REMINDER:

PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR PHONES

PSYCHOLOGY OF EMOTION: EVOLUTION OF EMOTION

Wesley G. Moons, Ph.D.
University of California, Davis Department of Psychology

EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVES

New York Times article (January 6th,2011)

In Womens Tears, a Chemical That Says, Not Tonight, Dear

Tear chemistry different in:

Emotional tears (crying after a break-up) Reflexive tears (crying while cutting onions)

Questions:
Is different chemistry detectable? What function might it have?

TEAR TESTING STUDY

Collected womens tears:

Emotional Watched movie Control Saline down cheek

Tears/Saline attached under mens noses

Results: Tears reduced sexual arousal in men

Self-reported Reduced perceived attractiveness of women Reduced reports of sexual arousal

Hormonal Testosterone reduction Neural Reduced activity in hypothalamus and left fusiform gyrus

While viewing porn

TEAR STUDY CONCLUSIONS

What can we take from this?

Emotions are a real thing?

Biochemical differences between emotions vs. reflexes No attempt to distinguish type of emotion

Distinguishing among emotions?

Some explain in evolutionary terms:

Theres several lines of evidence that women cry much more during menstruation, and from a biological standpoint that is not a very effective time to have sex, so reducing sexual arousal in your mate at that time is really convenient.
~Noam Sobel

Oh, please!
~ Martha McClintock

EVOLUTIONARY VIEW

For a characteristic or behavior to be functional it must meet one or more of the following criteria:
1. 2. 3.

Increases probability of survival long enough to reproduce Increases probability of having more offspring than others, and offspring survive and reproduce Increases probability that relatives will survive and have more viable offspring who reproduce

Characteristic was functional in Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness(EEA)

EEA = The time and place when the characteristic spread through the population due to natural selection

Natural selection
Functional characteristics will become more prevalent over time Non-functional characteristics will be deleted from the pool

EMOTIONS AS NATURAL KINDS

Functional perspective

Emotions improve genetic proliferation

Passing genes to offspring Surviving to pass genes down Helping relatives pass down genes

Nothing to do with being happy

100% happy but sterile = non-functional 100% sad but very fertile = functional

Manifestation of emotion depends on:

Neural complexity Social or nonsocial animals

ADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR

Fight or flight (or freeze) response

Very adaptive/functional behavioral pattern

Increases survival

Part of the generalized stress response

Hans Selye, 1956

Broader Approach or Avoidance systems

Two general underlying systems that coordinate approach toward or avoidance from environmental stimuli

E.g., run from lion vs. pet kitten

Emotion-induced approach or avoidance

Certain emotions associated with more approach (e.g., happy) Certain emotions associated with more avoidance (e.g., fear)

ISSUES WITH EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE

Evolutionary perspective often strives for similarities between humans and non-humans

Anthropomorphism in non-human work

e.g., Jane Goodalls descriptions of Figan, Goliath the desire to flee seemed almost to overcome the adolescents desire for contact...

Premature generalization to humans

Post-hoc (after the fact) interpretation of facts to fit the perspective

Also possible that tears reducing arousal is non-functional

Must think of pro-functional and counter-functional possibilities

GENETIC HERITABILITY

Serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR)

Polymorphism (genetic variants)

Short or Long allele Heightened stress response Increased rates of depression under stress

Short allele associated with:

Byproducts
Neutral characteristic linked to adaptive genetic mutation Gets carried along in population as if adaptive

e.g., liking kittens, puppies, or most baby mammals Actually liking for big-headed, big-eyed, small nosed things A.k.a. cute things Increases caring for human infants Liking for non-human infants is an incidental byproduct

CULTURAL HERITABILITY

Genetic AND cultural heritability

Passed down biologically or socially

Erroneous inference that a useful behavior is genetic

There isnt always a genetic analogue for specific behaviors

Abstract to broader characteristic (e.g., disgust, pleasure)

Culturally shaped emotions may also be adaptive

Appropriate emotional expressions enhances survival

Communication as main function of emotion expression Culturally dependent ways of regulation/expression

Appropriate emotional handling enhances survival

GENE BY ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS

Functionality can depend on genes and culture

Gene X Environment interaction Or can think of it as Gene X Culture

Serotonin transporter gene:

S allele (associated with more stress) occurs at rate of:

About 20-25% in European-American population About 70-75% in Asian or Asian-American population

Genetics and culture are conflated in this case

Difficult to determine if differences due to genes or culture

Manifestation of the s alleles heightened stress response depends on culture

Heightened stress looks different in European-based culture than in Asian-based culture

ADAPTIVE EMOTIONAL COMMUNICATION

Facilitate social interaction

Social vs. non-social animals Maintenance of social hierarchies

Tiedens (2001)

Higher status can afford to display anger

What about the reverse? Can displays of anger increase our status?

Results:
1. 2.

3.

Support for politicians increased after viewing them angry as opposed to sad Status conferral by peers in company correlated with targets perceived anger Assigned higher status position and higher salary to job candidate who described himself as angry rather than sad Effects mediated by perceived competence

THE END!