Archetypes as evolved psychological mechanisms: A grounded theory based approach from evolutionary and Jungian psychology

This study developed a theory based on the relationships between Jungian archetypes and the evolved psychological mechanisms described by evolutionary psychology. A grounded theory based approach was conducted on the content of a systematic electronic database search of empirical studies or theoretical articles that examined the relation between Jungian archetypes and the evolved psychological mechanisms in evolutionary psychology. The database search yielded 58 articles in peer reviewed journals and book chapters of which 34 met the inclusion criteria. The coding strategies of grounded theory used open coding to isolate the substantive codings; condensed them into theoretical codings; and grouped the theoretical codes into categories that were used to develop the theory.;In order to examine archetypes as evolved mechanisms or biological entities, a holistic approach was used that considered environment and culture; symbolism and image; individuation and development; human universals; and the collective unconscious. A theory of adaptive function of archetypes emerged that comprised the following components: (a) causal conditions related to the ancestral environment and the adaptive problems of ancestor hunter-gatherers; (b) intervening conditions which includes survival or reproductive problems; (c) the resulting archetype or evolved mechanism; (d) the output human behavior, physiological response, representation, image, or symbol; and (e) the psychological outcome or goal related to individuation, psychological distress, and complexes. This theory was then applied to the mother and father archetypes and used to explain documented characteristics of these archetypes as evolved parental mechanisms. Such an application was used to better understand these characteristics as they pertained to the marital status of parents, parental investment, and the genetic relatedness of offspring. The theory of adaptive function of archetypes and its applications is potentially useful for clinical and depth psychologists when assessing and treating a range of both adaptive as well as dysfunctional client behavior by utilizing an evolutionary perspective.;Keywords: archetypes, evolutionary psychology, evolved psychological mechanisms.