Hostname: page-component-5db58dd55d-f6s65 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-06-03T08:05:03.008Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Ecological affordances change with the seasons

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2026

Ian Hohm Open the ORCID record for Ian Hohm [Opens in a new window]  and
Mark Schaller Open the ORCID record for Mark Schaller [Opens in a new window]
Ian Hohm*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada ihohm@psych.ubc.ca schaller@psych.ubc.ca
Mark Schaller
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada ihohm@psych.ubc.ca schaller@psych.ubc.ca
*
*Corresponding author.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Seasons cyclically alter ecological affordances in human environments, and psychological responses to seasons can differ as a function of life stage. We discuss these differences from an affordance-management perspective, outlining how this perspective can account for previously unexplained findings and generate novel hypotheses too.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 49 , 2026 , e69
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Barnett, M. D., Martin, K. J., & Melugin, P. R. (2018). Making and breaking abstinence pledges: Moral foundations and the purity movement. Sexuality & Culture, 22(1), 288–298. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-017-9467-1 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bjorvatn, B., Saxvig, I. W., Waage, S., & Pallesen, S. (2021). Self-reported seasonality is strongly associated with chronotype and weakly associated with latitude, Chronobiology International, 38(2), 278–285. https://doi.org/10.1080/07420528.2020.1844725 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bronson, F. H. (1995). Seasonal variation in human reproduction: Environmental factors. The Quarterly Review of Biology, 70(2), 141–164. https://doi.org/10.1086/418980 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davis, C., & Levitan, R. D. (2005). Seasonality and seasonal affective disorder (SAD): An evolutionary viewpoint tied to energy conservation and reproductive cycles. Journal of Affective Disorders, 87(1), 3–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2005.03.006 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
de Craen, A. J. M., Gussekloo, J., van der Mast, R. C., Cessie, S. L, Lemkes, J. W., & Westendorp, R. G. J. (2005). Seasonal mood variation in the elderly: The Leiden 85-plus study. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 20(3), 269–273. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.1277 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ellison, P. T. (2008). Energetics, reproductive ecology, and human evolution. PaleoAnthropology, 2008, 172–200. https://paleoanthropology.org/ojs/index.php/paleo/article/view/555/516 Google Scholar
Feldman, G. (2021). Personal values and moral foundations: Examining relations and joint prediction of moral variables. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 12(5), 676–686. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550620933434 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Graham, J., Nosek, B. A., Haidt, J., Iyer, R., Koleva, S., & Ditto, P. H. (2011). Mapping the moral domain. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101(2), 366–385. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021847 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Henry, C. J. K. (2000). Mechanisms of changes in basal metabolism during ageing. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 54(3), S77–S91. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601029 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Herold, A. H., Woodard, L. J., Roetzheim, R. G., Pamies, R. J., Young, D. L., & Micceri, T. (1993). Seasonality of chlamydia trachomatis genital infections in university women. Journal of American College Health, 42(3), 117–120. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.1993.9940826 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hohm, I., O’Shea, B. A., & Schaller, M. (2024a). Do moral values change with the seasons?. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the U.S.A, 121(33), e2313428121. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2313428121 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hohm, I., Wormley, A. S., Schaller, M., & Varnum, M. E. W. (2024b). Homo temporus: Seasonal cycles as a fundamental source of variation in human psychology. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 19(1), 151–172. https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916231178695 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Holloway, L. E., & Evans, S. (2014). Seasonality of depression referrals in older people. Community Mental Health Journal, 50(3), 336–338. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-013-9609-3 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
James, W. H. (1990). Seasonal variation in human births. Journal of Biosocial Science, 22(1), 113–119. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021932000018423 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Levin, M. L., Xu, X., & Bartkowski, J. P. (2002). Seasonality of sexual debut. Journal of Marriage and Family, 64(4), 871–884. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2002.00871.x CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levitan, R. D. (2007). The chronobiology and neurobiology of winter seasonal affective disorder. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 9(3), 315–324. https://doi.org/10.31887/DCNS.2007.9.3/rlevitan CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lukmanji, A., Williams, J. V. A., Bulloch, A. G. M., Bhattarai, A., & Patten, S. B. (2019). Seasonal variation in symptoms of depression: A Canadian population based study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 255, 142–149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2019.05.040 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Magnússon, A., & Stefánsson, J. G. (1993). Prevalence of seasonal affective disorder in Iceland. Archives of General Psychiatry, 50(12), 941–946. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1993.01820240025002 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Markey, P. M., & Markey, C. N. (2013). Seasonal variation in internet keyword searches: A proxy assessment of sex mating behaviors. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 42(4), 515–521. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-012-9996-5 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Martinez-Bakker, M., Bakker, K. M., King, A. A., & Rohani, P. (2014). Human birth seasonality: Latitudinal gradient and interplay with childhood disease dynamics. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 281(1783), 20132438. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2013.2438 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nesse, R. M. (2000). Is depression an adaptation? Archives of General Psychiatry, 57(1), 14–20. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.57.1.14 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rastad, C., Sjödén, P.-O., & Ulfberg, J. (2005). High prevalence of self-reported winter depression in a Swedish county. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 59(6), 666–675. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-1819.2005.01435.x CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rohan, M. J. (2000). A rose by any name? The values construct. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 4(3), 255–277. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327957PSPR0403_4 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wellings, K., Macdowall, W., Catchpole, M., & Goodrich, J. (1999). Seasonal variations in sexual activity and their implications for sexual health promotion. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 92(2), 60–64. https://doi.org/10.1177/014107689909200204 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed