The hunter vs. farmer theory is a hypothesis proposed by Thom Hartmann about the origins of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and adult attention-deficit disorder (AADD), suggesting that these conditions may be a result of a form of adaptive behavior.
Hartmann developed the hunter vs. farmer idea as a mental model after his own son was disheartened following a diagnosis of ADHD, stating, "It's not hard science, and was never intended to be."[1] Nonetheless, some researchers used the hunter vs. farmer idea as a working hypothesis about the origin of ADHD.
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Hartmann notes that most or all humans were nomadic hunter gatherers for hundreds of thousands of years, but that this standard gradually changed as agriculture developed in most societies, and more people worldwide became farmers. Over many years, most humans adapted to farming cultures, but Hartmann speculates that people with ADHD retained some of the older hunter characteristics.
A key component of the theory is that the proposed "hyperfocus" aspect of ADHD is a gift or benefit. The theory also explains the distractibility factor in ADHD individuals and their short attention span, along with various other characteristics, such as apathy towards social norms, poor planning and organizing ability, distorted sense of time, impatience, and impulsiveness. It is argued that in the hunter-gatherer cultures that preceded farming societies, hunters needed hyperfocus more than gatherers.
The hunter vs. farmer theory proposes that the high frequency of ADHD in contemporary settings "represents otherwise normal behavioral strategies that become maladaptive in such evolutionarily novel environments as the formal school classroom." An important view, with considerable genetic backing, is that some of these genetic variants may have value in certain kinds of social groups, such as those that have migrated.[2][3] Genetic variants conferring susceptibility to ADHD are very frequent—implying that the trait had provided selective advantage in the past.[4]
A 2008 New Scientist article by Tim Callaway[5] reports that research of ADHD and related traits in different cultures offers some support for the hunter vs. farmer theory. According to evolutionary anthropologist Ben Campbell of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, studies of the Ariaal, an isolated nomadic group in Kenya, suggest that hyperactivity and impulsivity—key traits of ADHD—have distinct advantages to nomadic peoples. Additionally, nomadic Ariaal have high rates of a genetic mutation linked to ADHD, while more settled Ariaal populations have lower rates of this mutation. Henry Harpending of the University of Utah reports that with this genetic mutation, "You probably do better in a context of aggressive competition."
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