Trend article analysis and key findings

Sociology

Evolutionary psychology is a field with primary focus on areas such as memory, perception, behavior, and language. It is a field that has application for and draws interest from a variety of other fields within the hard and social sciences. Researchers and other experts in the field of evolutionary psychology contend that just as much as the human body and physical capabilities have adapted and altered over time as a result of an intersection of factors, so does the mind. Evolutionary psychology would contend that modern human behavior is a combination and result of a number of psychological adaptations that have occurred and recurred since the earliest human environments.

Evolutionary psychology is a theoretical explanation and predictor for aspects of the human condition or experience such as intelligence, emotions, cooperation, and other universal behaviors that occur across culture, location, and time. Therefore the area of psychology that is the subject of this paper is evolutionary psychology. The article review will be upon the topic of the trends and consensus of the evolutionary psychology of emotions with respect to behavior. The title of the article in question is "Irrational Emotions or Emotional Wisdom? The Evolutionary Psychology of Emotions and Behavior." Haselton and Ketalarr published their study 2005 as part of an anthology regarding affective influences, social cognition, and behavior. The paper agrees with the authors argument that there are mixed signals about what do with emotions as well as how to perceive them. The authors apply the theory of evolutionary psychology to provide insight and explanation for the paradoxical evidence regarding how to handle emotions and their effects upon behaviors.

The authors begin with an informal and light conversation that most people have had with themselves and with others regarding emotions. Do we let them go or do we hold tight to them? Do we heed their advice or do we wrangle them under our control? The authors declare the purpose and the paradox early on:

Emotions do indeed pose a paradox. There is little doubt that emotions are a ubiquitous and a universal feature of our human nature…and thus it is hard to believe that emotions emerged through evolution only to disrupt judgment and decision-making. On the other hand, the phenomenology of emotion certainly suggests otherwise: The effects of emotion often seem objectively irrational and we feel the need to get them under control…we review two promising evolutionary approaches to emotion, discuss research linking particular emotions to specific adaptive problems, and argue that these theoretical arguments and empirical findings are consistent with the claim that the emotions often display evidence of being designed to aid, rather than hinder, social decision-making. Finally, we conclude by suggesting that mismatches between our evolved emotional responses and the novel modern environments in which they currently operate often lead to outcomes we can legitimately view as suboptimal.

They spend the article elaborating upon this main set or intersection of ideas and theories. Cultural messages throughout time have sent mixed messages about emotions. Evolutionary psychology can help explain how the paradox evolved and why all the advice regarding emotions is valid, not just half or some. They argue within the context of evolutionary psychology that humans have to embrace the paradoxical nature of emotions and learn how to sometimes let emotions take over and sometimes attempt to control them, yet always value and appreciate their validity. This article indirectly is a strong argument for or advocate for emotional intelligence. Gardner (1989) first argued for the theory of multiple intelligences within every human -- emotional intelligence being one of them. This article indirectly argues for the use of evolutionary psychology as a strategy to develop and apply emotional intelligence to the daily human experience.