The Adaptive Functions of our Emotions

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Emotions are adaptive traits that arise as reactions to important life events. They are functional in that they energize and direct our behavior by preparing us to act. They also serve a social function by influencing how others interact with us and by communicating our own internal states to those around us.

Emotions are typically divided into two groups: basic and social. Basic emotions are those that are innate (we are born with them), those that are universal (experienced by all individuals around the world), those that occur rapidly and those which trigger behaviors with high survival value. The 6 basic emotions include: fear, surprise, joy, sadness, anger, and disgust. Social emotions are those that result because of an interaction between ourselves and the thoughts, feelings and actions of others. They include emotions like guilt, shame, embarrassment and pride among many others. The following is a brief description of the adaptive functions of a few common emotions.

Boredom. Boredom encourages the behavioral pursuit of new goals and experiences. It motivates our desire for change from a current state to a new one. The function of boredom is to create the opportunity for us to attain new cognitive, social and experiential interactions and stimulation's.

Embarrassment. Embarrassment is a strong feeling of discomfort that is experienced when we anticipate a negative evaluation by others. It occurs in moments when we behave in a socially unacceptable manner and functions in order to help guide our social interactions, to appease others and to help repair negative impressions of us. The emotion of embarrassment can be considered beneficial to any social species since is often communicates appropriate social behavior and create situations that can be learned from.

Anger. Anger is a strong response to provocation or threat. It is also a common reaction that occurs when someone or something blocks or interferes with our goals. Anger can be functional in that it helps us confront a blockage to our pursuits so that we can overcome them and continue on with our objectives.

Interest. Interest is an emotion that is always present but tends to rise and fall along with changes in our environment. It also tends to periodically shift from one event, thought or action to another throughout the day. In general, we tend to be interested in things that are novel, uncertain and complex. In order for something to maintain our interest it also typically needs to be comprehensible, in that we need to feel like we can eventually understand it or solve it. The function of interest is to promote learning and environmental engagement.

Guilt. Guilt is an emotion that occurs when we evaluate our actions as a failure. It tells us that our actions have caused distress, harm or loss to others. As such, its function is to produce thoughts within us that focus on the distress that we have caused in others so that we can fix or undo our negative impact. In this way, guilt serves as a moral compass which promotes behaviors such as apologizing, confessing and making amends. Guilt tends to focus on the behavior of the individual.

Shame. Shame is an emotion associated with feelings of worthlessness and a damaged sense of self. It is typically considered a negative emotion and occurs when we violate a moral standard or behave incompetently. Like guilt, shame serves as a moral barometer. However, it tends to have a strong focus on the self rather than on one's behavior. As such, moral failures that lead to shame may signal that something is wrong with ourselves as a person. The function of shame is to protect the self and restore it to an undamaged state. On the positive side, shame can lead to making amends if the situation allows for it. However, if the feeling of shame is accompanied by confusion, pain and withdrawal or if amends cannot be restored it can be a very negative experience for the individual. People who experience shame are often more likely to hide from a situation.

Pride. Pride is considered to be a multifaceted emotion that holds both positive and negative connotations. Hubris is considered to be a negative form of pride whereas authentic pride is considered to be positive. Authentic pride, is similar to shame in that it is highly associated with our sense of self. Feelings of pride in our achievements and success can boost our self-esteem and confidence and it alerts others that they we worthy of acceptance. Those who experience authentic pride tend to be more likely to cooperate with others, remain motivated in learning and acquiring new skills and tend to persevere during difficult tasks.

I hope you enjoyed this post. By understanding the functions of our emotions we may better understand ourselves and others around us. What are your thoughts on emotions?