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Current Directions in Psychological Science Current Directions in Psychological Science http://cdp.sagepub.com/ What Are Emotion Expressions For? Azim F. Shariff and Jessica L. Tracy Current Directions in Psychological Science 2011 20: 395 DOI: 10.1177/0963721411424739 The online version of this article can be found at: http://cdp.sagepub.com/content/20/6/395 Published by: http://www.sagepublications.com On behalf of: Association for Psychological Science Additional services and information for Current Directions in Psychological Science can be found at: Email Alerts: http://cdp.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts Subscriptions: http://cdp.sagepub.com/subscriptions Reprints: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav Permissions: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav >> Version of Record - Dec 5, 2011 What is This? Downloaded from cdp.sagepub.com by Jessica Tracy on December 8, 2011 Current Directions in Psychological Science What Are Emotion Expressions For? 20(6) 395 –399 © The Author(s) 2011 Reprints and permission: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0963721411424739 Azim F. Shariff1 and Jessica L. Tracy2 http://cdps.sagepub.com 1University of Oregon and 2University of British Columbia Abstract Although research on the nonverbal expression of emotion has played a prominent role throughout psychology during the past two decades—including an instrumental role in the development of contemporary evolutionary psychology—little research has focused on the evolutionary origins and functions of the emotional expressions themselves. However, recent findings from psychophysical, comparative, social, and cross-cultural psychology are converging to produce a compelling functionalist account, suggesting that emotional expressions serve critical adaptive purposes. Most of these studies have narrowly focused on single emotions—an approach that has been very useful for providing new insights about specific expressions but not for developing a broader understanding of why humans universally display and recognize distinct emotions. Here we unify these disparate findings in order to illuminate this fundamental form of social communication. Keywords emotion expressions, nonverbal displays, evolutionary psychology, adaptation, signal Darwin’s (1872) The Expression of Emotions in Man and Ani- evolution-informed psychology addressing the ultimate ori- mals (EEMA) began as half of a single chapter devoted to gins and functions of psychological phenomena. Within emo- humankind in his massive manuscript on the evolution of tion research, these findings paved the way for new lines of plants and animals. Ultimately that manuscript expanded into research addressing questions about the functions these four books, beginning with On the Origin of Species in 1859 expressions may have evolved to serve. That is, having estab- and concluding with EEMA in 1872. Despite being the last lished that certain emotion expressions are universally recog- chapter of this groundbreaking series, EEMA marked the first nized, this “second chapter” prompted the question, “Why?” chapter in a long-standing naturalist investigation into nonver- bal expressions of emotions.1 In it, Darwin broke with estab- lished perspectives, controversially proposing innate, evolved, The Third Chapter: Evolved Functions of and survival-related functions for features of emotion expres- Emotion Expressions sions, which, he argued, are rooted in our shared evolutionary That question is now being addressed by several streams of heritage with other animals. The theoretical depth and testable research that are coalescing into what could be considered the hypotheses laid out in EEMA cemented Darwin’s role not just third chapter in this long history. Darwin (1872) proposed that as a progenitor of contemporary emotion-expression research emotion expressions evolved to serve two classes of functions: but also as the first evolutionary psychologist. (a) preparing the organism to respond adaptively to environ- If EEMA is the “first chapter” of research on the evolution mentally recurrent stimuli and (b) communicating critical social of emotion expressions, one could consider the second chapter information. Subsequent researchers (e.g., Chapman, Kim, to be the vast 1960s–1970s cross-cultural exploration of emo- Susskind, & Anderson, 2009; Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 1989; Ekman, tion recognition led by Ekman, Izard, and colleagues. These 1992) further developed this account, arguing that internal phys- researchers conducted the first major empirical test of Dar- iological regulation was likely the original adaptive function of win’s hypotheses by examining whether individuals from dis- emotion expressions, which later evolved to serve communica- parate cultures could reliably identify the emotions conveyed tive functions. Here we review emerging evidence for this “two- by certain expressions (see Ekman, 1992). Their discovery, stage model” of emotion-expression evolution. that a handful of emotions are cross-culturally recognized, was a major breakthrough in research on psychological universals. Corresponding Author: Indeed, cited as some of the strongest evidence supporting Azim Shariff, Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, 1227 an underlying “human nature,” Ekman’s and Izard’s findings University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403 laid critical groundwork for the eventual development of an E-mail: [email protected] Downloaded from cdp.sagepub.com by Jessica Tracy on December 8, 2011 396 Shariff, Tracy Adaptation: Emotion expressions for Exaptation: Emotion expressions for social physiological regulation communication From a functionalist perspective, emotions are generalized Evolutionary biologists make an important distinction between and (theoretically) coordinated suites of behavioral, physio- cues and signals. A cue provides information gleaned as a by- logical, cognitive, and affective processes selected to promote product of something that serves an alternate adaptive pur- automatic, adaptive responses to recurrent environmental pose; for example, chewing is a reliable cue that someone is events that pose fitness challenges. eating, but it did not evolve to communicate that information. Fear provides a useful illustration. Detection of potentially On the other hand, signals evolved specifically for the purpose threatening stimuli elicits a cascade of responses including of communication; for example, peacock plumage evolved as heavier breathing, the redistribution of blood in preparation a hard-to-fake signal of mate quality (Hasson, 1997). In the for rapid movement, and a marshaling of attentive resources to two-stage model, it is hypothesized that emotion expressions promote hypervigilance. These responses facilitate the ani- began as cues—providing information about internal states mal’s ability to escape a predator or other threat. From the but not existing for that reason—but eventually transformed, Darwinian perspective, the facial muscle movements that in both form and function, to become signals. In other words, together constitute a fear expression originally emerged as part in the course of evolutionary history, the function of expres- of this adaptive behavioral “macro.” sions itself evolved. Over time, as recognizing the internal Indeed, recent studies by Anderson and colleagues support states of other animals yielded fitness-positive consequences, this suggestion. The widened eyes of individuals instructed to the facial and bodily behavioral components of certain emo- pose a fearful facial expression were found to increase the tions came to cue those emotional states to observers. As social scope of their visual field and the speed of their eye move- interaction became more possible and even vital for many spe- ments, allowing expressers to better identify (potentially cies, the adaptive value of these expressions may have shifted threatening) objects in their periphery (Susskind et al., 2008). toward communication. As a result, the nonverbal behaviors Components of the fear expression thus may be as much a part associated with distinct emotions likely underwent ritualiza- of the adaptive emotional response as the frightened affect and tion: a process of change well researched in evolutionary zool- quickened heart rate. ogy whereby an animal’s nonverbal displays become Other expressions function similarly. The prototypic dis- exaggerated, more visible, distinctive, and/or prototypic in gust expression, characterized by a scrunched nose and order to function as reliable and effective signals (Eibl- mouth, results in constriction of these orifices, thereby reduc- Eibesfeldt, 1989).2 For emotion expressions, this shift from cue ing air intake (Chapman et al., 2009). Since the primary to signal can be thought of as their second stage of evolution—a adaptive functions of disgust are to alert an organism to, and paradigmatic example of exaptation, the common evolutionary protect an organism from, potentially noxious stimuli, the process whereby a feature that evolved for one reason gradually disgust expression’s feature of reducing the inhalation of air- morphs to serve a secondary adaptive function. borne particles can be seen as a part of the larger adaptive As a result of ritualization, emotion expressions have disgust response. become the highly recognizable displays that characterize These novel findings and ongoing follow-up work are daily life. Indeed, the ability to quickly and accurately recog- revealing the original functional legacy of emotion expres- nize these expressions appears to be a human universal and
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