Being able to choose is a recently evolved phenomenon. Way back when our psychologies were first developing, we did not have the luxury of choice. As cave-dwellers, for example, we just had to work with what we came across. We made clothes and tools out of things we killed for food, kept a fire lit for as long as we could if we happened upon a wildfire, and depended on the people around us even if we didn't particularly like them—because that is all we had. And if the theories behind Evolutionary Psychology are correct, at least some of our mental processes have not had time to adjust to our rapidly changing modern world. Today, some humans get to make all sorts of choices, but different cultures value choice in different intensities; some cultures rank individual choice as very important while others rank it as less important. But most cultures are a mix, meaning choice is thought of as good for a society in some circumstances but not others. I live in one of these "mixed...
Explaining fandom from an evolutionary point of view.