Hello all,
Friday we discussed, Noguera, JC, Melcalfe, NB, Surai, PF, & Monaghan P. 2015. Are you what you eat? Micronutritional deficiencies during development influence adult personality-related traits. Animal Behaviour 101:129-140, and what a great discussion it was. We began fleshing out the differences between "personality" and "behavioral syndrome". Personality and emotions are hot topics in AB and we've read a number of papers on these topics. After our discussion, I started thinking more about animal emotions and how these emotions may tie into a personality . I found a nice peer-reviewed website (http://www.iep.utm.edu) that discusses the evolution of emotion (http://www.iep.utm.edu/emotion/#SH2b). I find this particularly interesting:
"Robert Plutchik claims that there are eight basic emotions, each one is an adaptation, and all eight are found in all organisms (1980, 1984). According to Plutchik, the emotions are similar to traits such as DNA or lungs in air breathing animals—traits that are so important that they arose once and have been conserved ever since. In the case of the emotions, which he calls "basic adaptations needed by all organisms in the struggle for individual survival" (1980, p. 145), Plutchik suggests that the selection occurred in the Cambrian era, 600 million years ago. The eight adaptations are incorporation, rejection, destruction, protection, reproduction, reintegration, orientation, and exploration (see Table 2 for a description of each)."
Table 2. This table lists the eight basic emotions in Robert Plutchik theory. On the left are the behaviors that, according to Plutchik, are the result of natural selection, and on the right are the emotions associated with these behaviors. The first emotion listed in each row (e.g., fear, anger, joy) is the basic emotion, the second is the same emotion except at a greater intensity (that is, terror, rage, ecstasy) (1980, 1984).
What do you think about Robert Plutchik’s idea that there are eight basic emotions found in all organisms? Do you agree or disagree with him? Do you agree with all the emotions he listed? Did he leave some emotions out? Do you think emotions are adaptations that have evolved? Do you think they evolved 600 million years ago or with early hominids? What were the pressures/mechanisms for evolution of these emotions? What pressures/mechanisms might continue to drive evolution? I’m very curious as to what others think about this topic
Please join the discussion!
Michelle
Friday we discussed, Noguera, JC, Melcalfe, NB, Surai, PF, & Monaghan P. 2015. Are you what you eat? Micronutritional deficiencies during development influence adult personality-related traits. Animal Behaviour 101:129-140, and what a great discussion it was. We began fleshing out the differences between "personality" and "behavioral syndrome". Personality and emotions are hot topics in AB and we've read a number of papers on these topics. After our discussion, I started thinking more about animal emotions and how these emotions may tie into a personality . I found a nice peer-reviewed website (http://www.iep.utm.edu) that discusses the evolution of emotion (http://www.iep.utm.edu/emotion/#SH2b). I find this particularly interesting:
"Robert Plutchik claims that there are eight basic emotions, each one is an adaptation, and all eight are found in all organisms (1980, 1984). According to Plutchik, the emotions are similar to traits such as DNA or lungs in air breathing animals—traits that are so important that they arose once and have been conserved ever since. In the case of the emotions, which he calls "basic adaptations needed by all organisms in the struggle for individual survival" (1980, p. 145), Plutchik suggests that the selection occurred in the Cambrian era, 600 million years ago. The eight adaptations are incorporation, rejection, destruction, protection, reproduction, reintegration, orientation, and exploration (see Table 2 for a description of each)."
Table 2. This table lists the eight basic emotions in Robert Plutchik theory. On the left are the behaviors that, according to Plutchik, are the result of natural selection, and on the right are the emotions associated with these behaviors. The first emotion listed in each row (e.g., fear, anger, joy) is the basic emotion, the second is the same emotion except at a greater intensity (that is, terror, rage, ecstasy) (1980, 1984).
What do you think about Robert Plutchik’s idea that there are eight basic emotions found in all organisms? Do you agree or disagree with him? Do you agree with all the emotions he listed? Did he leave some emotions out? Do you think emotions are adaptations that have evolved? Do you think they evolved 600 million years ago or with early hominids? What were the pressures/mechanisms for evolution of these emotions? What pressures/mechanisms might continue to drive evolution? I’m very curious as to what others think about this topic
Please join the discussion!
Michelle