How and why emotions are expressed

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, vol. 381

Abstract

Abstract Empirical research on emotion is flourishing. Much of this research has focused on emotional expressions—dynamic patterns of behaviours including facial movements, vocalizations, bodily movements, gaze patterns, gestures and autonomic responses like blushing. However, research to date has primarily focused on perceptions of others' emotional expressions rather than on the production of emotional expressions. This theme issue shifts the focus to the intra-personal level, centring processes in the expresser. Using Tinbergen's ethological framework, this theme issue examines four levels of analysis: mechanisms, development, phylogeny and function. The contributions demonstrate that the production of emotional expression involves distributed, multi-level mechanisms, including appraisal, central emotion circuits and interoceptive signalling, that reciprocally interact to generate emotional expressions. Developmentally, emotional expression production depends both on maturation and learning through social experience. Comparative work illustrates how behavioural indicators allow inferences about emotional states across taxa, revealing both shared and divergent properties of emotions that relate to ecology, social structure and cognitive capacities. Finally, the issue highlights intraindividual functions of emotional expressions alongside their social functions, shedding new light on why emotional expressions have evolved. Here, we synthesize the contributions and set out a new research agenda on how and why emotions are expressed. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Mechanisms, development, phylogeny and functions of emotional expressions’.

Authors 4

1. Milica Nikolić corresponding

   University of Amsterdam

   Affiliation as printed

   Research Institute of Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam 1 , Nieuwe Achtergracht 129-B, 1018 WS Amsterdam, The Netherlands

2. Mariska Esther Kret Aachen Psychology Institute

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Psychology Institute, Leiden University 3 , Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333 AK Leiden, The Netherlands

3. Lauri Nummenmaa

   University of Turku · Turku University Hospital · Turku PET Centre

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Psychology, University of Turku 5 , Assistentinkatu 7, 20014 Turku, Finland

   Turku PET Centre, Turku University Hospital 4 , Kiinamyllynkatu 4-8, FI 20520 Turku, Finland

4. Disa Sauter

   University of Oxford · University of Amsterdam

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford 6 , South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3EL, UK

   Psychology Insitute, University of Amsterdam 2 , Nieuwe Achtergracht 129-B, 1018 WS Amsterdam, The Netherlands