Much research has found that positive affect facilitates increased reliance on heuristics in
cognition. However, theories proposing distinct evolutionary fitness-enhancing functions for�…

We present an evolutionary framework for examining the influence of different positive
emotions on cognition and behavior. Testing this framework, we investigate how two positive�…

While positive emotion can be conceptualized broadly as a response to the potential for
reward, the environment offers different kinds of rewards, and these are best approached in�…

Evolutionary accounts of emotion typically assume that humans evolved to quickly and
efficiently recognize emotion expressions because these expressions convey fitness�…

While trait positive emotionality and state positive-valence affect have long been the subject
of intense study, the importance of differentiating among several “discrete” positive emotions�…

Highlights•Emotions help humans form attachments, friendships, hierarchies, and
collectives.•Emotional experience guides social moral judgments of the present�…

This article reviews recent evidence for the benefits of negative affect for thinking and
behavior, consistent with evolutionary theories suggesting an adaptive function for all�…

We used a retrospective survey (N= 346) to model the patterns of appraisal, motivation, and
coping that uniquely correspond with 12 positive emotions (affection/love, amusement, awe�…

Evolutionary approaches to the emotions have traditionally focused on a subset of emotions
that are shared with other species, characterized by distinct signals, and designed to solve a�…

Although dozens of studies have examined the autonomic nervous system (ANS) aspects of
negative emotions, less is known about ANS responding in positive emotion. An�…