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Resumo Desenvolvida na biologia para entender a evolução das espécies, a teoria da história de vida passou a ser aplicada na psicologia para compreender as diferenças individuais no desenvolvimento em resposta a condições ambientais específicas. Devido ao seu potencial heurístico para compreensão do comportamento humano, o objetivo deste trabalho foi descrever a incorporação da THV pela psicologia, apresentando seus fundamentos teóricos e conceituais nesse novo campo, tais como contínuo rápido-lento, covariação entre traços psicológicos e estratégias de história de vida. Discutimos com base em trabalhos empíricos as previsões da teoria sobre a influência da imprevisibilidade e severidade ambientais nos traços psicológicos. São revisados trabalhos nas áreas do desenvolvimento, comportamento sexual e antissocial, personalidade e psicopatologia. São apresentadas críticas e contracríticas do seu uso na psicologia. Finalmente, abordamos limitações dos estudos de THV na psicologia. Argumentamos que estudos nessa área podem contribuir para o desenvolvimento de soluções aos problemas sociais atuais.

Abstract Although developed in biology to comprehend how organisms evolve, life history theory (LHT) has come to be applied in psychology to understand individual differences in development in response to specific environmental conditions. Due to its heuristic potential for understanding human behavior, this work aimed to describe the assimilation of LHT by psychology, presenting its theoretical and conceptual foundations in this new field, such as the fast-slow continuum, the covariation among psychological traits, and the life history strategies. We discuss, based on empirical works, the theory's predictions about the influence of environmental unpredictability and harshness on psychological traits. We review studies in the field of development, sexual and antisocial behavior, personality, and psychopathology. Criticisms and counter-criticisms of its use in psychology are also presented. Finally, we list some of the limitations of LHT studies in psychology. We argue that studies in this area can contribute to the development of solutions to current social problems.

Résumé Développée en biologie pour comprendre l'évolution des espèces, la théorie de l'histoire de vie (THV) a été appliquée en psychologie pour comprendre les différences individuelles dans le développement en réponse à des conditions environnementales spécifiques. Grace à son potentiel heuristique pour comprendre le comportement humain, l'objectif de cet essai était de décrire l'incorporation de la THV par la psychologie, en présentant ses fondements théoriques et conceptuels dans ce nouveau domaine, tels que le continuum rapide-lent, la covariation entre des traits psychologiques et les stratégies de l'histoire de vie. Nous discutons, basés sur des travails empiriques, des pronostics de la théorie concernant l'influence de l'imprévisibilité et de la sévérité de l'environnement sur les traits psychologiques. Nous révisons des travaux dans les domaines du développement, du comportement sexuel et antisocial, de la personnalité et de la psychopathologie. Les critiques et contre-critiques de son utilisation en psychologie sont également présentées. Enfin, nous énumérons des limites théoriques et méthodologiques des études de THV en psychologie. Nous soutenons que les études dans ce domaine peuvent contribuer à l'élaboration de solutions aux problèmes sociaux actuels.

Resumen La teoría de la historia de la vida (THV) ha sido desarrollada en la biología para comprender la evolución de las especies y ha sido aplicada en la psicología para comprender las diferencias individuales en el desarrollo humano en respuesta a condiciones ambientales específicas. Dado este potencial heurístico para comprender el comportamiento humano, el objetivo de este trabajo fue describir la incorporación de la THV por la psicología, presentando su marco teórico y conceptual en este nuevo campo, como el continuo rápido-lento, la covariación entre rasgos psicológicos y las estrategias de historia vital. Se discuten las predicciones de esta teoría sobre la influencia de la imprevisibilidad y la severidad ambiental en los rasgos psicológicos. Se realizó una revisión de los trabajos en los campos de desarrollo, comportamiento sexual y antisocial, personalidad y psicopatología. Además, se presentan críticas y contracríticas a su uso en la psicología. Por último, se exponen limitaciones de los estudios de la THV en este campo. Esta discusión permite constatar que los estudios en este campo pueden contribuir al desarrollo de soluciones a algunos de los problemas sociales actuales.

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Human musicality exhibits the necessary hallmarks for biological adaptations. Evolutionary explanations focus on recurrent adaptive problems that human musicality possibly solved in ancestral environments, such as mate selection and competition, social bonding/cohesion and social grooming, perceptual and motor skill development, conflict reduction, safe time-passing, transgenerational communication, mood regulation and synchronization, and credible signaling of coalition and territorial/predator defense. Although not mutually exclusive, these different hypotheses are still not conceptually integrated nor clearly derived from independent principles. I propose The Nocturnal Evolution of Human Musicality and Performativity Theory in which the night-time is the missing piece of the adaptationist puzzle of human musicality and performing arts. The expansion of nocturnal activities throughout human evolution, which is tied to tree-to-ground sleep transition and habitual use of fire, might help (i) explain the evolution of musicality from independent principles, (ii) explain various seemingly unrelated music features and functions, and (iii) integrate many ancestral adaptive values proposed. The expansion into the nocturnal niche posed recurrent ancestral adaptive challenges/opportunities: lack of luminosity, regrouping to cook before sleep, imminent dangerousness, low temperatures, peak tiredness, and concealment of identity. These crucial night-time features might have selected evening-oriented individuals who were prone to acoustic communication, more alert and imaginative, gregarious, risk-taking and novelty-seeking, prone to anxiety modulation, hedonistic, promiscuous, and disinhibited. Those night-time selected dispositions may have converged and enhanced protomusicality into human musicality by facilitating it to assume many survival- and reproduction-enhancing roles (social cohesion and coordination, signaling of coalitions, territorial defense, antipredatorial defense, knowledge transference, safe passage of time, children lullabies, and sexual selection) that are correspondent to the co-occurring night-time adaptive challenges/opportunities. The nocturnal dynamic may help explain musical features (sound, loudness, repetitiveness, call and response, song, elaboration/virtuosity, and duetting/chorusing). Across vertebrates, acoustic communication mostly occurs in nocturnal species. The eveningness chronotype is common among musicians and composers. Adolescents, who are the most evening-oriented humans, enjoy more music. Contemporary tribal nocturnal activities around the campfire involve eating, singing/dancing, storytelling, and rituals. I discuss the nocturnal integration of musicality's many roles and conclude that musicality is probably a multifunctional mental adaptation that evolved along with the night-time adaptive landscape.

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The goal of this article is to develop a theory about the evaluation process in order to offer a perspective that is potentially capable of parsimoniously explaining a series of phenomena. I argue that not only is categorical thinking shared by humans and other animals, but also certain types of categorization ("what is something?"; "what end to seek?"; "by what means?"; "was there success in accomplishing the end?"), which I understand to be aligned in a mat of categorizations, constituting what I call the basic evaluation process. I hypothesize that within this evaluation process there are five options for basic categorizations pathways (BCP), namely: "identification of patterns in the novelty"; "acquisition of the benefit", "promotion of the good of the other"; "elimination of the threat"; and "escape the threat". Thus, the basic evaluation process would follow a certain path depending on the type of categorization "what is something?" performed ("a novelty", "a benefit", "an ally (or potential ally) in difficulty", "a threat that can be eliminated", or "a threat that cannot be eliminated"). Finally, I defend the idea that if the mental architecture of humans is composed of ancestral structures such as BCPs, it is then possible to locate BCP as being at the root of innumerable subjective phenomena of our species.

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Uma fobia específica é um medo irreal ou extremo de uma situação, objeto ou ambiente específico. Teorias iniciais sobre aquisição de fobias específicas favoreceram uma explicação no condicionamento do medo. Este artigo quantificou medos com um potencial ofensivo maior e menor para as espécies em uma amostra de 148 estudantes com média de idade de 21,5 anos (DP = 2,6). Além das diferenças estatisticamente significantes entre as duas categorias de medo, houve uma correlação de medos de uma menor ofensa potencial para humanos com ansiedade e depressão, estresse e impulsividade. Este trabalho pode ajudar a elucidar problemas relacionados a incidência de certas fobias

A specific phobiais an unrealistic or extreme fear of a specific situation, object, or setting. Initial theories regarding the acquisition of specific phobias favored a fear conditioningbased explanation. The present article quantifi ed fears with higher and lower off ensive potential for the human species in a sample of 148 students with an average age of 21,5 years (DP = 2,6). It In addition to statistically signifi cant diff erences between the two categories of fear, there was a correlation of fears of lower off ensive potential for humans with anxiety and depression, stress and impulsivity. This work may help to elucidate issues related to the incidence of certain phobias

Una fobia específica es un miedo poco realista o extremo a una situación, objeto o entorno específico. Teorías iniciales sobre la adquisición de fobias específicas favoreció una explicación basada en el condicionamiento del miedo. El presente artículo cuantifi có los temores con un potencial ofensivo mayor y menor para la espécie en una muestra de 148 estudiantes comum a edad media de 21, 5 años (DP= 2,6). Además de las diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre las dos categorías de miedo, hubo una correlación de los temores de un menor potencial ofensivo para los humanos con ansiedad y depresión, estrés e impulsividad. Este trabajo puede ayudar a dilucidar problemas relacionados con la incidencia de ciertas fobias

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How does the mind make moral judgments when the only way to satisfy one moral value is to neglect another? Moral dilemmas posed a recurrent adaptive problem for ancestral hominins, whose cooperative social life created multiple responsibilities to others. For many dilemmas, striking a balance between two conflicting values (a compromise judgment) would have promoted fitness better than neglecting one value to fully satisfy the other (an extreme judgment). We propose that natural selection favored the evolution of a cognitive system designed for making trade-offs between conflicting moral values. Its nonconscious computations respond to dilemmas by constructing "rightness functions": temporary representations specific to the situation at hand. A rightness function represents, in compact form, an ordering of all the solutions that the mind can conceive of (whether feasible or not) in terms of moral rightness. An optimizing algorithm selects, among the feasible solutions, one with the highest level of rightness. The moral trade-off system hypothesis makes various novel predictions: People make compromise judgments, judgments respond to incentives, judgments respect the axioms of rational choice, and judgments respond coherently to morally relevant variables (such as willingness, fairness, and reciprocity). We successfully tested these predictions using a new trolley-like dilemma. This dilemma has two original features: It admits both extreme and compromise judgments, and it allows incentives-in this case, the human cost of saving lives-to be varied systematically. No other existing model predicts the experimental results, which contradict an influential dual-process model.

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By conceptualizing Sexual Selection, Darwin showed a way to analyze intra-specific individual differences within an evolutionary perspective. Interestingly, Sexual Selection is often used to investigate the origins of sports, arts, humor, religion and other phenomena that, in several languages, are simply called "play." Despite their manifested differences, these phenomena rely on shared psychological processes, including playfulness. Further, in such behaviors there is usually considerable individual variability, including sex differences, and positive relationship with mating success. However, Sexual Selection is rarely applied in the study of play, with exception to what is concerned as infant training behavior for adult sex roles. We offer an integrated grounding of playful phenomena aligning evolutionary propositions based on sexual selection, which might stimulate further exploration of playfulness within evolutionary perspective.

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Evolutionary psychologists claim that stepparents perpetrate substantially more child physical abuse than genetic parents, and that they do so because they are less invested in genetically unrelated children. The objective of this study was to examine these claims by investigating whether, and why, fathers in a Colombian sample physically abused their stepchildren more than their genetic children. Fathers (N = 86) and their partners living in Bogotá were interviewed by Klevens et al. Half of the fathers had been reported to authorities for child physical abuse, the other half were matched controls. Secondary analysis was conducted of Klevens et al.'s data. Hypotheses from the evolutionary and ecological accounts of child maltreatment were tested using logistic and ordinal regression. Both the prevalence and the frequency of physical abuse by stepfathers were considerably greater than those of genetic fathers. Several indicators of adversity-including parental youth and experience of abuse, fathers' chronic stress, and mothers' poor communication with the child-were associated with both abuse and stepparenthood. Models including these variables indicated that they accounted for much of the stepfathers' higher rates of abuse. Consistent with the ecological account, much of the stepfathers' greater prevalence and frequency of abuse in this sample is likely to have resulted from confounding variables, rather than from the step relationship per se.

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O presente estudo avaliou as características desejadas em um parceiro virtual quando há intenção de se casar ou ficar. Uma amostra de 210 estudantes universitários respondeu a um questionário com questões elaboradas pelos pesquisadores e a Escala de Atributos do Parceiro Ideal. Verificou-se qual a intenção amorosa dos sujeitos ao utilizarem os aplicativos, a quantidade de encontros concretizados e o tempo de acesso a eles. Os resultados mostraram que as características desejadas em um parceiro para ficar e em um para casar são diferentes, assim como as intenções amorosas entre os sexos e a quantidade de encontros que concretizaram. O tempo de acesso aos aplicativos foi semelhante e as mulheres consideraram que os homens criam mais expectativas sobre o desenvolvimento de um namoro por ferramentas virtuais. Concluiu-se que os homens são mais propensos ao envolvimento sexual casual.

The present study evaluated the desired characteristics in a virtual partner when one wanted to marry or date. A sample of 210 university students answered a questionnaire that contained questions elaborated by the researchers and the Scale of Attributes of the Ideal Partner. It was verified the subjects' loving intention in using the applications, the number of encounters made and the time of access to them. The results demonstrated that the characteristics desired in a partner to date and to marry are different, as well as the love intentions between the sexes and the amount of dates that have materialized. Access time to applications was similar and women considered that men created more expectations about developing relationship by virtual tools. It is concluded that men are more prone to casual sexual involvement.

El presente estudio evaluó las características deseadas en parejas virtuales cuando se anhelaba casarse o coquetear. Participaran 210 estudiantes universitarios que respondieron a un cuestionario presencialmente que contuvo cuestiones elaboradas por los investigadores y la Escala de Atributos de Pareja Ideal. Se verificó cuál fue la intención amorosa de los sujetos al utilizar las aplicaciones, la cantidad de encuentros concretizados y el tiempo de acceso a ellos. Los resultados demostraron que las características deseadas en parejas para coquetear y en un para casarse son diferentes, así como las intenciones amorosas entre los sexos y la cantidad de encuentros que concretaron. El tiempo de acceso a las aplicaciones fue similar y las mujeres consideraron que los hombres creen más expectativas sobre el desarrollo de un noviazgo por medios virtuales.Se concluye que los hombres son más propensos a la implicación sexual casual.

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No Brasil, inexistem investigações dos correlatos psicológicos e sociodemográficos da ganância. Este estudo investigou a relação entre a ganância e os valores humanos. Ainda, testou-se o efeito mediador da ganância na diferença entre sexos no endosso dos valores humanos. Os participantes responderam a Dispositional Greed Scale, o Questionário dos Valores Básicos e perguntas demográficas. Os correlatos valorativos indicaram que pessoas gananciosas, embora materialmente motivadas (valores de existência), possuem necessidades estéticas (valores suprapessoais). Entretanto, a ganância predisse em maior magnitude os valores pessoais. Houve diferenças entre os sexos apenas frente à ganância e aos valores pessoais, sendo que os homens apresentaram maiores pontuações. Por fim, observou-se que a ganância mediou parcialmente a diferença entre sexos no endosso de valores pessoais, sugerindo que homens são mais egocêntricos porque são mais gananciosos. Tais achados são discutidos à luz da Teoria Funcionalista dos Valores Humanos, da personalidade das diferenças individuais e da psicologia evolutiva.

In Brazil, there are no investigations into the psychological and sociodemographic correlates of greed. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between greed and human values. In addition, we tested the mediating effect of greed on gender differences in the endorsement of values. Participants answered the Dispositional Greed Scale, Basic Values Survey and demographic questions. The value correlates indicated that greed people, although materially motivated (existence values), express higher-order needs of aesthetics (suprapersonal values). However, greed personality was a more important predictor of the personal values. There were differences between the sexes only regarding greed and personal values, in which men had higher scores. Finally, the greed partially mediated the gender difference in the endorsement of personal values which suggests that men have an egocentric orientation because are greedier. The results are discussed taking into account the Functional Theory of Human Values, personality of individual differences and evolutionary psychology.

En Brasil, no hay investigaciones sobre los correlatos psicológicos y sociodemográficos de la codicia. Este estudio investigó la relación entre la codicia y los valores humanos. Además, probamos el efecto mediador de la codicia sobre las diferencias de género en lo respaldo de los valores. Los participantes respondieron la Escala de Codicia Disposicional, el Cuestionario de ValoresBásicos y preguntas demográficas. Los correlatos valorativos indicaron que los codiciosos, aunque motivados materialmente (valores de existencia), tienen necesidades estéticas (valores suprapersonales). Sin embargo, la codicia mostró un poder predictivo más fuerte frente a los valores personales. Las diferencias entre los sexos se observaron solo en lo que respecta a la codicia y los valores personales: los hombres tenían puntuaciones más altas. Además, la codicia medió parcialmente la diferencia entre sexos en el respaldo de valores personales, lo que sugiere que los hombres tienen una orientación más egocéntrica porque son más codiciosos. Los resultados se discuten a través de la Teoría Funcionalista de los Valores, la personalidad de las diferencias individuales y la psicología evolutiva.

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We investigated the relationship between Brazilian women's reported reasons for pretending orgasm, their performance of mate retention behaviors, and their relationship satisfaction. Additionally, we secured evidence of the validity and reliability of a Brazilian-Portuguese adaptation of the Reasons to Pretend Orgasm Inventory (RPOI). Participants were 295 Brazilian women in a heterosexual relationship (Mage = 24.9 years, SDage = 5.4 years). Participants completed a Brazilian-Portuguese adaptation of the Mate Retention Inventory-Short Form, and the translated RPOI (the Escala de Razões para Fingir Orgasmo; ERFO). The resulting 47-item ERFO represents well the original 63-item RPOI. The frequency with which Brazilian women pretend orgasm was negatively associated with their relationship satisfaction. Our sample size may not be sufficient to detect small effects. In addition, due to the exploratory nature of the study, the results should be interpreted with caution and future research may attempt to replicate these findings with larger samples and in other countries.

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Humans have been using fire for hundreds of millennia, creating an ancestral expansion toward the nocturnal niche. The new adaptive challenges faced at night were recurrent enough to amplify existing psychological variation in our species. Night-time is dangerous and mysterious, so it selects for individuals with higher tendencies for paranoia, risk-taking, and sociability (because of security in numbers). During night-time, individuals are generally tired and show decreased self-control and increased impulsive behaviors. The lower visibility during night-time favors the partial concealment of identity and opens more opportunities for disinhibition of self-interested behaviors. Indeed, individuals with an evening-oriented chronotype are more paranoid, risk-taking, extraverted, impulsive, promiscuous, and have higher antisocial personality traits. However, under some circumstances, such as respiratory pandemics, the psychobehavioral traits favored by the nocturnal niche might be counter-productive, increasing contagion rates of a disease that can evade the behavioral immune system because its disease cues are often nonexistent or mild. The eveningness epidemiological liability hypothesis presented here suggests that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the evening-oriented psychobehavioral profile can have collectively harmful consequences: there is a clash of core tendencies between the nocturnal chronotype and the recent viral transmission-mitigating safety guidelines and rules. The pandemic safety protocols disrupt much normal social activity, particularly at night when making new social contacts is desired. The SARS-CoV-2 virus is contagious even in presymptomatic and asymptomatic individuals, which enables it to mostly evade our evolved contagious disease avoidance mechanisms. A growing body of research has indirectly shown that individual traits interfering with social distancing and anti-contagion measures are related to those of the nocturnal chronotype. Indeed, some of the social contexts that have been identified as superspreading events occur at night, such as in restaurants, bars, and nightclubs. Furthermore, nocturnal environmental conditions favor the survival of the SARS-CoV-2 virus much longer than daytime conditions. We compare the eveningness epidemiological liability hypothesis with other factors related to non-compliance with pandemic safety protocols, namely sex, age, and life history. Although there is not yet a direct link between the nocturnal chronotype and non-compliance with pandemic safety protocols, security measures and future empirical research should take this crucial evolutionary mismatch and adaptive metaproblem into account, and focus on how to avoid nocturnal individuals becoming superspreaders, offering secure alternatives for nocturnal social activities.

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We investigated the relationships among men's sexual coercion, men's performance of mate retention behaviors, and their partner's relationship satisfaction in Brazil (Study 1) and the United States (Study 2). In addition, we adapted the Sexual Coercion in Intimate Relationships Scale (SCIRS) to the Brazilian context (Escala de Coerção Sexual em Relacionamentos Amorosos [ECSRA]; Study 1) and investigated the suitability of the adapted version in the American context (Sexual Coercion in Intimate Relationships Scale-Short Form [SCIRS-SF]; Study 2). Study 1 included 181 Brazilians, aged between 18 and 49 years (M = 23.5; SD = 5.1), mostly female (60.8%). Study 2 included 508 Americans, aged between 19 and 70 years (M = 34.7; SD = 9.7), mostly male (52.6%). Participants were in a heterosexual, romantic relationship for at least 3 months. Participants completed the SCIRS, a 34-item measure assessing how often participants experienced each sexually coercive behavior, the MRI-SF, a 38-item measure assessing how often participants performed each mate retention act, and several items regarding relationship satisfaction. The results indicated that American (but not Brazilian) men's sexual coercion is positively correlated with their performance of cost-inflicting and benefit-provisioning mate retention behaviors. Men's sexual coercion did not affect their partner's relationship satisfaction in either the American or Brazilian contexts. The SCIRS-SF (nine items) reliably represents the SCIRS (34 items) in the American context. We recommend the SCIRS-SF for assessing performance frequency of sexual coercion. The SCIRS-SF may be used as a screening tool to identify patterns of sexual coercion in couples from Brazil and the United States. We highlight limitations of the current research and identify directions for future research.

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Darwin explored the evolutionary processes underlying artistic propensities in humans. He stressed the universality of the human mind by pointing to the shared pleasure which all populations take in dancing, engaging in music, acting, painting, tattooing, and self-decorating. Artistic motivation drives/reinforces individuals to engage in aesthetically oriented activities. As curiosity/play, artistic behavior is hypothesized as a functionally autonomous activity motivated intrinsically through an evolved, specific, and stable aesthetic motivational system. The author tested whether artistic motivation is rather intrinsically sourced, domain-specific, and temporally stable using a large decades-long real-life public Brazilian database of university applications. In Study I, the author analyzed reasons for career-choice responded to by 403,832 late-adolescent applicants (48.84% women), between 1987 and 1998. In Study II, the author analyzed another career-choice reason question responded to by 1,703,916 late-adolescent applicants (51.02% women), between 1987 and 2020. Music, Dance, Scenic Arts, Visual Arts, and Literary Studies, in combination, presented a higher percentage of individuals reporting intrinsic factors (e.g., personal taste/aptitude/fulfillment) and the lower proportion reporting extrinsic motives (e.g., the influence of media/teacher/family, salary, social contribution/prestige) than other career groups. If artistic motivation were a recent by-product of general curiosity or status-seeking, artistic and non-artistic careers would not differ. Overall, intrinsic motives were 2.60-6.35 times higher than extrinsic factors; among artistic applicants' were 10.81-28.38 times higher, suggesting domain-specificity. Intrinsic motivation did not differ among artistic careers and remained stable throughout the periods. Converging results corroborated a specific, stable, and intrinsically sourced artistic motivation consistent with its possible evolutionary origins.

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Resumo A depressão tem alcançado níveis epidêmicos ao redor do mundo. Seria a depressão um distúrbio mental, como é consenso na saúde mental? Teóricos evolucionistas têm-se questionado quanto à função da depressão e proposto modelos específicos para explicá-la. O objetivo deste artigo é apresentar teorias evolucionistas da depressão, discutir as relações de complementariedade e contraposição entre elas e as implicações sociais e práticas para o tratamento da depressão. Essas reflexões e questionamentos no domínio da saúde mental podem influenciar novos estudos a partir de uma perspectiva não patológica da depressão. No âmbito da psicologia essa perspectiva fornece subsídios para repensar a psicoterapia com o deprimido, enfocando a análise causal e a resolução de problemas. Sugere-se a realização de estudos empíricos com a finalidade de testar e sistematizar as teorias evolucionistas da depressão.

Resumen La depresión ha alcanzado niveles epidemiológicos alrededor del mundo. ¿Será la depresión un trastorno mental como se cree en el dominio de la salud mental? Teóricos evolucionistas se cuestionan sobre la depresión y han propuesto modelos específicos para explicarla. El objetivo de este artículo fue presentar teorías evolutivas de la depresión, discutir las relaciones de complementariedad y contraposición entre ellas, así como las implicaciones sociales y prácticas para su tratamiento. Estas reflexiones y cuestionamientos, en el dominio de la salud mental, pueden influir en nuevos estudios a partir de una perspectiva no patológica de la depresión. En el ámbito de la psicología, esta perspectiva provee subsidios para repensar la psicoterapia con el deprimido enfocándose en el análisis causal y la resolución de problemas. Se sugiere la realización de estudios empíricos con la finalidad de probar y sistematizar las teorías evolucionistas de la depresión.

Résumé La dépression a atteint les proportions d'une épidémie mondiale. Les théoriciens évolutionnistes se sont interrogés sur la fonction de la dépression et ont proposé des modèles spécifiques pour l'expliquer. Cet article vise à présenter les différentes théories évolutionnistes de la dépression, discuter leurs relations de complémentarité et d'opposition, et débattre les possibles implications sociales et pratiques pour le traitement de la dépression. Ces réflexions dans le domaine de la santé mentale peuvent influencer de nouvelles études dans une perspective non pathologique de la dépression. Dans le domaine de la psychologie, cette perspective permet de repenser la psychothérapie avec les personnes déprimées, en se concentrant sur l'analyse causale et la résolution des problèmes. Des études empiriques sont proposées dans le but de tester et systématiser les théories évolutionnistes de la dépression.

Abstract Depression has reached epidemic levels worldwide. Would that be a mental disorder, as claimed by consensus on mental health? Evolutionary theorists have questioned the function of depression and proposed specific models to explain it. The aim of this paper is to present the evolutionary theories of depression, to discuss the complementarity and contradictions between these theories, and to present the social and practical implications for the treatment of depression. Those reflections and issues in the field of mental health may influence further studies from a non-pathological perspective of depression. In the field of psychology, this perspective provides insights to reevaluate psychotherapy to treat depression by focusing on causal analysis and problem solving. The study suggests that new empirical studies should be conducted to test and systematize evolutionary theories of depression.

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OBJECTIVE: This article addresses the connection between loneliness and physical contact. Evolutionary and psychological research has shown that touch is an important part of bond-building and emotion communication; loneliness is intimately related to these elements as well. In this paper, we ask whether physical contact reduces feelings of loneliness -which might derive from evolutionary ancient bonding mechanisms-despite a cultural context that is relatively non-tactile. METHOD: An experimental study (40 participants, 13 males) tested for observable effects of touch on loneliness scores in a low-contact culture to analyse whether they respond positively to that stimulus despite cultural training against it. RESULTS: Participants exposed to physical contact reported significantly lower neglect scores from their close relationships in a short loneliness scale, thus suggesting that there is an underlying mechanism that persists despite enculturation. The effects were particularly strong among single people, which could mean that lower loneliness among married people might be partly explained by the regular availability of physical contact. Participants in the experimental condition also showed a faster reduction in heart rate, interpreted as a sign of physiological wellbeing. CONCLUSIONS: These findings help to specify mechanisms within the evolutionary theoretical framework of loneliness that link internal feelings to environmental cues. This article aims at contributing to a more complex discussion on the interactions between emotions, cultural practices and psychological well-being.

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O sistema de economia de fichas (SEF) foi usado em um jogo para avaliar seu efeito sobre a cooperação. Crianças de uma escola pública receberam fichas e optaram entre guardá-las ou doá-las anonimamente em uma urna; o número de fichas era triplicado e distribuído igualmente às crianças, que escolhiam, então, entre "comprar" itens ou economizar. O SEF teve efeito na cooperação: 60% das crianças adotaram mais a estratégia cooperativa do que a egoísta, ainda que os perfis individuais mostrem uma aparente exploração de estratégias diversas. O SEF mostrou-se uma alternativa viável e aponta caminhos para aplicação em contextos escolares.

The token economy system was used in a cooperative game to evaluate its effect on cooperation. Public school's children received tokens and chose to keep or donate them anonymously in an urn. The contents of the collective urn were tripled and distributed equally at the end of the session. Children could choose to "buy" items or save tokens. This system affected cooperative behavior: 60% of participants have adopted a more cooperative strategy than the free-rider, even though individual profiles show an apparent exploration of different strategies. These results indicate ways for application in scholar contexts.

El sistema de economía de fichas se utilizó como juego cooperativo para investigar la cooperación entre los niños. Los niños de una escuela pública recibieron fichas y optaron por guardarlas o donarlas de forma anónima en una urna. El contenido de la urna se triplicó y se distribuyó igualmente. Con la ficha que tenían, podían "comprar" artículos o ahorrar las fichas. La aplicación de este sistema parece haber afectado el comportamiento cooperativo, manteniéndolo prevalente entre los participantes (60% de los participantes), mismo que individualmente parecen haber explorado diferentes estrategias. Estos resultados indican formas de aplicación en contextos escolares.

RESUMO

Abstract The present article aims to propose a theoretical discussion regarding the role of lying based upon the Evolutionary Psychology perspective by shedding a new light on the main studies conducted in this area. In order to do so, this article addresses the phylogenies and ontogenies of the capability to lie, both suggesting that the rise of lying as a pro-social deed is intimately related with Homo sapiens incredibly broad and complex communication skills. Like so, the paper continues on expatiating on the underlying cognitive and neuronal mechanisms of lying and lying recognition, as well as the differences amongst genders concerning the ability to recognize deceit. Broadly, the present theoretic study may elucidate the current state of knowledge regarding the topic, thus signaling necessary and more promising paths for future studies to follow with the purpose of contributing to fields where the act of uttering lies is highly present, such as the judicial context.

Resumo O presente artigo tem por objetivo propor uma discussão teórica sobre o papel da mentira a partir da perspectiva da Psicologia Evolucionista, trazendo uma nova luz sobre os principais estudos realizados nessa área. Para tanto, este artigo aborda as filogenias e ontogenias da capacidade de mentir, ambas sugerindo que a ascensão da mentira como ação pró-social está intimamente relacionada às habilidades de comunicação incrivelmente amplas e complexas do Homo sapiens. Assim, o artigo discute os mecanismos cognitivos e neuronais subjacentes ao reconhecimento de mentiras, bem como as diferenças entre os gêneros em relação à capacidade de reconhecer o engano. Em linhas gerais, o presente estudo teórico pode elucidar o estado atual do conhecimento sobre o tema, sinalizando percursos necessários e mais promissores para futuros estudos, com o objetivo de contribuir para campos onde o ato de proferir mentiras está muito presente, como o contexto judiciário.

Resumen El presente artículo tiene como objetivo proponer una discusión teórica sobre el papel de la mentira a luz de la Psicología Evolucionista a partir de los principales estudios desarrollados en esta área. El artículo discurre sobre la filogénesis y la ontogénesis de la capacidad de mentir, discutiendo los mecanismos que viabilizan la ocurrencia de la mentira en la especie humana. El trabajo sugiere que el desarrollo de la mentira como práctica pro-social está íntimamente relacionado con la vasta capacidad de comunicación del Homo sapiens, discurriendo sobre los mecanismos cognitivos y neurales subyacentes, así como la diferencia entre géneros en lo que se refiere al reconocimiento del engaño. En general, el presente estudio teórico puede elucidar el estado actual de conocimiento sobre el asunto, indicando caminos necesarios y más prometedores para nuevos trabajos, a fin de colaborar para campos de actuación donde el acto de proferir mentiras se hace más presente, como, por ejemplo, el contexto judicial.

RESUMO

According to some evolutionary psychologists, landscapes preferences in the human species are influenced by their evolutionary past. Because the Pleistocene savanna is the least inhospitable landscape, it was the most suitable environment for survival and influenced the evolution of hominids in such a way that even today the human being has a universal preference for these environments. However, there is controversy regarding this statement, because in some studies it was evidenced that people prefer images of landscapes that are similar to those of the environment where they live. In this sense, we want to test whether there is indeed a preference for images of the savanna landscape and how the current environmental context may influence this preference. We performed a study in three environmental contexts with different landscapes in order to be able to observe the influence of the familiar landscape on landscape preference, of which two rural communities - one presenting a landscape similar to the deciduous seasonal forest and another presenting a savanna-like landscape - that totaled 132 participants and one urban community with 189 participants. The stimulus consisted of 12 images representing the six major terrestrial biomes and two images of urban landscapes. The variables analyzed were the emotional responses and the preference of the participants in relation to the images of landscapes. We analyzed the data using the Kruskal-Wallis test. The obtained result did not corroborate the idea of universal preference for images of savanna landscape. The image of Rainforest landscape was the preferred one among all the three environmental contexts studied. In this way, the preference for landscape may have been shaped at different periods of human evolutionary history, and not just during the period when hominids lived on the savannah. As much as selective pressures of the Pleistocene savanna have shaped the human mind during the evolutionary history, other factors and different types of environments may have influenced human preferences for landscapes. Thus, evolutionary psychologists who analyze human preferences for images of landscapes, guided by the idea of the past influencing the present, must be cautious before generalizing their results, especially if other variables such as the cultural ones are not controlled.

RESUMO

Resumo De acordo com a perspectiva da Psicologia Evolucionista, existem diferentes padrões de preferência sexual para homens e mulheres. Sabe-se que essas preferências são moduladas pela autopercepção dos indivíduos e que o contexto, por sua vez, pode afetar a mesma. O presente trabalho buscou verificar se o contexto econômico, indicado pelo poder aquisitivo, afeta a autopercepção como parceiro romântico. Para isso, 316 universitários responderam um questionário indicando sua classificação socioeconômica e autopercepção como parceiro romântico. Os resultados indicaram que a autopercepção da condição financeira diferiu de acordo com o nível socioeconômico. Contudo, diferença com relação à percepção da atratividade geral foi maior em homens de classe A comparado a mulheres da mesma classe, enquanto que para a característica determinado/trabalhador houve diferença entre sexos, na qual mulheres avaliaram-se melhor que homens. Os resultados dão suporte à Teoria do Pluralismo Estratégico ao indicar que o ambiente pode influenciar o processo de seleção de parceiros por aumentar a atratividade geral percebida de homens de maior nível socioeconômico em relação aos outros grupos da amostra. Além disso, os resultados sugerem a desigualdade entre os sexos na autopercepção como parceiro romântico.

Resumen De acuerdo con la perspectiva de la Psicología Evolutiva, hay diferentes estándares de preferencias sexuales para hombres y mujeres. Se sabe que estas preferencias son moduladas por la autopercepción de la persona y el contexto, a su vez, puede afectar a la autopercepción. Este estudio buscó determinar si el contexto económico, indicado por el poder adquisitivo afecta a la autopercepción como pareja romántica. Para tal, 316 estudiantes respondieron a un cuestionario indicando su clasificación socioeconómica y la autopercepción como pareja romántica. Los resultados indicaron que la autopercepción de la condición financiera difiere según el nivel socioeconómico. Sin embargo, las diferencias en cuanto a la percepción del atractivo general fue mayor en hombres de classe A en comparación con las mujeres de la misma clase, mientras que para la característica determinado/trabajador hubo diferencias entre los sexos, en la que mujeres calificaron a sí mismas mejor que los hombres. Los resultados dan soporte a la Teoría del Pluralismo Estratégico al indicar que el ambiente puede influenciar el proceso de selección de parejas por aumentar el atractivo general percibido de hombres de mayor nivel socioeconómico en relación a los otros grupos de la muestra. Además, los resultados sugieren la desigualdad entre los sexos en la autopercepción como pareja romántica.

Abstract From an Evolutionary Psychology perspective, men and women exhibit different sexual preferences. These preferences are modulated by the self-perception of individuals, which may also be affected by context. The present study sought to determine whether economic context, as indicated by purchasing power, affects self-perception as a romantic partner. To that end, 316 university students completed a questionnaire containing questions on socioeconomic status and self-perception as a romantic partner. The results indicated that self-perceived financial situation differed according to socioeconomic level. However, the difference in perceived general attractiveness was higher in class A men than in women from the same economic class, while for the determined/hardworking trait, there was a difference between sexes, in which women perceived that they were better than men. The results support the theory of strategic pluralism, showing that the environment can influence the partner selection process by increasing the general attractiveness perceived by men in the highest economic class (A) compared to the other groups in the sample. Moreover, the results suggest inequality between the sexes in terms of self-perception as a romantic partner.

RESUMO

Este trabalho representa o primeiro passo no desenvolvimento da Escala de Avaliação de Satisfação e Segurança no local de moradia (EASS), reunindo evidências conceituais e psicométricas. Propõe-se um instrumento para a avaliação subjetiva do local de moradia, através de duas dimensões teoricamente relevantes para a Psicologia Evolucionista: satisfação e segurança. Participaram 160 jovens moradores do estado do Rio de Janeiro (RJ). Uma análise de componentes principais apontou uma estrutura multidimensional da EASS, com três componentes e boa consistência interna (α=0,83). A análise de componentes principais sugeriu como aceitável a estrutura multifatorial desta medida, o que foi confirmado pela PAF. Apesar de não confirmar a estrutura bidimensional esperada, uma ANOVA com grupos de jovens em diferentes condições de moradia (duas favelas cariocas versus bairros de classe média) demonstrou que a EASS tem boa validade discriminante. São sugeridas as etapas seguintes para a validação da escala, concluindo-se que a EASS é uma medida consistente, e pode ser útil em futuros estudos de avaliação do local de moradia. (AU)

Gathering conceptual and psychometric evidence, this paper reports the first stage of development of the Satisfaction and Safety in the Neighborhood Scale (SSNS), an instrument designed for Brazilian contexts. Satisfaction and Safety are two evolutionary relevant dimensions of people's environment evaluations. The study involved 160 youngsters living in Rio de Janeiro. Principal component analysis yielded a multidimensional structure for the scale, with three components and good internal consistency (α=0,83). This structure was corroborated through principal axis factoring. Though not confirming the two dimensions originally proposed, an ANOVA with two subsets of youth in different living conditions (slums and more affluent neighborhoods) suggested that SNSS has a good discriminatory validity, proving to be able to assess different environmental evaluations of people. Next steps are suggested to continue the validation process of the instrument. (AU)

Este trabajo representa el primer paso en el desarrollo de la Escala de Evaluación de Satisfacción y seguridad en el lugar de residencia (EASS), reuniendo evidencia conceptual y psicométrica. Se propone un instrumento para la evaluación subjetiva del lugar de vivienda, por medio de dos dimensiones teóricamente relevantes para la Psicología Evolutiva: satisfacción y seguridad. Participaron 160 jóvenes residentes del estado de Río de Janeiro (RJ). Un análisis de componentes principales mostró una estructura multidimensional de la EASS con tres componentes y una buena consistencia interna (α = 0,83). El análisis de los componentes principales sugiere la estructura multifactorial de la medida como aceptable, que fue confirmada por el PAF. Aunque la estructura de dos dimensiones no se ha confirmado, un ANOVA con grupos de jóvenes en diferentes condiciones de la vivienda (dos barrios marginales (favelas) de Río frente a los barrios de clase media) mostró que la EASS tiene una buena validez discriminante. Para validación de la escala son sugeridos los próximos pasos y se concluye que la EASS es una medida coherente, y puede ser útil en futuros estudios para evaluar el lugar de vivencia. (AU)

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