adaptationist perspective on the etiology of depression

Evolved individual differences: Advancing a condition-dependent model of personality

Evolutionary Theories of Depression: A Critical Review

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