Evolution of Emotion - 17 Flashcards
What are some key points on emotion?
Key emotions are universal across human cultures. There are parallels between emotional expression in humans and animals. Research indicates emotions are central to decision making. Responses to emotional expressions are lateralised in the brain of both humans and animals. Emotional intelligence is likely to have important effect on social success.
What were Darwin’s observations of expression?
1872 - studied the facial and bodily expressions of cats, dogs and infants. Used these to explain emotion in these species. Recognised human facial expressions had a common evolutionary origin with non-human primates - innate. Universality of expressions first proposed by Darwin, later demonstrated by Paul Elkman - identified 6 basic emotions of anger, fear, disgust, surprise, happiness & sadness. Also identified social/moral emotions e.g. jealousy, guilt & embarrassment.
What did Jaak Panksepp propose?
Proposed a neurobiologically inspired classification - 4 basic emotional systems, each associated with a particular set of neural structures and neurotransmitters: fear, seeking, panic and rage.
What are the components of emotion?
Triggered by events of some significance/relevance. Encompasses a co-ordinated set of changes in the brain and body. Appear adaptive in that directed toward coping with challenge posed by triggering event. Have onset, dynamic course and offset (in contrast with moods)
What is the key function of emotional signalling?
Facilitates social cohesion and reduces uncertainty. Emotion is crucial in decision making - adaptive functions of positive and negative emotions (negative emotions allow us to respond appropriately to adverse stimuli, positive emotions to make adaptive choices)
What are similarities in laughing?
Ross round laughter in great apes and humans is very similar. Panksepp found that when rats play they emit train of high frequency chirps - also induced when tickled by humans.
What are the evolutionary origins of the smile?
John Ohala - threatening vocalisation in dominance displays typically involve bringing the corners of the mouth forward to lengthen the vocal tract and lower the vocal tract resonances, whereas non-threatening vocalisations used in submission involve drawing the lips back (smile).
How can you identify emotions in animals?
Parr et al. found it possible to identify emotional faces in chimps based on the action of particular muscles (bared-teeth, relaxed open mouth etc.) Tate et al. found when given free choice of 2 pictures, sheep show more than 80% preference for the calm sheep face or the smiling human one.
What is Workman’s Theory?
Lateralisation in processing of emotions - showed two chimeras showing fear, asked which do you find the most intense. Said the left, as the left gaze is processed in the right hemisphere, and the right hemisphere is specialised in processing negative emotions.
What are parallels in lateralisation in animals?
Sheep and horses, like humans and chimps, use left-visual field cues more than right visual-fuels for detecting negative emotional cues on faces. Horses are better at matching their owner’s voice to sight of owner when owner in in their right visual field - pro-social task.
How to animals experience emotions?
Clear that in behavioural and physiological terms can get the same responses to positive and negative stimulus in animals and humans. e.g. separation from a monogamous partner in certain birds will lead to high cortisol levels and parallel changes in heart rate.
What are cognitive biases in animals?
Mendl et al - animals traded that one cue predicts a positive even and another a negative even. Subjects then presented with ambiguous cues. Initial evidence that animals in a more negative affective state are more likely to judge these ambiguous cues as if they predict the negative event.
Which animals are capable of empathy?
Bartal - found rats learn to open door to release a trapped rat from contained. When faced with 2 containers (one with trapped rat other with chocolate chips), subjects opened both containers and shared food. Consolidation behaviours viewed in chimps, ravens and horses.
