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Evolutionary Perspective Of Psychology Essay

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The evolutionary perspective of psychology focuses on how natural selection has given rise to traits that promote the survival of genes. The tendency of depressive symptoms is not always maladaptive; natural selection has proven it to be adaptive in certain environments. The functional purpose of depression is the ability to withdrawal from unfavourable situations as a defense strategy. Evolution has favoured certain depressive symptoms for just that purpose: being anxious and uneasy encourages skepticism and attentiveness towards potential threats or threatening situations, mental and physical fatigue motivates conserving energy and motivation when the continued attempts are not likely to be successful, and the obsessive replaying of negative events, called rumination, can play a crucial role in understanding the causes and consequences of situations and how to avoid repeating the same mistakes. These depressive symptoms to unfavourable situations have become adaptive and encouraged our ancestors to survive.

Given the negative stigma associated with depression, it is difficult to see how sadness and low mood serve an evolutionary purpose. Evolutionary psychologists have proposed multiple theories to the adaptive evolution of depression. The social …show more content…

Psychoactive drugs deplete the brains natural supply of endorphins and dopamine as well as inhibit the reuptake of serotonin. When the brain is overwhelmed with artificial neurotransmitters is stops producing its own supply and the continued blocking of serotonin damages serotonin producing neurons. When the psychoactive drugs leave the body, there is an undersupply of the neurotransmitters that regulate our mood, leaving the mind in a depressed state as it undergoes withdrawal. The brain is a complex working of chemicals that influence our mood as a result to environmental and artificial

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A fallacy used in this paper is slippery slope; it is present when Hara says, “they become cautious, quiet and introverted. They shrink from social encounters, lack confidence, are easily influenced by others and sitting ducks for bullies. And are on the path to depression. This implies that from all these situations that depression will

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However, Hari makes its clear that depression is not caused by the how the brain functions, in contrast it’s being caused by past experiences. Therefore, with many years of research, experiments, and supporting evidence this statement is being proved accurate rather than the doctor’s solution to this condition. Dr. Robert Anda, one of Dr. Felitti’s colleagues told the author, “it’s time to stop asking what’s wrong with people and time to start asking what happened to them” (Hari, 2018). If people weren’t dismissive of depression, would the history have been played out in a different way? For instance, the aggressive behaviours of Barbarians were labelled as a cultural norm; would that have been a collectively unconscious response to the social dismissal of underlying mental illnesses?

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The last theory of depression is the monoamine-deficiency theory. It simply believes that depressive symptoms are caused by depletion of neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, norepinephrine, or dopamine, in the brain (Hasler, 2010). Monoaminergic systems participate in the organization of extensive cognitive functions, such as reward processing, attention, mood, sleep, and appetite (Hasler,

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H1: Females will report more negative inferential styles and rumination than males and the strength of the interaction between the weakest link, negative events, and change in depressive symptoms over time will be stronger in females than in males. Statistical test: Statistical analyses: Time two depression scores were regressed on time one depression scores, biological sex, weakest link, cognitive style, and life events and all two-, three-, and four-way interactions involving sex, weakest link, cognitive style, and negative life

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Natural Selection and Evolutionary Change Introduction The theory of evolution proposes that all living organisms on Earth share a common ancestor. Even though the idea of sharing common ancestors sounds far-fetched, the idea is supported by a vast amount of scientific evidence. Many of our features are biological adaptations due to natural selection.

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Rumination is referred to ‘the repetitive thoughts and behaviours that drag individual’s attention on their symptoms and on the implications of these symptoms’. In accordance, existing research reports that rumination decreases the accuracy of memory, increasing memory incorrections (Watkins & Teasdale, 2001). Both mechanisms and their cognitive nature facilitate false memory recollection. Additionally, in support of the latter, Yeh and Hua (2009) in their study, found that depressed individuals report more false memories regarding negative items that outnumber the positive ones. In the same study they have proved that there seems to be no difference in false memories for positive items between healthy and depressed individuals.

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Evolutionary psychology is based on Darwinism and is used to explain human nature by making an effort to understand what motivates us to behave the way that we do. It implies that everything we do is either consciously or unconsciously motivated by the intent to either prosper, evolve, or to reproduce. Although we would like to believe we are moral beings, evolutionary psychology suggests that we may be driven solely by the instinct to survive. In doing so, our behavior may sometimes be naturally inclined to be of selfish motives. Evolutionary psychology shows that even when unintentional, our decisions are ultimately driven by self-gain and reproductive success, all in an effort to survive and adapt to our forever expanding world and culture.

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Darwin’s theory of evolution is about the survival of the fittest. He believed that all life is related in some way. He also thought that all life is related in some way and that we are all descendants of a common ancestor. Darwin’s original theory explains that the development of all life was derived from non-life forms. He believed that complex creatures evolved from different ancestors over time.

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