Hello,

I'm a big fan of evolutionary psychology, and I was introduced to it by Jesse Bering's texts.

What I wonder if how we can know whether an aspect of humans or human psychology is necessarily an evolutionary adaptation, environmentally linked, or merely a genetic "defect" from genetic variation?

Here's some examples to explain what I mean:

A chromosomal disorder resulting in a stillbirth must surely be a genetic "defect." What would a species ever benefit from having stillbirths, besides evolutionary adaptations whose side-effect is stillbirths?

There's genetic evidence that depression is an evolutionary adaptation because some genes that cause depression also improves the immune system. (People who are depressed stay away from others and hence get sick less often.) Does this mean that all who experience depression with this gene have inherited a genetic adaptation? (https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/10/the-evolutionary-advantage-of-depression/263124/)

In contrast, I could think of lots of reasons that ADHD is an evolutionary adaptation. (Different stimulus needs could produce different behaviors that are valuable for a tribe.) On the other hand, ADHD may be caused by a gene that prevents the body from properly digesting certain plastics. As a result, toxicity of these plastics could be responsible for ADHD. Does this mean that ADHD is an evolutionary adaptation or merely a result of our modern environment? (https://today.rowan.edu/news/2023/09/researchers-find-bpa-links-to-autism-adhd.html)

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If we are the mere products of the complex system of evolution, how can we know what aspects of ourselves are direct products that were beneficial to our ancestors versus mere variation or novel environmental factors?

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Edit: Corrected link for first article.

Do you ever wonder why we forget what we learn so quickly, even at a young age? The same goes for our past childhood memories and books we read last year.

Although it's normal human behavior to forget things, why do we forget important things like taking medicines on time or why do past memories look faded?

Is it a sign of poor memory? And even if it is or not, how do we remember things to improve our memory?

just think about it. Imagine if we remembered every single detail of our lives - every meal we’ve eaten, every conversation we’ve had. Our brains would be overwhelmed with information!

This is precisely why our brain uses a mechanism called ACTIVE FORGETTING.

When you do things absentmindedly such as talking on the phone while putting your keys down, you're less likely to form a strong memory of where you put them. And because your attention is divided, your brain doesn't prioritize remembering it & store it as a low priority memory just to delete it later.

In fact, scientists have found that the brain’s standard rule is not to remember, but to forget irrelevant information and keep focus on what’s important

I made an animated video to illustrate the topic after reading research studies and articles. If you prefer reading, I have included important reference links below.

Why We Forget Things So Quickly

I hope you find this informative

Cheers!

Citing :

Atkinson and Shiffrin Model of Memory

https://practicalpie.com/atkinson-shiffrin-modal-model-of-memory/

Harvard Health Publishing - Forgetting things? Memory problems are more common than you think https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/forgetfulness-7-types-of-normal-memory-problems

The forgotten part of memory

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02211-5

Dopamine Is Required for Learning and Forgetting in Drosophila

https://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(12)00338-8?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0896627312003388%3Fshowall%3Dtrue

Blocking Synaptic Removal of GluA2-Containing AMPA Receptors Prevents the Natural Forgetting of Long-Term Memories

https://www.jneurosci.org/content/36/12/3481

Hippocampal Neurogenesis Regulates Forgetting During Adulthood and Infancy

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1248903

What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger: Psychological Trauma and Its Relationship to Enhanced Memory Control

https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2018-34715-001.html

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Have you ever followed a trend just because everyone else was doing it? Even if it's something you’re not naturally drawn to, but its sudden popularity can leave you wondering what all the hype is about.

It’s normal for things to trend, but why do people blindly follow them even if they’re misleading for our health and society?

According to psychology, this tendency is called The bandwagon effect.

People naturally tend to follow the crowd. Research shows we do not have as much control over our thoughts and behavior as we think. Sometimes, we follow it because we feel pressured. In most cases, We compare ourselves to others, especially people around us and then try to act and change to be more like our surroundings.

And most surprising thing is that bandwagon effect has positive and negative effects and people choose to overlook them just because of the fear of missing out

I made an animated video to illustrate the topic after reading research studies and articles. If you prefer reading, I have included important reference links below.

Why People blindly follow trends like bed rotting

I hope you find this informative

Cheers!

References:

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Bandwagon Effect as a Cognitive Bias https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-bandwagon-effect-2795895

The psychology behind trends https://nuscimagazine.com/the-psychology-behind-trends/?ssp=1&darkschemeovr=1&setlang=en-IN&safesearch=moderate

Annie Miller, Sleep Specialist https://dcmetrotherapy.com/anniemiller/

Length and Activities Matter When It Comes To 'Bed Rotting'

https://www.health.com/what-is-bed-rotting-trend-7561395

he homeostatic physiology of the circadian rhythm

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519507/#:~:text=Circadian%20rhythm%20is%20the%2024,light%20changes%20in%20our%20environment

Mindfulness: Strategies to implement targeted self-care https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2405452623000162?via%3Dihub

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Hey folks. The relevant primatology, as I understand it (please correct me if wrong!):

• Bonobos and chimps share a common ancestor called pan, and pan shares a common ancestor with us, called hominini. All hominini descendents have very complex social structures - males are able to get on with each other. But of chimps and bonobos lack a (strong) concept of paternity. Females and males have sex somewhat indiscriminately (especially bonobos), so it's rare for a child to know which male fathered them (though obviously they know who their mother is).
• Looking back a bit further to great apes, we find that paternity is a thing. The other great apes (gorillas and orangutans and us) have harem structures, and any child born in the harem is assumed to have been fathered by the dominant male. But, on the other hand, their social structures aren't as complicated - unlike humans, chimps, and bonobos, males don't cooperate with each other as much.
• Looking back even further, lesser apes like gibbons tend to have pair bonding. So paternity is still a thing. But male cooperation isn't much of a thing.

The picture I've previously assumed has been that the last common ancestor of all great apes had harems like orangutans and gorillas, and then the homini breaking off involved de-emphasized paternity. This allowed males to collaborate more because they're not competing for females. Then, humans regained the concept of paternity later on, which we see in the fact that not all societies emphasize it as much as others.

But a very distinct alternative popped into my head: perhaps there was paternity all along, and males just found other ways to collaborate. And then the pan breakoff was a de-emphasizing of paternity for a different reason?

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I am mostly thinking about the EEA, but any ball-park figures would be useful for my current project. Google Scholar hasn't been very helpful, but there may be a term for this that I'm unaware of.