Inclusive fitness maximization: an axiomatic approach

Kin selection theorists argue that evolution in social contexts will lead organisms to behave as if maximizing their inclusive, as opposed to personal, fitness. The inclusive fitness concept allows biologists to treat organisms as akin to rational agents seeking to maximize a utility function. Here we develop this idea and place it on a firm footing by employing a standard decision-theoretic methodology. We show how the principle of inclusive fitness maximization and a related principle of quasi-inclusive fitness maximization can be derived from axioms on an individual’s ‘as if preferences’ (binary choices). Our results help integrate evolutionary theory and rational choice theory, help draw out the behavioural implications of inclusive fitness maximization, and point to a possible way in which evolution could lead organisms to implement it.

Could Staying Human in Medical Training Help Make Medicine Humane? Review of Allan D. Peterkin, Staying Human During Residency Training

Compte-rendu / Review

Institutional Boundaries and Judicial Review - Some Thoughts on How the Court is Going About Its Business: Desperately Seeking Coherence

Cet article a précédemment été publié par la Supreme Court Law Review (Second Series).

Mental health treatment seeking by military members with posttraumatic stress disorder : findings on rates, characteristics, and predictors from a nationally representative Canadian military sample

Objective: The goal of this study was to identify rates, characteristies, and predictors of mental health treatment seeking by military members with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Method: Our sample was drawn from the 2002 Canadian Community Health Survey-Canadian Forces Supplement (CCHS-CF) dataset. The CCHS-CF is the first epidemiologic survey of PTSD and other mental health conditions in the Canadian military and includes 8441 nationally representative Canadian Forces (CF) members. Of those, 549 who met the criteria for lifetime PTSD were included in our analyses. To identify treatment rates and characteristics, we examined frequency of treatment contact by professional and facility type. To identify predictors of treatment seeking, we conducted a binary logistic regression with lifetime treatment seeking as the outcome variable. Results: About two-thirds of those with PTSD consulted with a professional regarding mental health problems. The most frequently consulted professionals, during both the last year and lifetime, included social workers and counsellors, medical doctors and general practitioners, and psychiatrists. Consultations during the last year most often took place in a CF facility. Treatment seeking was predicted by cumulative lifetime trauma exposure, index traumatic event type, PTSD symptom interference, and comorbid major depressive disorder. Those with comorbid depression were 3.75 times more likely to have sought treatment than those without. Conclusions: Although a significant portion of military members with PTSD sought mental health treatment, 1 in 3 never did. Trauma-related and illness and (or) need factors predicted treatment seeking. Of all the predictors of treatment seeking, comorbid depression most increased the likelihood of seeking treatment.

Romantic attachment and perception of partner support to explain psychological aggression perpetrated in couples seeking couples therapy

Essai doctoral présenté à la Faculté des études supérieures en vue de l’obtention du grade de Docteur en psychologie (D.Psy.), option clinique