The DOI matches its Crossref record; 128 of the 128 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
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.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“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]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“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]
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“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
In the citing paper
“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]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation.
Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037//0033-2909.117.3.497 · Cited by 23,245 · cited 2×
“This is because there is no individual variability in a person having a heart.”
(1976) · Cited by 10,423
The Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale: concurrent and discriminant validity evidence
Russell, D., Peplau, L. A., & Cutrona, C. E. (1980) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.39.3.472 · Cited by 5,173 · cited 1×
“© 2013 Taylor & Francis 3”
Loneliness: the experience of emotional and social isolation
Weiss, R. S. (1974) · Cited by 2,513
Intergroup Conflict And Cooperation: The Robbers Cave Experiment
Sherif, M. (2013) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 2,344
Perceived social isolation and cognition
Cacioppo, J. T., & Hawkley, L. C. (2009) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2009.06.005 · Cited by 2,144 · cited 2×
“This facet of the phenotype of loneliness, with its emphasis on emotional aspects of loneliness and intimate connectedness, may be based on heritable differences in sensitivity to the pain of social disconnection (Cacioppo & Hawkley, 2009a).”
Self-citationLoneliness: A Source Book of Current Theory, Research and Therapy
Blazer, D. G. (1983) · Journal of Gerontology · doi:10.1093/geronj/38.4.492 · Cited by 2,139
Handbook of individual differences in social behavior
(2010) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.47-3482 · Cited by 2,011
A Meta-Analysis of Interventions to Reduce Loneliness
Masi, C. M., Chen, H.-Y., Hawkley, L. C., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2011) · Personality and Social Psychology Review · doi:10.1177/1088868310377394 · Cited by 1,995 · cited 1×
“Most individuals who feel lonely resolve their loneliness before it becomes an extreme condition, and even those who fail to resolve loneliness before it becomes severe nevertheless tend to form new connections given sufficient time (Masi et al., 2011).”
Self-citationLoneliness: A Sourcebook of Current Theory, Research and Therapy.
Peplau, L. A., & Perlman, D. (1984) · Contemporary Sociology A Journal of Reviews · doi:10.2307/2068915 · Cited by 1,937
Research works printed but not linked: 8
- Achenbach T. M., 1990, The Young Adult Self-Report
- 10.1037/0033-2909.117.3.497 · DOI · Paper page
- Cacioppo J. T., 2005, The social outcast: Ostracism, social exclusion, rejection, and bullying, 91
- Downey G. D., 2005, The social outcast: Ostracism, social exclusion, rejection, and bullying
- Hawkley L. C., 2009, Encyclopedia of human relationships, 985
- Holmen K., 1992, Vard i Norden, 12, 9
- LeVine R. A., 1972, Ethnocentrism: Theories of conflict, ethnic attitudes, and group behavior
- Tillich P., 1959, The meaning of death, 30
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Loneliness and Social Isolation as Risk Factors for Mortality: A Meta-Analytic Review
Holt-Lunstad, J., Smith, T. B., Baker, M., Harris, T., & Stephenson, D. (2015) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/1745691614568352 · Cited by 6,043
Wang, J., Mann, F., Lloyd-Evans, B., Ma, R., & Johnson, S. (2018) · BMC Psychiatry · doi:10.1186/s12888-018-1736-5 · Cited by 1,494
“The effect of loneliness on physical health may be via biological, psychological and/or behavioural mechanisms, including physiological functioning, neuroendocrine effects, gene effects, immune functioning, perception of stressful events, health behaviours and sleep quality [2, 12, 13].”
BackgroundThe social determinants of mental health and disorder: evidence, prevention and recommendations
Kirkbride, J. B., Anglin, D. M., Colman, I., Dykxhoorn, J. L., Jones, P. B., Patalay, P., Pitman, A., Soneson, E., Steare, T., Wright, T., et al. (2024) · World Psychiatry · doi:10.1002/wps.21160 · Cited by 1,619
Loneliness: clinical import and interventions
Cacioppo, S., Grippo, A. J., London, S., Goossens, L., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2015) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/1745691615570616 · Cited by 1,206
Self-citationLoneliness Across the Life Span
Qualter, P., Vanhalst, J., Harris, R., Van Roekel, E., Lodder, G., Bangee, M., Maes, M., & Verhagen, M. (2015) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/1745691615568999 · Cited by 1,080
“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…”
Background
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
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
