Darwinian Hedonism and the Epidemic of Unhealthy Behavior

David M. Williams (Brown University, Rhode Island)

$49.95

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Cambridge University Press
27 July 2023

Psychology; Health psychology; Epidemiology & medical statistics

Psychological hedonism - the idea that people tend to act in ways that maximize pleasure and minimize displeasure - has a decidedly poor reputation among academics who study human behavior. Opinions range from outright rejection to those who believe it to be intuitively obvious, but untestable and therefore unhelpful. In this book, the author introduces an empirically testable and useful theory of psychological hedonism based on contemporary theory and research in the emerging field of affective neuroscience. He goes on to argue that people are genetically endowed with a tendency towards psychological hedonism as a function of Darwinian processes. This view of psychological hedonism in light of its Darwinian origins - thereinafter referred to as Darwinian hedonism - is essential to address the growing global epidemic of unhealthy behavior, such as poor diet, physical inactivity, and substance use.

By: David M. Williams (Brown University Rhode Island)
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
ISBN: 9781107527201
ISBN 10: 1107527201
Pages: 380
Publication Date: 27 July 2023
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

1. Introduction; Part I. Unhealthy behavior: 2. The epidemic of unhealthy behavior; 3. Understanding the causes of behavior; 4. A causal chain of behavior; 5. Contents of the mind; 6. What are the causes of unhealthy behavior?; Part II. Psychological Hedonism: 7. Psychological hedonism and its problems; 8. Reformulating psychological hedonism; 9. Pleasure, displeasure, and affective valence; 10. Hedonic response; 11. Sources of hedonic response; 12. Reward, incentive salience, and hedonic motivation; 13. Incentive conditioning: from hedonic response to hedonic motivation; 14. Hedonic versus reflective motivation; 15. From hedonic motivation to unhealthy behavior; 16. The theory of hedonic motivation; Part III. Darwinian Hedonism: 17. Darwinian hedonism; 18. Neo-Darwinism; 19. The evolutionary function of psychological hedonism; 20. The phylogenetic development of psychological hedonism; Part IV. Darwinian Hedonism and Unhealthy Behavior: 21. Motivational mismatch; 22. Darwinian hedonism and unhealthy behavior; 23. Darwinian hedonism and hedonic desire for calorie-dense foods; 24. Darwinian hedonism and hedonic dread of physical activity; 25. Darwinian hedonism and hedonic desire for smoking, drinking, and drug use; 26. Health behavior interventions; 27. Darwinian hedonism and health-behavior policy; 28. Darwinian hedonism and political will; 29. Conclusions and future directions; Appendix A: hedonic motivation and other motivation concepts; Appendix B: anticipating criticisms of Darwinian hedonism.

David M. Williams is Associate Professor in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the Brown University School of Public Health in Providence, Rhode Island.

Reviews for Darwinian Hedonism and the Epidemic of Unhealthy Behavior

'The ideas presented here are original, convincing, and important. Readers who do research or practice in public health or human behavior will appreciate the author's novel way of thinking about and addressing current problems.' Meghan L. Butryn, The Quarterly Review of Biology