Maladaptive Behavior
A Maladaptive Behavior is a behavior that prevents an a maladapted organim's daily functioning, survival, or reproductive success.
- Context:
- It can (typically) be associated to a Maladaptated Trait.
- It can develop as a result of an organism's attempt to cope with stress or changes in its environment.
- It can be a response that was once adaptive but has become harmful due to changes in the environment or circumstances.
- It can be influenced by various factors, including genetics, learning, and environmental conditions.
- It can occur in both humans and animals, although the specific behaviors may differ.
- It can be a focus of study in fields such as psychology, biology, and evolutionary science.
- ...
- Example(s):
- A Moth & Electric Lamp Effect, where moths are attracted to artificial lights, often leading to exhaustion or death, representing a maladaptive behavior in response to modern environmental conditions.
- Substance Abuse in humans, where the initial relief from stress or emotional pain leads to long-term health, social, and psychological problems.
- Learned Helplessness, where an organism, after repeated exposure to uncontrollable negative stimuli, learns to accept the situation without attempting to escape or improve it.
- Self-Harm Behaviors in humans or animals, where actions like cutting or overgrooming provide temporary relief from distress but cause long-term physical and emotional damage.
- Excessive Fear Responses, such as severe phobias in humans, which interfere with normal functioning and can prevent individuals from engaging in necessary or beneficial activities.
- Overgrooming in animals, such as in captive or stressed animals, leading to self-injury and indicating poor welfare.
- Hoarding Disorder in humans, where excessive acquisition and inability to discard items leads to unsanitary living conditions and social isolation.
- Stereotypic Movement in captive animals, such as pacing or swaying, which indicates stress but doesn't alleviate the underlying cause.
- Internet Addiction in humans, where excessive online activity interferes with daily life, work, and real-world relationships.
- Brood Parasitism in some bird species, where they lay eggs in other birds' nests, potentially leading to reduced overall reproductive success for the species.
- Hypersexuality in humans or animals, where excessive sexual behavior interferes with normal functioning and may increase health risks.
- Selective Eating Disorder in humans, particularly children, where extremely picky eating leads to nutritional deficiencies and social difficulties.
- Chronic Procrastination in humans, where habitual delay of important tasks leads to increased stress and poorer outcomes.
- Freeze Response in prey animals when it persists too long, making them more vulnerable to predators instead of protecting them.
- Excessive Aggression in social animals, leading to isolation from the group and reduced access to resources and mates.
- Seasonal Affective Disorder in humans, where depressive symptoms occur in response to changing seasons, potentially an evolutionary mismatch with modern lifestyles.
- ...
- Counter-Example(s):
- Well-Adapted Traits.
- Adaptive Behaviors that enhance survival, such as migration patterns in birds.
- Learned Behaviors that improve efficiency, like tool use in primates.
- Instinctive behaviors that protect from danger, such as a prey animal's freeze response to a predator.
- See: Adaptive Behavior, Evolutionary Mismatch, Coping Mechanism, Behavioral Adaptation, Evolutionary Psychology, Behavioral Ecology, Degeneration.
References
2024
- (Wikipedia, 2024) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maladaptation Retrieved:2024-8-13.
- In evolution, a maladaptation () is a trait that is (or has become) more harmful than helpful, in contrast with an adaptation, which is more helpful than harmful. All organisms, from bacteria to humans, display maladaptive and adaptive traits. In animals (including humans), adaptive behaviors contrast with maladaptive ones. Like adaptation, maladaptation may be viewed as occurring over geological time, or within the lifetime of one individual or a group.
It can also signify an adaptation that, whilst reasonable at the time, has become less and less suitable and more of a problem or hindrance in its own right, as time goes on. This is because it is possible for an adaptation to be poorly selected or become more of a dysfunction than a positive adaptation, over time.
It can be noted that the concept of maladaptation, as initially discussed in a late 19th-century context, is based on a flawed view of evolutionary theory. It was believed that an inherent tendency for an organism's adaptations to degenerate would translate into maladaptations and soon become crippling if not "weeded out" (see also eugenics). In reality, the advantages conferred by any one adaptation are rarely decisive for survival on its own, but rather balanced against other synergistic and antagonistic adaptations, which consequently cannot change without affecting others.
In other words, it is usually impossible to gain an advantageous adaptation without incurring "maladaptations". Consider a seemingly trivial example: it is apparently extremely hard for an animal to evolve the ability to breathe well in air and in water. Better adapting to one means being less able to do the other.
- In evolution, a maladaptation () is a trait that is (or has become) more harmful than helpful, in contrast with an adaptation, which is more helpful than harmful. All organisms, from bacteria to humans, display maladaptive and adaptive traits. In animals (including humans), adaptive behaviors contrast with maladaptive ones. Like adaptation, maladaptation may be viewed as occurring over geological time, or within the lifetime of one individual or a group.
2020
- (Wikipedia, 2020) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maladaptation Retrieved:2020-1-23.
- A maladaptation is a trait that is (or has become) more harmful than helpful, in contrast with an adaptation, which is more helpful than harmful. All organisms, from bacteria to humans, display maladaptive and adaptive traits. In animals (including humans), adaptive behaviors contrast with maladaptive ones. Like adaptation, maladaptation may be viewed as occurring over geological time, or within the lifetime of one individual or a group.
It can also signify an adaptation that, whilst reasonable at the time, has become less and less suitable and more of a problem or hindrance in its own right, as time goes on. This is because it is possible for an adaptation to be poorly selected or become less appropriate or even become on balance more of a dysfunction than a positive adaptation, over time.
Note that the concept of maladaptation, as initially discussed in a late 19th-century context, is based on a flawed view of evolutionary theory. It was believed that an inherent tendency for an organism's adaptations to degenerate would translate into maladaptations and soon become crippling if not "weeded out" (see also Eugenics). In reality, the advantages conferred by any one adaptation are rarely decisive for survival on its own but rather balanced against other synergistic and antagonistic adaptations, which consequently cannot change without affecting others.
In other words, it is usually impossible to gain an advantageous adaptation without incurring "maladaptations". Consider a seemingly trivial example: it is apparently extremely hard for an animal to evolve the ability to breathe well in air and in water. Better adapting to one means being less able to do the other.
- A maladaptation is a trait that is (or has become) more harmful than helpful, in contrast with an adaptation, which is more helpful than harmful. All organisms, from bacteria to humans, display maladaptive and adaptive traits. In animals (including humans), adaptive behaviors contrast with maladaptive ones. Like adaptation, maladaptation may be viewed as occurring over geological time, or within the lifetime of one individual or a group.