Emotions: Part 2

1. Emotions: Part 2 Intro to Psych Class #6 2/13/14

2. Recap from Tuesday • Social Emotions toward our kin • Babies & Us • Nature doesn’t make babies cute, it’s the way our brains are wired • They’re cute because there are certain cues on a baby that react with parts of our brains to make us THINK they’re cute

3. Recap from Tuesday • Babies & Us • Cupboard Theory from Skinner • Babies attach to their parents because they provide food • Operant Conditioning makes the baby drawn to the adult • Another Theory! • Babies are drawn to their mother for comfort and social interaction, as well as to feel safe from a fear of strangers • Money Experiments • Wire Mother vs Cloth Mother • Which mother did the baby monkey prefer?

4. Social Emotions • Evolution & Explaining Emotional Responses • Animals’ emotional attraction to their kin is not weird if we think about from an evolution perspective • Evolution is reproduction, so they want to care for those who carry their genes • Also makes sense that a baby animal who wants to survive would become attached to their parents

5. Social Emotions • What is puzzling: Why are animals nice to the animals they’re NOT related to? It’s complicated ! • Examples: • They groom other animals • They give warning cries (Lookout!) • It’s risky to do, but they do it anyway • Animals share childcare • Animals share food • Vampire bat

6. Animals & Non-kin • Vampire Bats • Known to share food after a big find • Goes around to the other bats in the cave vomiting the blood to be shared • Everybody benefits! • This sharing is called Reciprocal Altruism • Animals benefit more by working together than by working alone • But my kindness to you depends on your kindness to me

7. Animals & Non-kin • Why is this so weird? • Sharing is caring, right? • But what about the cheaters? The free loaders? Those that don’t contribute? • They get all the benefits but pay none of the cost • Why do they do this? • Why don’t ALL animals do this? • What is the benefit to doing this?

8. Animals & Non-kin • Example: • Gene A: Causes the animal to accept blood from others and also to share his blood • Gene B: accepts blood but doesn’t share his blood • Who benefits most? • Over time, Gene B will. Because it doesn’t share it will get less sick and reproduce more

9. Animals & Non-kin • Another Example: • Warning cries • Gophers give warning cries • It is adaptive to respond to a warning cry (Crap! Run!) • Respond correctly and live! Don’t respond and die • It is NOT adaptive to give the warning cry • Make a loud noise to warn the others, but risk giving away your position to the monster and becoming lunch • So what’s the good solution? • Respond, but don’t give

10. Animals & Non-kin • Yet ANOTHER Example: • Go out with your friends • Buy drinks for others, Have others buy drinks for you • Adaptive Behavior • It is NOT adaptive to my wallet to keep buying drinks • Solution! • You can ALL buy me drinks, but I ain’t buying no more for you!

11. Animals & Non-kin BUT! If everyone believed this way, the idea of buying a round would eventually fade away & no one would do it THAT’S THE PUZZLE Cheating in the short term will always outdo honesty in the long term, how come this cooperation has evolved?

12. Animals & Non-kin • CHEATER DETECTION! • Reciprocal Altruism can only evolve and happen if animals are also wired to punish cheaters • What does this require of the animal? They must be able to: • Recognize cheaters • Remember who the cheaters are • Want to punish the cheaters

13. Animals & Non-kin Not every animal has this, but we KNOW vampire bats do This couldn’t evolve and continue on through the generations if the bats weren’t keeping track of the cheaters This focus on RECIPROCATION plays a powerful role in the evolution of social emotions

14. Animals & Non-kin This poor guy can’t get no reciprocation!

15. The Prisoner’s Dilemma • A Classic Example of the way Reciprocal Altruism can effect social emotions • Idea: • You & a friend get caught committing a crime • Cops want to know everything, they want you to rat out your friend • You have 2 options: • Cooperate with your friend by staying silent • Defect on your friend by squealing

16. The Prisoner’s Dilemma But wait! If you cooperate and your friend defects, you go to prison for life & he’s free If you defect and your friend cooperates, he’ll go to prison for life & you’ll be free WHAT DO YOU DO?

17. The Prisoner’s Dilemma • The Nice Side: • I’ll stay quiet and I’ll cooperate • But if you trust your friend to cooperate, they might defect • Logic: The best case is for you to defect while your friend cooperates (CYA!) • Worst thing to happen? • You cooperate and he defects. Now you’re screwed

18. The Prisoner’s Dilemma • Another Example: • My spouse & I are breaking up • Should I get a lawyer? • If we both don’t get lawyers, then we’ll split down the middle and both get something • But if I don’t get a lawyer, and they do, I could get taken to the cleaners! • If I get a lawyer and they don’t, I could get everything! • But if we both get lawyers, we could both get screwed

19. The Prisoner’s Dilemma • Yet ANOTHER Example: • Country A & Country B want to do nuclear disarmament • We’d do GREAT if both countries disarmed! We’d all get along! • But wouldn’t it be cool if THEY disarmed and we kept our weapons? Then we could invade and take everything! • But if we disarm and they don’t, they’ll invade us! • If we both build up our weapons, then we’ll both do pretty badly too

20. The Prisoner’s Dilemma • Last Example! • A drug deal • I want to buy drugs from you. I have $1000 • Great! Let’s meet behind the gym at 2am and we’ll make the trade, You bring the money • Wait! This is a drug deal. No one’s going to call the cops if it goes bad…

21. The Prisoner’s Dilemma If I bring a gun and stick in his face, then I can have the drugs AND the money! I win! But if he brings a gun, then he gets the money and the drugs. I lose! If we both bring a gun, this probably won’t end well for either of us We should just cooperate and do the stinking deal

22. The Prisoner’s Dilemma ACTIVITY! • Pair up! • Player 1 vs Player 2 • When I say go, just show the person your choice • If you both Cooperate: $3 • If one player Cooperates, the other Defects: $5 to the defector, nothing to the cooperator • Both Defect: $0 for both

23. The Prisoner’s Dilemma How many people cooperated? How many defected? How many made $5? How many got nothing?

24. The Prisoner’s Dilemma • There was once a competition to design computers that could play this game and always win • The winner was called “Tit for Tat” & was one of the simplest programs competing • 4 lines of basic code • First time you meet someone: Cooperate (be nice) • After that, each time do what the other program did on the previous plays

25. The Prisoner’s Dilemma Why did this win?? It starts friendly But it’s not a sucker – If you screw with it, it’ll screw with you on the next turn But it’s also forgiving – It will be nice to you if you are nice to it It’s transparent – there’s nothing complicated about this idea & you could TELL it’s wasn’t a sucker and was forgiving (IMPORTANT!) It learned to cooperate and make it out the best even in a situation that might have cheating

26. The Prisoner’s Dilemma • Some think our emotions go along with the different emotions one feels in the Prisoner’s Dilemma • We like people who cooperate with us • This motivates us to be nice to them in the future • “If you’re nice to me now, I’ll be nice to you back” • We don’t like being screwed with • We feel anger and distrust toward those who betray us • Motivates us to betray or avoid them in the future • We feel bad when we betray someone who cooperated with us • Motivates us to behave better in the future

27. Another Game! • Ultimatum Game • Choose a partner (different from last game) • One of you is A, one of you is B • You have $10 • One Rule: • Person A, turn to Person B and make an offer between $0 - $10 • Person B says one word: Accept or Reject • If the offer is rejected, no one gets anything • If the offer is accepted, B gets the offer and A gets the rest

28. Ultimatum Game How many accepted? How many rejected? How many offered $1? How many accepted $1? The person who accepts the $1 offer was being RATIONAL $1 is better than no dollars

29. Ultimatum Game From a logical point of view, you should reason that $1 is better than nothing and accept the $1 Because we’re smart, Person A should use this same logic and offer the $1 But people are not purely rational Even with one shot, people won’t accept unfair distribution, they reject them out of spite The offer must be higher to get over that spite

30. Logical & Rational Thinking • Moral of the story: • A rational person is easily taken advantage of • A rational person will always respond to attacks with measured and appropriate responses • You could share with me • I’d be happy and grateful • You could mess with me, take my things, harass me • I won’t make a fuss

31. Logical & Rational Thinking • Some advantage to being irrational & having a temper • If you have a temper & are known to act irrationally, people are forced to treat you better because of your personality • So who are you going to take from? • The reasonable person? • The person with the hair trigger temper?

32. Logical & Rational Thinking • The reasonable person • The unreasonable person might do unreasonable things & that’s too risky

33. Logical & Rational Thinking Could this also apply to why people fall in love??????? You have to choose who you want to devote your life to It’s a huge trust, you’re going to raise kids together. It’s very important to you that your partner not leave you

34. Logical & Rational Thinking • A rational person would say: • “We should mate & have children because I find you the most attractive of everybody who is available that I’ve met so far. I’m very rational and so long as this continues to be the case, we‘ll be together.” • Romantic? Not really • Wouldn’t you rather be with someone that was head over heels in love? • It’s irrational, but it’s also endearing • The person’s irrationality means you can trust them more in the long run

35. Logical & Rational Thinking • Irrational Violence • Most murder is not caused by provocation (is not rational) • Most murder is generated from insult, curse, petty infraction • This isn’t “crazy irrationality” though • It’s “adaptive irrationality”

36. Adaptive Irrationality “In chronically feuding and warring societies, the central manly virtue is the capacity for violence. To turn the other cheek is not sane but stupid or contemptibly weak. If I show myself a rational person when picked on or harassed, I’ll be known as somebody you can pick on or harass.” – Daly & Wilson What does this mean?

37. Adaptive Irrationality • In the modern world: • Violence due to people disrespecting each other or giving a dirty look • Some may think it irrational behavior • But it’s not irrational CIRCUMSTANCES • People living together having to deal with each other over and over again • Often there’s not much support from the police either

38. Adaptive Irrationality • The importance of a reputation for violence • This differs from culture to culture • Cultures of Honor have certain properties • Can’t rely on the law • Resources that are easily taken • A reputation of violent retaliation is essential to keep your resources

39. Cultures of Honor • Examples of Cultures of Honor: • Scottish Highlanders • Resources: land, money, their livelihood • Western Cowboys • Resources: land, cattle • Culture of Honor studied most? • The American South

40. Cultures of Honor • Why is the South more of a Culture of Honor than the North? • Gun laws are more permissive • Corporal Punishment & Capital Punishment seem to be more approved of • Attitudes toward the military are more positive • Have a higher rate of violence, but only in certain circumstances: Crimes of honor • Someone insults me = I kill him • Someone breaks in = I kill them

41. Cultures of Honor • Example! • A study of college undergraduates at the Univ of Michigan: White males, not Hispanic, not Jewish • They were provoked, then taken into a room and tested • Men from the South showed higher stress & hormone response than men from the North • Differences in later behavior also suggested they were angry • “John went to the store and bought _________.” • Northern men: an apple (something boring) • Southern men: an AK47 (something aggressive)

42. Cultures of Honor • Southerners are not overall more violent • They’re more sensitive to having their honor threatened • Of course these are averages: not every Southern male will behave like this • The effects are real though • When someone from the South moves to the North, they comment on how rude people are

43. Cultures of Honor • The North is less of a Culture of Honor • Because of this, people are able to be jerky more • There’s less fear of being a jerk and having someone retaliate • Culture of Honor virtues are not bad things: • Honor • Loyalty • Courage • Self-Reliance

44. Overall Summary Fear, love towards our kin, anger, gratitude, etc are not weird or abnormal They are complex systems meant to motivate us that have been created to help us heal with the natural and social environment