PSYC18H3 Lecture : Emotionsch1.docx
Document Summary
The wests most prominent early theorists of emotions, the epicureans and the stoics thought that emotions are irrational and damaging. Emotions serve important functions especially in our social lives. God had given humans special facial muscles that allowed them to express uniquely human sentiments unknown to animals. Allowed to realize the importance of cross cultural studies and he was one of the first to use questionnaires. Questions to guide emotions: how are emotions expressed in humans and other animals and where do our emotions come from. He conclude that emotional expressions derived largely from habits that in our evolutionary or individual past had once been useful. Emotional expressions showed continuity of adult human behavioral mechanisms with those of lower animals and with those of infancy. Darwin traced other expression to infancy such as crying and patterns of adults affection have an influence when we are young on emotions in the future.
