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Hoemann K, Gendron M, Crittenden AN, Mangola SM, Endeko ES, Dussault È, Barrett LF, Mesquita B. What We Can Learn About Emotion by Talking With the Hadza. Perspect Psychol Sci 2024; 19:173-200. [PMID: 37428509 PMCID: PMC10776822 DOI: 10.1177/17456916231178555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
Emotions are often thought of as internal mental states centering on individuals' subjective feelings and evaluations. This understanding is consistent with studies of emotion narratives, or the descriptions people give for experienced events that they regard as emotions. Yet these studies, and contemporary psychology more generally, often rely on observations of educated Europeans and European Americans, constraining psychological theory and methods. In this article, we present observations from an inductive, qualitative analysis of interviews conducted with the Hadza, a community of small-scale hunter-gatherers in Tanzania, and juxtapose them with a set of interviews conducted with Americans from North Carolina. Although North Carolina event descriptions largely conformed to the assumptions of eurocentric psychological theory, Hadza descriptions foregrounded action and bodily sensations, the physical environment, immediate needs, and the experiences of social others. These observations suggest that subjective feelings and internal mental states may not be the organizing principle of emotion the world around. Qualitative analysis of emotion narratives from outside of a U.S. (and western) cultural context has the potential to uncover additional diversity in meaning-making, offering a descriptive foundation on which to build a more robust and inclusive science of emotion.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Lisa Feldman Barrett
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts
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Ougrin D, Woodhouse E, Tucker G, Ronaldson A, Bakolis I. The Prevalence of Behavioural Symptoms and Psychiatric Disorders in Hadza Children. Sci Rep 2023; 13:22061. [PMID: 38086816 PMCID: PMC10716231 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-48114-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2023] [Accepted: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The worldwide pooled prevalence of psychiatric disorders in children is 13.4%. Studying the prevalence of childhood psychiatric disorders across radically different economic systems and social structures could indicate universal factors leading to their development. The prevalence of childhood psychiatric disorders in a mixed-subsistence foraging society has not been studied. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the Development and Well-Being Assessment were used to compare the prevalence of behavioural symptoms and psychiatric disorders in Hadza children aged 5-16 years (n = 113) to a nationally representative sample from England (n = 18,029) using a cross-sectional study design. Emotional problems, conduct problems and hyperactivity were lower in the Hadza children. Prosocial behaviour and peer problems were higher in Hadza children. 3.6% of Hadza children met the criteria for a psychiatric disorder compared to 11.8% of English children. All psychiatric disorders in Hadza children were co-morbid with autism spectrum disorder. No child from the Hadza group met the criteria for an emotional, behaviour or eating disorder. Further work should study the factors which lead to the different prevalence of psychiatric disorders in Hadza children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dennis Ougrin
- Youth Resilience Unit, Centre for Psychiatry and Mental Health, Wolfson Institute of Population Health, WHO Collaborating Centre for Mental Health Services Development, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
| | - Emma Woodhouse
- Compass Psychology Services, Bromley, Kent, UK
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Gavin Tucker
- South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Amy Ronaldson
- Health Service and Population Research Department, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Ioannis Bakolis
- Health Service and Population Research Department, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- Department of Biostatistics and Health Informatics, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
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Samson DR, Clerget A, Abbas N, Senese J, Sarma MS, Lew-Levy S, Mabulla IA, Mabulla AZP, Miegakanda V, Borghese F, Henckaerts P, Schwartz S, Sterpenich V, Gettler LT, Boyette A, Crittenden AN, Perogamvros L. Evidence for an emotional adaptive function of dreams: a cross-cultural study. Sci Rep 2023; 13:16530. [PMID: 37783728 PMCID: PMC10545663 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-43319-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2023] [Accepted: 09/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The function of dreams is a longstanding scientific research question. Simulation theories of dream function, which are based on the premise that dreams represent evolutionary past selective pressures and fitness improvement through modified states of consciousness, have yet to be tested in cross-cultural populations that include small-scale forager societies. Here, we analyze dream content with cross-cultural comparisons between the BaYaka (Rep. of Congo) and Hadza (Tanzania) foraging groups and Global North populations, to test the hypothesis that dreams in forager groups serve a more effective emotion regulation function due to their strong social norms and high interpersonal support. Using a linear mixed effects model we analyzed 896 dreams from 234 individuals across these populations, recorded using dream diaries. Dream texts were processed into four psychosocial constructs using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC-22) dictionary. The BaYaka displayed greater community-oriented dream content. Both the BaYaka and Hadza exhibited heightened threat dream content, while, at the same time, the Hadza demonstrated low negative emotions in their dreams. The Global North Nightmare Disorder group had increased negative emotion content, and the Canadian student sample during the COVID-19 pandemic displayed the highest anxiety dream content. In conclusion, this study supports the notion that dreams in non-clinical populations can effectively regulate emotions by linking potential threats with non-fearful contexts, reducing anxiety and negative emotions through emotional release or catharsis. Overall, this work contributes to our understanding of the evolutionary significance of this altered state of consciousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- David R Samson
- Sleep and Human Evolution Lab, University of Toronto, Mississauga, Canada.
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6, Canada.
| | - Alice Clerget
- Department of Basic Neurosciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Noor Abbas
- Sleep and Human Evolution Lab, University of Toronto, Mississauga, Canada
| | - Jeffrey Senese
- Sleep and Human Evolution Lab, University of Toronto, Mississauga, Canada
| | - Mallika S Sarma
- School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Sheina Lew-Levy
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Ibrahim A Mabulla
- Department of Archaeology and Heritage, Institute of Resource Assessment, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Audax Z P Mabulla
- Department of Archaeology and Heritage, Institute of Resource Assessment, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Valchy Miegakanda
- Laboratoire National de Santé Publique, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo
| | - Francesca Borghese
- Department of Basic Neurosciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Pauline Henckaerts
- Department of Basic Neurosciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Sophie Schwartz
- Department of Basic Neurosciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Virginie Sterpenich
- Department of Basic Neurosciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Lee T Gettler
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
| | - Adam Boyette
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - Lampros Perogamvros
- Department of Basic Neurosciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Sleep Medicine, University Hospitals of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Sleep Medicine, 2 Chemin du Petit-Bel-Air, 1226 Thônex, Switzerland.
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Fox M, Wiley KS. How a pregnant woman's relationships with her siblings relate to her mental health: a prenatal allocare perspective. Evol Med Public Health 2021; 10:1-20. [PMID: 35154777 PMCID: PMC8830312 DOI: 10.1093/emph/eoab044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2021] [Accepted: 12/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In cooperatively breeding species, individuals may promote their inclusive fitness through allomothering. Humans exhibit some features of cooperative breeding, and previous studies have focused on allomothering by grandparents and juvenile siblings in the postnatal period. We hypothesize that a pregnant woman's relationships with her siblings (offspring's maternal aunts and uncles) are beneficial for maternal affect in ways that can enhance the siblings' inclusive fitness. Maternal affect during pregnancy is a salient target of allocare given the detrimental effects of antepartum mood disorders on birth and infant outcomes. METHODOLOGY We test our hypotheses in a cohort of pregnant Latina women in Southern California (N = 201). Predictor variables of interest include number of siblings a participant has, if she has sisters, frequency of seeing siblings, and frequency of communication with siblings. Outcome variables measuring maternal affect include depression, state anxiety, pregnancy-related anxiety and perceived stress. RESULTS Having at least one sister and greater frequency of communication with siblings were associated with fewer depressive symptoms during pregnancy. No significant associations were found between sibling variables and other measures of affect. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS Results suggest that how frequently you communicate with, and not how often you see, siblings could be protective against risk of antepartum depression. Sibling allomothering could impart effects through social-emotional support rather than instrumental support, as a strategy to benefit the prenatal environment in which future nieces and nephews develop. Allomothering may be particularly important in cultural contexts that value family relationships. Future studies should investigate other communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Molly Fox
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA,Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA,Corresponding author. Department of Anthropology, University of California Los Angeles, 341 Haines Hall, 375 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, USA. Tel: +1 (310) 206-4589; E-mail:
| | - Kyle S Wiley
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA,Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Crittenden AN, Farahani A, Herlosky KN, Pollom TR, Mabulla IA, Ruginski IT, Cashdan E. Harm Avoidance and Mobility During Middle Childhood and Adolescence among Hadza Foragers. Hum Nat 2021; 32:150-176. [PMID: 33945076 DOI: 10.1007/s12110-021-09390-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Cross-cultural sex differences in mobility and harm avoidance have been widely reported, often emphasizing fitness benefits of long-distance travel for males and high costs for females. Data emerging from adults in small-scale societies, however, are challenging the assumption that female mobility is restricted during reproduction. Such findings warrant further exploration of the ontogeny of mobility. Here, using a combination of machine-learning, mixed-effects linear regression, and GIS mapping, we analyze range size, daily distance traveled, and harm avoidance among Hadza foragers during middle childhood and adolescence. Distance traveled increased with age and, while male adolescents had the longest daily ranges, average daily distance traveled by each sex was similar. We found few age- or sex-related patterns in harm-avoidant responses and a high degree of individual variation. When queried on the same issues, children and their parents were often in alignment as to expectations pertaining to harm avoidance, and siblings tended to behave in similar ways. To the extent that sex differences in mobility did emerge, they were associated with ecological differences in physical threats associated with sex-specific foraging behaviors. Further, we found no strong association between harm avoidance and mobility. Young Hadza foragers of both sexes are highly mobile, regardless of how harm avoidant they are. Taken together, our findings indicate that the causal arrows between harm avoidance and mobility must be evaluated in ecologically specific frameworks where cultural expectations of juvenile mobility can be contextualized.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alan Farahani
- Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV, USA
| | | | - Trevor R Pollom
- Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV, USA
| | | | - Ian T Ruginski
- Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
- Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Elizabeth Cashdan
- Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
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Gunst A, Sundén M, Korja R, Boddy AM, Kotler J, Paavonen EJ, Uusitupa HM, Karlsson L, Karlsson H, Antfolk J. Postpartum depression and mother-offspring conflict over maternal investment. Evol Med Public Health 2021; 9:11-23. [PMID: 33664956 PMCID: PMC7910802 DOI: 10.1093/emph/eoaa049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Accepted: 12/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES As the mother-offspring relationship is central to human reproduction, postpartum depression symptoms are difficult to explain in evolutionary terms. We proposed that postpartum depression might arise as a result of evolutionary mother-offspring conflict over maternal investment, and investigated the association between postpartum depression symptoms, infant night waking, maternal sleep disturbance and breastfeeding frequency. METHODOLOGY We conducted a cross-sectional analysis using survey responses at 6 months postpartum from 1598 Finnish mothers. We hypothesized that infant night waking at 6 months postpartum would be associated with postpartum depression symptoms, and that this association would be mediated by maternal sleep disturbance and a higher breastfeeding frequency. RESULTS Infant night waking was moderately associated with postpartum depression symptoms, and this association was mediated by maternal sleep disturbance (R 2=0.09). Contrary to our prediction, we found that increased breastfeeding was associated with less postpartum depression symptoms. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS We conclude that postpartum depression symptoms might partly be the result of increased maternal fatigue stemming from high offspring demands on maternal investment, but that this is not due to the metabolic strain from increased breastfeeding. Studying postpartum depression from the mother-offspring conflict perspective can potentially improve our understanding of the involved behavioral processes of both mother and offspring, and allow interventions designed to benefit the well-being of both parties. Lay Summary: We proposed that postpartum depression is due to an evolutionary conflict between mother and infant, where the infant tires the mother to delay the arrival of a sibling. We found a link between infant night waking and postpartum depression, mediated by the mother's sleep, but not by breastfeeding frequency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annika Gunst
- Department of Psychology, Åbo Akademi University, Tehtaankatu 2, Turku 20500, Finland
| | - My Sundén
- Department of Psychology, Åbo Akademi University, Tehtaankatu 2, Turku 20500, Finland
| | - Riikka Korja
- Department of Psychology, University of Turku, Assistentinkatu 7, Turku 20014, Finland
- Department of Clinical Medicine, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, University of Turku, Lemminkäisenkatu 3, Turku 20014, Finland
| | - Amy M Boddy
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 3210, USA
| | - Jennifer Kotler
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - E Juulia Paavonen
- Department of Public Health Solutions, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, P.O. Box 30, 00271 Helsinki, Finland
- Centre for Population Health Research, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 10, Turku 20520, Finland
| | - Henna-Maria Uusitupa
- Department of Clinical Medicine, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, University of Turku, Lemminkäisenkatu 3, Turku 20014, Finland
| | - Linnea Karlsson
- Department of Clinical Medicine, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, University of Turku, Lemminkäisenkatu 3, Turku 20014, Finland
- Pediatric Research Center, Helsinki University Hospital, P.O. Box 63, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Psychiatry, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Lemminkäisenkatu 3, Turku 20014, Finland
| | - Hasse Karlsson
- Department of Clinical Medicine, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, University of Turku, Lemminkäisenkatu 3, Turku 20014, Finland
- Department of Psychiatry, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Lemminkäisenkatu 3, Turku 20014, Finland
| | - Jan Antfolk
- Department of Psychology, Åbo Akademi University, Tehtaankatu 2, Turku 20500, Finland
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Frąckowiak T, Groyecka-Bernard A, Oleszkiewicz A, Butovskaya M, Żelaźniewicz A, Sorokowski P. Difference in Perception of Onset of Old Age in Traditional (Hadza) and Modern (Polish) Societies. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020; 17:E7079. [PMID: 32992636 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17197079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2020] [Revised: 09/12/2020] [Accepted: 09/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Despite relatively clear physiological indicators of old age, little is known about cross-cultural differences in psychological perceptions of the transition to old age. Although recent studies suggest consistency between modern countries, the subjective perception of old age onset in traditional societies remains poorly explored. Therefore, we compared the perception of timing of old age between a traditional tribe of hunter-gatherers (the Hadza) and a Polish sample representing a modern, industrialized population. The results indicate that the Hadza perceive old age onset as being significantly earlier than do the Poles. Furthermore, we found between-gender differences in the Polish sample: men set a lower threshold of old age onset than women. The Hadza showed no between-gender difference. Although the samples were matched for age, a larger proportion of Hadza considered themselves old. We discuss these findings from cultural and demographical perspectives.
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Pollom TR, Herlosky KN, Mabulla IA, Crittenden AN. Changes in Juvenile Foraging Behavior among the Hadza of Tanzania during Early Transition to a Mixed-Subsistence Economy. Hum Nat 2020; 31:123-40. [DOI: 10.1007/s12110-020-09364-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
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