|
ABSTRACT
A
greater understanding of psychopathology will be found in the
integration of genetic and evolutionary perspectives on adaptation
and function. Evolutionary theory proposes that adaptive traits
are reproduced more successfully than maladaptive ones. However,
some traits, while contributing to fitness in the ancestral environment,
may contribute to fitness no longer. This is known as mismatch
theory. Evolutionarily informed research into various “pathologies”
has yielded interesting results, some based on this theory. This
paper serves to distinguish between genetic and evolutionary perspectives
on psychopathology as well as to examine some recent research
on the selective forces that may be implicated in psychopathy,
anorexic behavior, and ADHD. We suggest that research into psychopathy
in general would benefit from an evolutionary perspective and
an examination of the assumptions behind past research.
Of
all the facts of life, the most important is evolution. If
psychology is to take its legitimate place among the family
of life sciences, it must eventually integrate its basic theories
and facts with those of evolution. If we are to understand
abnormal behavior, we must do so in the context of a psychology
so conceived and so formulated.
Rosenthal [1]
REFERENCES
1 Rosenthal
D. Genetic theory and abnormal behavior. New York: McGraw-Hill;
1970.
2 Williams
GC. Adaptation and natural selection. Princeton, NJ: Princeton
University Press. 1966.
3 Buss DM.
Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind. Needham
Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon. 1999.
4 Plomin R,
DeFries JC, McClearn GE. Behavioral genetics: a primer (2nd ed.).
New York: Freeman. 1990.
5 Alexander
RD. Darwinism and human affairs. Seattle: University of Washington
Press. 1979.
6 Wilson EO.
Sociobiology: the new synthesis. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press. 1975.
7 Schaller
G. The Serengeti lion: a study of predator-prey relations. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press. 1972.
8 Thornhill
R. Panorpa (Mecoptera: Panorpidae) scorpionflies: systems for
understanding resource-defense polygyny and alternative male reproductive
efforts. Annual Review of Ecological Systems 1981; 12:355–386.
9 Crawford
CB. The theory of evolution: of what value to psychology? Journal
of Comparative Psychology 1989; 103:4–22.
10 Tooby J,
Cosmides L. On the universality of human nature and the uniqueness
of the individual: the role of genetics and adaptation. Journal
of Personality 1990; 58:17–68.
11 Symons
D. If we’re all Darwinians, what’s the fuss about? In:
CB Crawford, M Smith, D Krebs, editors. Sociobiology and psychology:
Ideals, Issues and Applications. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. 1987.
p. 121–146.
12 Cosmides
L, Tooby J. From evolution to behavior: evolutionary psychology
as the missing link. In: J Dupre, editor. The latest on the best:
essays on evolution and optimality. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
1987. p. 277–306.
13 Ridley
M. The red queen: sex and the evolution of human nature. New York:
Penguin Books. 1993.
14 Crawford
CB, Anderson J. Sociobiology: An environmentalist discipline?
American Psychologist 1989; 44:1449–1459.
15 Falconer
D & Mackay F. Introduction to quantitative genetics. Essex:
Longman’s Group. 1966.
16 Baker RR,
Bellis MA. Human sperm competition. London: Chapman & Hall.
1995.
17 Nesse RM.
Evolutionary explanations of emotions. Human Nature 1990; 1:261–289.
18 Price J.
The adaptive function of mood change. British Journal of Medical
Psychology 1998; 71:465–477.
19 Mealey
L. The sociobiology of sociopathy: an integrated evolutionary
model. In: S Baron-Cohen, editor. The Maladapted mind: classic
readings in evolutionary psychopathology. Hove: Psychology Press.
1997. p. 133–188.
20 Lalumiere
ML, Harris GT, Rice ME. Psychopathy and developmental instability.
Evolution and Human Behavior 2001; 22:75–92.
21 Thornhill
R, Palmer CT. A natural history of rape: biological bases of sexual
coercion. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. 2000.
22 Nesse RM,
Williams GC. Evolution and healing: the new science of Darwinian
medicine. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. 1995.
23 Gilbert
P. Evolutionary psychopathology: why isn’t the mind designed
better than it is? British Journal of Medical Psychology 1998;
71:353–373.
24 Surbey
MK. Anorexia nervosa, amenorrhea, and adaptation. Ethology and
Sociobiology 1987; 8:47S–61S.
25 Rosenblum
LA, Coplan JD, Friedman S, Bassoff T, Gorman JM, Andrews MW. Adverse
early experiences affect noradrenergic and serotonergic functioning
in adult primates. Biological Psychiatry 1994; 35:221–227.
26 Belsky
J. Etiology of child maltreatment: a development analysis. Psychological
Bulletin 1993; 114:413–434.
27 Yeo RA,
Gangestad SW, Edgar C, Thoma R. The evolutionary genetic underpinnings
of schizophrenia: the developmental instability model. Schizophrenia
Research 1999; 39:197–206.
28 Gacono
C. The clinical and forensic assessment of psychopathy: a practitioner’s
guide. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. 2000.
29 Hart SD,
Hare RD. Performance of criminal psychopaths on selected neuropsychological
tests. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 1990; 99:374–379.
30 Hart SD,
Hare RD. Psychopathy and antisocial personality disorder. Current
Opinion in Psychiatry 1996; 9:129–132.
31 Lapierre
D, Braun CM, Hodgins S. Ventral frontal deficits in psychopathy:
neuropsychological test findings. Neuropsychologia 1995; 33:139–151.
32 Harpending
HC, Sobus J. Sociopathy as an adaptation. Ethology and Sociobiology
1987; 8:63s–72s.
33 Quinsey
VL, Harris GT, Rice ME, Cormier CA. Violent offenders: appraising
and managing risk. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
1998.
34 Polivy
J, Herman CP. Causes of Eating Disorders. Annu. Rev. Psychol.
2002; 53:187–213.
35 Anderson
JL, Crawford CB, Nadeau J, Lindberg T. Was the Duchess of Windsor
right? A cross-cultural review of the socioecology of ideals of
female body shape. Ethology and Sociobiology 1992; 13:197–227.
36 Wasser
SK, Barash DP. Reproductive suppression among female mammals:
implications for biomedicine and sexual selection theory. Quarterly
Review of Biology 1983; 58:513–538.
37 Salmon
C, Crawford CB, Dane L, Zuberbier O. Reproductive suppression,
body image, and dieting: the impact of female competition and
stress. In prep.
38 Jensen
PS, Hoagwood K. The book of names: DSM-IV in context. Developmental
Psychopthology 1997; 9:231–249.
39 Depue RA,
Collins PF, Luciana M. A model of neurobiology-environment interaction.
In: MF Lenzenweger, JF Haugard, editors. Frontiers of Developmental
Psychopathology. New York: Oxford University Press. 1996. p. 44–77.
|
Web of Science, Science Citation Index, (on the Internet), ISI,
PA, USA