A socio-functional perspective on emotion and cooperation

Humans sociality is inextricably linked to cooperation. The human life history required cooperation in the form of pair-bonding, alloparenting, intergenerational transfers of calories, and extensive food sharing among kin and non-kin. Cooperating to achieve mutual goals often led to better outcomes compared to uncoordinated individual efforts. However, avoiding exploitation was critical to managing the challenges of sociality. Building on a socio-functional perspective, this chapter summarizes evidence showcasing the role that emotion plays in guiding proximate mechanisms that facilitate cooperation or hinder competition through their effect on partner choice and relationship management. The authors further organize these emotions (e.g., compassion, sadness, gratitude, anger, shame, guilt) by their proposed interpersonal ultimate functions based on the ways in which they promote cooperation via (1) distinguishing high-value from low-value partners; (2) building and maintaining lasting cooperative relationships with valuable partners; and (3) identifying when to de-invest from or terminate existing relationships.