Immediate Survival Focus: Synthesizing Life History Theory and Dual Process Models to Explain Substance Use

Researchers have recently applied evolutionary life history theory to the understanding of behaviors often conceived of as prosocial or antisocial. In addition, researchers have applied cognitive science to the understanding of substance use and used dual process models, where explicit cognitive pro...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: George B. Richardson, Patrick Hardesty
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2012-10-01
Series:Evolutionary Psychology
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/147470491201000408
Description
Summary:Researchers have recently applied evolutionary life history theory to the understanding of behaviors often conceived of as prosocial or antisocial. In addition, researchers have applied cognitive science to the understanding of substance use and used dual process models, where explicit cognitive processes are modeled as relatively distinct from implicit cognitive processes, to explain and predict substance use behaviors. In this paper we synthesized these two theoretical perspectives to produce an adaptive and cognitive framework for explaining substance use. We contend that this framework provides new insights into the nature of substance use that may be valuable for both clinicians and researchers.
ISSN:1474-7049