An Evolutionary Perspective on Positive Emotions

Abstract

Abstract What does it mean to apply an evolutionary perspective to the study of positive emotions? This chapter addresses this question, both looking back at research informed by evolutionary theorizing and looking toward future advances. Although an evolutionary perspective is most explicitly invoked in theory and research on specific emotions, it also plays an important role in emphasizing dimensions of core affect and emotion-eliciting appraisals. The authors discuss why most early research focused on the adaptive value of negative emotions, and the changes that have led to growing interest in positive emotions. They provide an overview of the research addressing the adaptive functions of positive emotions, including examples from multiple emotion theories. Finally, they offer several suggestions for applying an evolutionary perspective to research on the positive emotions, considering advances in evolutionary biology, ethology, and neuroscience for what emotions are, how they work, and their implications in the modern world.