Abstract
What can evolutionary theories reveal about emotions, and how can research on emotions inform
evolutionary theories? This chapter discusses links between evolutionary theories of emotion and the
cross-cultural study of emotion. In particular, the authors emphasize the notion that evolved
psychological mechanisms result in cultural dierences instantiated as variations on common themes
of human universals. They focus on two components of emotions: emotion experience and nonverbal
expressions. Several case studies from emotion science are outlined to illustrate this framework
empirically. In the domain of emotion experience, they highlight shame as an illustration of the idea of variations occurring across cultures around a common theme. In the domain of nonverbal expression of emotion, this idea is illustrated by the in-group advantage, that is, superior recognition of emotional expressions produced by members of one’s own group. Lastly, they review three dierent
theoretical accounts of how to conceptualize cross-culturally shared themes underlying emotions.
evolutionary theories? This chapter discusses links between evolutionary theories of emotion and the
cross-cultural study of emotion. In particular, the authors emphasize the notion that evolved
psychological mechanisms result in cultural dierences instantiated as variations on common themes
of human universals. They focus on two components of emotions: emotion experience and nonverbal
expressions. Several case studies from emotion science are outlined to illustrate this framework
empirically. In the domain of emotion experience, they highlight shame as an illustration of the idea of variations occurring across cultures around a common theme. In the domain of nonverbal expression of emotion, this idea is illustrated by the in-group advantage, that is, superior recognition of emotional expressions produced by members of one’s own group. Lastly, they review three dierent
theoretical accounts of how to conceptualize cross-culturally shared themes underlying emotions.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | The Oxford Handbook of Evolution and the Emotions |
| Editors | Laith Al-Shawaf, Todd K. Shackelford |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press |
| Chapter | 51 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9780197544785 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780197544754 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2024 |
Publication series
| Name | Oxford Library of Psychology |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Oxford UP |