White Claire, Fessler Daniel M T
Department of Religious Studies, California State University, Northridge, CA, USA.
Center for Behavior, Evolution, and Culture and Department of Anthropology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Evol Med Public Health. 2017 Dec 18;2018(1):34-42. doi: 10.1093/emph/eox018. eCollection 2018.
Grief is characterized by a number of cardinal cognitive symptoms, including preoccupation with thoughts of the deceased and vigilance toward indications that the deceased is in the environment. Compared with emotional symptoms, little attention has been paid to the ultimate function of vigilance in grief. Drawing on signal-detection theory, we propose that the ultimate function of vigilance is to facilitate the reunification (where possible) with a viable relationship partner following separation. Preoccupation with thoughts about the missing person creates the cognitive conditions necessary to maintain a low baseline threshold for the detection of the agent-any information associated with the agent is highly salient, and attention is correspondingly readily deployed toward such cues. These patterns are adaptive in cases of an absent but living partner, but maladaptive in cases of the death of a partner. That they occur in the latter likely reflects the intersection of error-management considerations and the kludge-like configuration of the mind. We discuss results from two previous studies designed to test predictions concerning input conditions and individual differences based on this account, and consider the implications of these findings for mainstream bereavement theories and practices.
悲伤的特征是一系列主要的认知症状，包括对逝者的思念以及对逝者出现在周围环境迹象的警觉。与情绪症状相比，人们对悲伤中警觉的最终功能关注较少。基于信号检测理论，我们提出警觉的最终功能是在分离后促进与有生命的伴侣（若有可能）重新团聚。对失踪者的思念创造了必要的认知条件，以维持对该对象检测的低基线阈值——任何与该对象相关的信息都非常显著，相应地，注意力也很容易被部署到此类线索上。这些模式在伴侣缺席但仍在世的情况下是适应性的，但在伴侣死亡的情况下则是适应不良的。它们在后一种情况下出现可能反映了错误管理考量与大脑杂乱配置的交织。我们讨论了之前两项研究的结果，这些研究旨在基于此解释测试关于输入条件和个体差异的预测，并考虑这些发现对主流丧亲理论和实践的影响。
