TY - JOUR
T1 - Homo temporus
T2 - Seasonal Cycles as a Fundamental Source of Variation in Human Psychology
AU - Hohm, Ian
AU - Wormley, Alexandra S.
AU - Schaller, Mark
AU - Varnum, Michael E.W.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2023.
PY - 2024/1
Y1 - 2024/1
N2 - Many animal species exhibit seasonal changes in their physiology and behavior. Yet despite ample evidence that humans are also responsive to seasons, the impact of seasonal changes on human psychology is underappreciated relative to other sources of variation (e.g., personality, culture, development). This is unfortunate because seasonal variation has potentially profound conceptual, empirical, methodological, and practical implications. Here, we encourage a more systematic and comprehensive collective effort to document and understand the many ways in which seasons influence human psychology. We provide an illustrative summary of empirical evidence showing that seasons impact a wide range of affective, cognitive, and behavioral phenomena. We then articulate a conceptual framework that outlines a set of causal mechanisms through which seasons can influence human psychology—mechanisms that reflect seasonal changes not only in meteorological variables but also in ecological and sociocultural variables. This framework may be useful for integrating many different seasonal effects that have already been empirically documented and for generating new hypotheses about additional seasonal effects that have not yet received empirical attention. The article closes with a section that provides practical suggestions to facilitate greater appreciation for, and systematic study of, seasons as a fundamental source of variation in human psychology.
AB - Many animal species exhibit seasonal changes in their physiology and behavior. Yet despite ample evidence that humans are also responsive to seasons, the impact of seasonal changes on human psychology is underappreciated relative to other sources of variation (e.g., personality, culture, development). This is unfortunate because seasonal variation has potentially profound conceptual, empirical, methodological, and practical implications. Here, we encourage a more systematic and comprehensive collective effort to document and understand the many ways in which seasons influence human psychology. We provide an illustrative summary of empirical evidence showing that seasons impact a wide range of affective, cognitive, and behavioral phenomena. We then articulate a conceptual framework that outlines a set of causal mechanisms through which seasons can influence human psychology—mechanisms that reflect seasonal changes not only in meteorological variables but also in ecological and sociocultural variables. This framework may be useful for integrating many different seasonal effects that have already been empirically documented and for generating new hypotheses about additional seasonal effects that have not yet received empirical attention. The article closes with a section that provides practical suggestions to facilitate greater appreciation for, and systematic study of, seasons as a fundamental source of variation in human psychology.
KW - ecology
KW - mating
KW - seasons
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85164923905&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85164923905&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/17456916231178695
DO - 10.1177/17456916231178695
M3 - Article
C2 - 37428561
AN - SCOPUS:85164923905
SN - 1745-6916
VL - 19
SP - 151
EP - 172
JO - Perspectives on Psychological Science
JF - Perspectives on Psychological Science
IS - 1
ER -