Chapter 2: The Evolution of Emotion

Question 1

Functional (1 of 3 must be met!)

Answer 1

1. Increases the probability of your survival (and thus, chance of reproduction)
2. Increases the probability of your ancestor’s survival (and therefore, the reproduction of those that share your DNA)
3. Increases the number of offspring you have

Question 2

Natural Selections

Answer 2

genes that are more advantageous at a given time become more represented in a population while genes that are less advantageous become less represented

Question 3

Byproducts

Answer 3

traits that are somehow linked to an advantageous trait, but are neutral and therefore do not get weeded out (liver is brown, but does a good job! internal organ colour is neutral)

Question 4

Intrapersonal

Answer 4

within a person; in relation to emotions, an emotion that helps the person experience it change the stimulus to increase survival

Question 5

Ultrasocial

Answer 5

conducting almost everything through a social structure in life (e.g. ants, bees, people)

Question 6

Social Functions of Emotion

Answer 6

they increase the interpersonal ties a person has, therefore extending a network of those that increase their survival

Question 7

Affect Infusion Model

Answer 7

emotional feelings can impact our cognitive processes
e.g. steep hill when sad, manageable hill when happy

Question 8

Gray’s Approach-Avoidance Model

Answer 8

People respond to stimuli with either an approach or avoid mentality

Question 9

Approach-Avoidance vs Affect Infusion

Answer 9

• AA doesn’t equate avoidance with negative valence emotions
• AA is more instinctive

Question 10

Superordinate Neural Programmes Theory

Answer 10

activated to preserve fitness in a situation; has a basic/discrete approach where emotions are on a track (main emotion) with many subroutines.

e.g. frustration when losing a game, rage when seeing someone you hate, may call upon some of the same subroutines but have the same superordinate programme “anger”

Question 11

Ellsworth and Nesse’s Phylogeny of Emotions

Answer 11

The family tree of emotions where the more base are toward the trunk and the branches show that as we evolved, we secured more emotional diversity to deal with a larger number of situations

Question 12

Methodological Considerations

Answer 12

1. Should be universal, and thus shared with descendants that share a common ancestor with humans
2. Must use the most plausible deduction!!
3. CANNOT POST HOC THEORISE

Question 13

Natural Kind

Answer 13

have distinctions that are not human made. e.g. the difference between a tree and the sky

Question 14

Human Kind

Answer 14

have no intrinsic distinction besides what humans have assigned, and varies across cultures. e.g. the concept of a “pet”