Behavioral departures from norms can be adaptive responses

Evidence

No animal behaves in the same way irrespective of conditions. Nor, of course, do humans. Departures from the norm are not necessarily pathologies generated by abnormal conditions. They may well be highly adaptive responses to particular ecological conditions. — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 443

Categorization

• XREF: Directly parallels the Blindness argment that civilized veneers are conditional on stable conditions; when conditions collapse, so-called pathological behavior is an adaptive response. Supplies the biological backing for Hobbesian collapse among Saramago’s blinded characters. — connects to: Costly sentiments like guilt persist because they confer evolutionary gain; Genetically evolved sentiments can motivate action against self-interest; Functional explanations work when behavior responds to incentives (+9 more)
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 443