The evolutionary psychology theory has come in for criticism from many directions. It contains widely divergent theories and a broad range of treatment recommendations based upon them. Some experts have asked why natural selection seems unable to eliminate predispositions to mental disorders, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
Matthew C. Keller, a postdoctoral fellow at the Virginia Commonwealth University, looked for a plausible answer. He explored three potential ideas about such predispositions: that they were not harmful for our ancestors; that they sometimes may have boosted survival; and that they are inevitable given the complexity of genes influencing our behavior.
Only the third explanation “seems consistent with the data on mental disorders,” Keller said, pointing to the relatively small prevalence of serious mental disorders, the “costs” they carry for survival, and the fact they can be triggered by events such as brain damage.
Another major area of disagreement in evolutionary psychology is the ‘nature/nurture’ question. Can many cases of depression, anxiety, and addiction be explained solely by a patient’s present social environment?
Daniel Nettle Ph.D of the University of Newcastle, UK believes so. He highlights the importance of the modern environment, offering situations in which we pay the psychological price for behaving in line with our underlying nature, adapted to a very different world.
He gives the example of channeling previously beneficial risk-taking behavior into modern-day gambling, and the negative financial and emotional consequences this can bring.
For therapists who see a value in evolutionary psychology, many avenues of treatment can be explored. Evolution-based therapies to date include a focus on how our current lifestyle differs from that of our ancestors, and tackles inactivity, social isolation, sleep deprivation, overwork, and bad diet. To remedy this, we need more aerobic exercise, nutritious food, natural light, social interaction, and sleep — with which psychologists of all persuasions would agree.
Other treatment tackles the consequences of previous trauma and stressful circumstances. Avoiding self-criticism and learning compassion and the evolutionary basis of negative mood are central to this approach. One such practitioner, Shani Robins of the Institute for Wisdom Therapy in San Diego, says that understanding the evolutionary origin of problems can help patients put them in perspective.
“Anger, for instance, serves the adaptive functions of focusing our attention on interpersonal antagonisms, social conflict, cheating and injustice,” he writes. “Fear, anxiety and stress, on the other hand, focus our attention towards risks and the necessity of precaution.”
Looked at from this standpoint, the patient judges him- or herself less harshly and symptoms often reduce.
References
Los Angeles Times, Feb. 12, 2007
Hagen E.H., Watson P.J., and Thomson J.A. Love’s labour’s lost: Depression as an evolutionary adaptation to obtain help from those with whom one is in conflict. As yet unpublished.
Current research of Randolph Nesse
Keller M. C. and Miller G. Resolving the paradox of common, harmful, heritable mental disorders: Which evolutionary genetic models work best? Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Vol. 29, August 2006, pp. 385-404.
Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 27 Feb 2007
