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Evolutionary mechanisms for loneliness
Open accessAbstract
Robert Weiss (1973) conceptualised loneliness as perceived social isolation, which he described as a gnawing, chronic disease without redeeming features. On the scale of everyday life, it is understandable how something as personally aversive as loneliness could be regarded as a blight on human existence. However, evolutionary time and evolutionary forces operate at such a different scale of organisation than we experience in everyday life that personal experience is not sufficient to understand the role of loneliness in human existence. Research over the past decade suggests a very different view of loneliness than suggested by personal experience, one in which loneliness serves a variety of adaptive functions in specific habitats. We review evidence on the heritability of loneliness and outline an evolutionary theory of loneliness, with an emphasis on its potential adaptive value in an evolutionary timescale.
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“However, chronic loneliness poses potential risks due to its tendency to create a self-reinforcing loneliness loop where lonely persons become increasingly distrustful of others and anticipate negative relationships, and as a result, they would prefer to avoid future social interactions.85”
From A Longitudinal Study of Loneliness Before the End of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Trajectories, Predictors, and Impact on Chinese Adolescent Mental Health (2024) · cites this paper as [85]
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“Researchers have suggested that transient loneliness may serve an evolutionary purpose by prompting people to reestablish connections for the sake of survival and genetic continuity.85”
From A Longitudinal Study of Loneliness Before the End of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Trajectories, Predictors, and Impact on Chinese Adolescent Mental Health (2024) · cites this paper as [85]
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“The evolutionary perspective of loneliness proposed by Cacioppo and colleagues (2006;Cacioppo, Cacioppo, & Boomsma, 2014) presents loneliness as an adaptive signal, similar to hunger and thirst, that motivates one to alter behavior in a way that will increase survival.”
From Loneliness and Social Isolation as Risk Factors for Mortality: A Meta-Analytic Review (2015) · cites this paper as Cacioppo, Cacioppo, & Boomsma, 2014
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“This model proposes that loneliness operates as an aversive signal designed to promote adaptation to the vulnerabilities of being alone and motivate reconnection32.”
From Neural mechanisms of social homeostasis (2019) · cites this paper as [32]
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“Cacioppo et al. (2006) posited that just as physical pain is an aversive signal that evolved to motivate a person to take action to minimize damage to one’s physical body, Perceived social isolation Reaffiliation motive activated–Motivated to reconnect Behavioral reaffiliation process activated: Withdrawal from initia…”
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“…extent that human loneliness stems from a chronic sense of social threat and a diminished reward from social interactions (Cacioppo & Patrick 2008, Cacioppo et al. 2014), nonhuman primate models of repeated low-grade social threat may also help illuminate the neural and biological consequences of…”
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“Much as thirst drives one to consume water, loneliness may be a biologically adaptive response motivating one to reconnect socially (Cacioppo et al. 2014).”
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“…from a discrepancy between the quantity (e.g., number of social contacts per day) and/or the quality (referring to the subjective experience of characteristics such as affection, intimacy, or con fl ict) of their desired and actual social connections (Cacioppo et al., 2014; Perlman & Peplau, 1981).”
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“Therefore, to effectively reduce social risk, both the subjective experience of loneliness as well as objective socialinteraction behaviors must be addressed (1, 4).”
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“For social species, the perception of being socially isolated even when in the presence of others signals danger and evokes a dysphoric state termed loneliness in humans (Cacioppo et al, 2014; Cacioppo et al, 2015a).”
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“However, prolonged loneliness may lead to a self-preservation bias in cognitive processes (such as RS) to protect the lonely individual in socially threatening environments (30).”
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BackgroundSelf-disgust as a potential mechanism explaining the association between loneliness and depression
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Loneliness predicts a preference for larger interpersonal distance within intimate space
Layden, E. A., Cacioppo, J. T., & Cacioppo, S. (2018) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0203491 · Cited by 75
Self-citationDoes loneliness thrive in relational freedom or restriction? The culture-loneliness framework
Heu, L. C., van Zomeren, M., & Hansen, N. (2021) · Review of General Psychology · doi:10.1177/1089268020959033 · Cited by 64
“, by paying more attention to negative social cues, or forming more negative memories of social interactions), they are also viewed more negatively by others (who perceive them as less sociable and less attractive; Cacioppo et al., 2014).”
BackgroundInfluentialPadmanabhanunni, A., & Pretorius, T. B. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18073613 · Cited by 69
“According to the sociocognitive theory of loneliness [13], the experience of being lonely typically motivates people to re-connect with others.”
BackgroundPhysical Contact and Loneliness: Being Touched Reduces Perceptions of Loneliness
Tejada, A. H., Dunbar, R., & Montero, M. (2020) · Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology · doi:10.1007/s40750-020-00138-0 · Cited by 80
Li, N., Xuan, C., & Chen, R. (2024) · Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services · doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.103890 · Cited by 77
A Review of Researches Workplace Loneliness
Zhou, X. C. (2018) · Psychology · doi:10.4236/psych.2018.95064 · Cited by 61
“From an evolutionary point of view, loneliness is not only an unpleasant experience, but also the insecurity of the surrounding environment, which leads to unpleasant feelings such as anxiety, fear and low self-esteem (Cacioppo et al., 2014).”
BackgroundFreeman‐Coppadge, D. J., & Horne, S. G. (2019) · Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity · doi:10.1037/sgd0000341 · Cited by 62
Chen, Z., Song, X., Lee, T. M. C., & Zhang, R. (2023) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2023.09.035 · Cited by 69
Cognitive and Neural Correlates of Loneliness and Wisdom during Emotional Bias
Grennan, G., Balasubramani, P. P., Alim, F., Zafar-Khan, M., Lee, E. E., Jeste, D. V., & Mishra, J. (2021) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/bhab012 · Cited by 57
Opposing Association of Situational and Chronic Loneliness with Interpersonal Distance
Saporta, N., Scheele, D., Lieberz, J., Stuhr-Wulff, F., Hurlemann, R., & Shamay‐Tsoory, S. (2021) · Brain Sciences · doi:10.3390/brainsci11091135 · Cited by 68
“From an evolutionary perspective, loneliness may have evolved as an aversive signal, which drives people to reconnect with others, in the same way that hunger drives people to search for food [14,15].”
BackgroundDynamic influences on the neural encoding of social valence
Padilla-Coreano, N., Tye, K. M., & Zelikowsky, M. (2022) · Nature reviews. Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/s41583-022-00609-1 · Cited by 59
Childhood loneliness as a specific risk factor for adult psychiatric disorders
Xerxa, Y., Rescorla, L. A., Shanahan, L., Tiemeier, H., & Copeland, W. E. (2023) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291721001422 · Cited by 59
“…increase extended periods of hypothalamo – pituitary – adrenal activations, and decreased gene expression and immunity to deal with potential assaults that may arise, (d) decreased impulse control (e.g. prepotent responding), and (e) increased depressive symptomatology (Cacioppo et al., 2014).”
BackgroundEmotion and biological health: the socio-cultural moderation
Kitayama, S., & Park, J. (2017) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.06.016 · Cited by 60
“In fact, whereas inflammation was originally designed to address injury of the physical body, it seems to have been conditioned such that they would be readily activated in response to current sources of ‘stress’ including social exclusion [12,13], prejudice [14], early adversity and abuse [15] and low (vs.”
Meta-analytic evidence for the cognitive control model of loneliness in emotion processing
Wong, N. M. L., Mabel-Kenzie, S. T. S. T., Lin, C., Huang, C., Liu, H., Lee, S., & Lee, T. M. C. (2022) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104686 · Cited by 59
“From the neurobiological and evolutionary perspective, loneliness could be an aversive biological signal that urges the lonely individual to repair existing or seek new social connections (Cacioppo and Cacioppo, 2018; Cacioppo et al., 2014).”
BackgroundBreaking the vicious cycle: The interplay between loneliness, metabolic illness, and mental health
Ahmed, M., Cerda, I. H., & Maloof, M. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1134865 · Cited by 64
“Accordingly, loneliness is thought to have evolved as an alarm signal, akin to hunger or thirst, to seek out social contact and promote survival (2, 18, 19).”
BackgroundManskow, U. S., Friborg, O., Røe, C., Braine, M. E., Damsgård, E., & Anke, A. (2016) · Neurorehabilitation · doi:10.3233/nre-161406 · Cited by 57
“Loneliness is the psychological aspect of social isolation and is referred to as perceived subjective isolation (Cacioppo et al., 2014), and has been described as low perceived social support and an important indicator of social network quality (Anke et al., 1997).”
Positive Solitude Scale: Theoretical Background, Development and Validation
Palgi, Y., Segel‐Karpas, D., Mor, S. O., Hoffman, Y. S. G., Shrira, A., & Bodner, E. (2021) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-021-00367-4 · Cited by 65
Effects of Chronic and State Loneliness on Heart Rate Variability in Women
Roddick, C. M., & Chen, F. S. (2020) · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1093/abm/kaaa065 · Cited by 58
Verity, L., Yang, K., Nowland, R. A., Shankar, A., Turnbull, M., & Qualter, P. (2022) · Journal of Adolescent Research · doi:10.1177/07435584221111121 · Cited by 72
“For other people, loneliness can become chronic and maladaptive (Cacioppo et al., 2014).”
BackgroundPredicting loneliness with polygenic scores of social, psychological and psychiatric traits
Abdellaoui, A., Nivard, M. G., Hottenga, J., Fedko, I. O., Verweij, K. J. H., Baselmans, B. M. L., Ehli, E. A., Davies, G. E., Bartels, M., Boomsma, D. I., et al. (2018) · Genes Brain & Behavior · doi:10.1111/gbb.12472 · Cited by 57
“The prevailing hypothesis on the evolutionary benefits of loneliness is based on humans having adapted to live in groups; for social creatures, loneliness may have increased the chances for survival and reproduction through the motivation to improve one's social circumstances.(1) A related evolutionary mechanism that…”
Self-citationGratitude and Loneliness: Enhancing Health and Well-Being in Older Adults
Bartlett, M. Y., & Arpin, S. N. (2019) · Research on Aging · doi:10.1177/0164027519845354 · Cited by 58
A developmental social neuroscience model for understanding loneliness in adolescence
Wong, N. M. L., Yeung, P. P. S., & Lee, T. M. C. (2018) · Social Neuroscience · doi:10.1080/17470919.2016.1256832 · Cited by 50
“For example, the subjective negative emotional state of loneliness arising from dissatisfaction with current social needs may motivate individuals to form more social ties (J. T. Cacioppo et al., 2014; Gardner et al., 2005).”
BackgroundInfluentialAcute social isolation evokes midbrain craving responses similar to hungerPreprint
Tomova, L., Wang, K. L., Thompson, T. W., Matthews, G. A., Takahashi, A., Tye, K. M., & Saxe, R. R. (2020) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2020.03.25.006643 · Cited by 67
Loneliness unlocked: Associations with smartphone use and personality
MacDonald, K. B., & Schermer, J. A. (2021) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2021.103454 · Cited by 58
“…are not considered to be inherently bad, but rather functional in that feeling isolated can make one more attuned to emotional expression in others (Lucas et al., 2010) and can be motivating to seek social interactions and develop relationships (Cacioppo et al., 2014; Luhmann et al., 2015).”
BackgroundDaily Social Interactions and Momentary Loneliness: The Role of Trait Loneliness and Neuroticism
Zhaoyang, R., Harrington, K., Scott, S., Graham‐Engeland, J. E., & Sliwinski, M. J. (2022) · The Journals of Gerontology Series B · doi:10.1093/geronb/gbac083 · Cited by 56
Kuiper, J. S., Smidt, N., Zuidema, S. U., Comijs, H. C., Voshaar, R. C. O., & Zuidersma, M. (2019) · Aging & Mental Health · doi:10.1080/13607863.2019.1571012 · Cited by 51
Understanding loneliness and social relationships in autism: The reflections of autistic adults
Elmose, M. (2019) · Nordic Psychology · doi:10.1080/19012276.2019.1625068 · Cited by 57
“This confirms previous results indicating similarities in the experience of distress (Causton-Theoharis et al., 2009; Merkler, 2007).”
Authenticity and rumination mediate the relationship between loneliness and well-being
Borawski, D. (2019) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-019-00412-9 · Cited by 54
Grygiel, P., Humenny, G., & Rębisz, S. (2019) · Assessment · doi:10.1177/1073191116682298 · Cited by 44
A behavior genetic analysis of personality and loneliness
Schermer, J. A., & Martin, N. G. (2018) · Journal of Research in Personality · doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2018.11.011 · Cited by 53
Cheng, Y., Yang, T.-A., & Lee, J.-C. (2021) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su13169475 · Cited by 56
“It was a negative emotional condition and could affect a person’s brain [26,41].”
BackgroundConceptualizing loneliness in health research: Philosophical and psychological ways forward.
Power, J. M., Dolezal, L., Kee, F., & LAWLOR, B. A. (2018) · Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology · doi:10.1037/teo0000099 · Cited by 50
“Evolutionary theory of loneliness puts forward that loneliness has been piggybacked on phylogenetically older neural substrates of pain, to encourage the individual to avoid becoming isolated and to reconnect with others (J. T. Cacioppo et al., 2014; J. T. Cacioppo et al., 2006).”
BackgroundGuo, J., Gao, Q., Wu, R., Ying, J., & You, J. (2021) · Archives of Suicide Research · doi:10.1080/13811118.2021.1922109 · Cited by 46
Chronic Loneliness: Neurocognitive Mechanisms and Interventions
Morr, M., Liu, X., Hurlemann, R., Becker, B., & Scheele, D. (2022) · Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics · doi:10.1159/000524157 · Cited by 44
The neuroscience of unmet social needs
Tomova, L., Tye, K., & Saxe, R. (2021) · Social Neuroscience · doi:10.1080/17470919.2019.1694580 · Cited by 48
“The experience of social rejection activates brain areas associated with processing of aversive states like physical pain, such as bilateral anterior insula and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) (Cacioppo et al., 2013; Eisenberger, 2012; for reviews).”
BackgroundHeu, L. C. (2023) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/17456916231192485 · Cited by 47
“However, not only previous loneliness conceptualizations (Perlman & Peplau, 1981) but also an evolutionary model of loneliness (J. T. Cacioppo et al., 2014) suggest that deviations from social norms can increase the likelihood of feeling lonely.”
Metadata
- Authors
- Cacioppo, J. T., Cacioppo, S., & Boomsma, D. I.
- Affiliations
- University of Chicago (US)
- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL)
- Corresponding author
- Cacioppo, John T.
- Venue
- Cognition and Emotion
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2013-09-25
- Volume
- 28
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 3-21
- ISSN
- 0269-9931 (ISSN-L)
- 1464-0600
- PMC
- PMC3855545
- OpenAlex
- W2109338375
- Cited by
- 576
- References
- 127
- Citations by year
- 2026: 61 · 2025: 86 · 2024: 80 · 2023: 65 · 2022: 69 · 2021: 50 · 2020: 52 · 2019: 30 · 2018: 27 · 2017: 23 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 2
- FWCI
- 14.45
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Cognition & Emotion (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- VU Research Portal (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute on Aging (P01AG018911, R37AG033590, R01AG034052, R01AG033590)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
- Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
- Keywords
- loneliness, social isolation
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Biological Evolution, Humans, Loneliness, Psychological Theory
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