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Africa
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The Future of Parasitology
Published in Eric S. Loker, Bruce V. Hofkin, Parasitology, 2023
Eric S. Loker, Bruce V. Hofkin
What to do given the evident ability of parasites to evolve resistance to drugs? An evolutionary perspective provides one important suggestion to guide all considerations of drug use and to manage resistance, and that is to impose as little selection as possible on parasites, because selection encourages the emergence and spread of drug resistance. One way to lessen the force of selection, as the study of livestock helminths has repeatedly demonstrated, is to maintain some parasites in refugia not exposed to drug pressure, such that parasite genes associated with susceptibility to drugs are retained in the parasite population. These genes can serve as a continuing source to replenish susceptibility in worm populations and thus slow the development of resistance.
Stressed Pre-Birth? How the Foetus Is Affected by a Mother's State of Mind
Published in Mary Nolan, Shona Gore, Contemporary Issues in Perinatal Education, 2023
A big question is why we should see such profound effects. Many of the most rigorous researchers argue for an evolutionary perspective. Glover (2011) suggests that it makes sense to be more vigilant, hard to soothe and jumpy if the likelihood is that one will be born into a stressful or scary environment in which one has to be wary. Belsky suggests that our bodies ‘choose’ a different life-course, either a faster more stressful one or a slower more relaxed one, depending on the kinds of stressors we encounter as early as prenatal life (Pluess & Belsky, 2011). Stress hormones are in effect programming the developing foetus for later life.
Personality
Published in Mohamed Ahmed Abd El-Hay, Understanding Psychology for Medicine and Nursing, 2019
Although there is an increasing number of personality theorists who are taking evolutionary and biological factors into account, no comprehensive unified theory that considers biological and evolutionary factors is widely accepted. Evolutionary and biological approaches suggest that personality is determined at least in part by genes in much the same way that genetics affect human height. The evolutionary perspective assumes that personality traits that led to survival and reproductive success of our ancestors are more likely to be preserved and passed on to subsequent generations.
Erectile Dysfunction and Partner-Directed Behaviors in Romantic Relationships: The Mediating Role of Suspicious Jealousy
Published in The Journal of Sex Research, 2022
Gavin Vance, Virgil Zeigler-Hill, Rachel M. James, Todd K. Shackelford
Several theoretical perspectives have informed research on human sexual behavior and romantic relationships, including evolutionary psychology (Buss, 1989; Buss & Shackelford, 1997). From an evolutionary perspective, human sexual behavior is produced by adaptations designed to solve recurrent problems of reproduction faced by our ancestors (Buss & Schmitt, 1993). Sexual dysfunctions, including disorders such as ED, have likewise been addressed from several theoretical perspectives, including evolutionary psychology (Apostolou, 2015, 2016). In past research, evolutionary perspectives have motivated specific, novel hypotheses that may not have been developed otherwise. For instance, in an article exploring the causes of ED and sexual dysfunction, more generally, Apostolou (2015) used an evolutionary perspective to argue that the modern prevalence of ED may be attributable to evolutionarily novel contexts, such as increased average lifespan or environmental circumstances not faced by our ancestors. An evolutionary perspective may be similarly valuable for generating hypotheses about the causes and consequences of ED in modern romantic relationships.
Is Evolutionary Psychology Theory Appropriate for Abortion Research?
Published in Women's Reproductive Health, 2022
Parenting norms are introduced by Adair and Lozano (2022) to examine the idea of stigma, which is a characteristic that violates the standards of what a society defines as “normal.” Evolutionary psychology argues that stigma develops from the advantages society enjoys when norms are followed to “promote cohesion, coordinated social action, and the achievement of complex shared goals” (p. 6). Thus, “from an evolutionary perspective, perceiving those that violate cultural norms more negatively, and socially sanctioning them for … violation, have been advantageous to human survival” (p. 6). Adair and Lozano’s conclusion, then, is that abortion stigma is a consequence of a perceived violation of parenting norms and expectations. Whereas breaking parenting norms may be part of the perceived violation, a larger view that incorporates sexism, racism, classism, and power structures could examine who has the ability to define what is “normal” and “deviant.”
Greater male vulnerability to stunting? Evaluating sex differences in growth, pathways and biocultural mechanisms
Published in Annals of Human Biology, 2021
The excess male mortality seen in response to undernutrition and infectious disease (Drevenstedt et al. 2008; Calu Costa et al. 2017) has contributed to the ‘male disadvantage hypothesis’, which states that boys are the biologically weaker sex and are more sensitive to environmental or nutritional deprivation during early life (Naeye et al. 1971; Kirchengast and Hartmann 2009). From an evolutionary perspective, greater male vulnerability is attributed to natural selection for optimal parental investment. Derived from the Trivers-Willard hypothesis (Trivers and Willard 1973), these models propose that the development of sex differences in response to environmental conditions is linked to the differential potential reproductive success of male offspring versus female offspring (Wade et al. 2003; Cameron 2004; Rosenfeld and Roberts 2004). Human biology applications of this model have suggested that selection should favour more variable energetic investment in boys such that mothers should invest more in boys when the environment is good and less when the environment is poor, contributing to selection for greater male sensitivity to environmental conditions (Gaulin and Robbins 1991; Wells 2000; Koziel and Ulijaszek 2001; Elsmén et al. 2004; Crognier et al. 2006). The extension of this model to postnatal development suggests that malnutrition interacting with infection in infancy and early childhood should continue to shape differential morbidity and mortality for boys (Wells 2000) and, thus, potentially contribute to sex differences in stunting.