Researchers have developed a theoretical framework to integrate different perspectives within the field of emotional science 

Have you ever wondered what emotions are and how they influence our lives? Affective science, an interdisciplinary field that examines phenomena like sensation, emotion, mood, and well-being, seeks to answer these questions. While this field originates in neuroscience and psychology, it also intersects with disciplines such as philosophy, sociology, linguistics, anthropology, and even computer science and economics. Despite the growing recognition of the importance of studying affective phenomena, significant theoretical debates and diverse experimental approaches have made it challenging to integrate this knowledge. 

Recently, the D’Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR) participated in the publication of an article in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, in which researchers proposed a new approach to unify these different perspectives on human emotions. The study brought together 173 researchers from 23 countries to examine the assumptions and methodologies in emotional science. One of the first steps involved conducting a computational linguistic analysis to identify English words that describe sensations, emotions, and moods. The team analyzed data from over 4.5 million books containing around half a trillion words, ultimately identifying 3,664 expressions, which were then categorized based on their specific meanings. 

From these findings, the researchers coined the term “Human Affective Genome,” a set of metaphysical and mechanistic assumptions based on a teleological principle — one that considers the purpose of emotional phenomena. This framework can help organize existing theories and promote the development of new theories about human emotions.

The Human Affective Genome   

The Human Affective Genome is a theoretical structure proposed to unify and organize the study of human affective phenomena, such as sensations, emotions, mood, and well-being. Its central idea is that these phenomena can be understood as processes that adjust an individual’s comfort zone and monitor their adaptive process. These processes are divided into two main categories: 

1. Affective Concerns: These refer to the relevance of physical and mental objects for the organism’s viability. Affective concerns are reflected in an individual’s actions and reactions to these objects.
2. Affective Characteristics: These provide information about the adaptive process itself, monitoring performance patterns and the organism’s adaptability.

Affective concerns are broad, including physiological concerns, such as hunger; concerns related to safety, which encourage exploration and expanding one’s range of actions, like joy and happiness; danger, where emotions help avoid potential threats, like fear and worry; loss, where emotions recognize the loss of resources and drive the search for new ones, like sadness and discouragement; and many other situations that make humans interact with their environment. Affective characteristics, on the other hand, reflect the qualities of affective concerns, based on their valence (whether they are pleasant or unpleasant) and their level of arousal or intensity, which determines the level of activation or mobilization of the organism’s resources. 

The Human Affective Genome proposes that individuals monitor and manage multiple concerns simultaneously within their own comfort zones. When faced with experiences that fall outside these zones, stress is created, triggering restorative behaviors aimed at preserving well-being and the adaptive process. The authors argue that this structure is not just a new theoretical model, but also an effort to facilitate the articulation and comparison of existing theories, promoting the development of new hypotheses and theories in the field of affective sciences. 

So, why is understanding the purpose of emotions important?   

Since everything we do is directly linked to our emotions, understanding the purpose of our feelings is not only an existential and evolutionary question, but also holds great potential for practical applications. These include studying mental health disorders that involve severe mood disturbances, such as depression and anxiety, and even in the development of artificial intelligence, where creating computers and robots that can emulate human feelings and emotions for a wide range of tasks may become a reality. 

Though this framework is primarily focused on humans, it may also have implications for studying emotions in non-human animals, as the underlying principles could be applicable to other species. The article concludes that before moving to these applications, it is necessary to study human affective phenomena in an effective and integrative way. Doing so would help to organize and differentiate theoretical aspects into specific theories and hypotheses, fostering a more coherent and comprehensive research agenda. 

In summary, the Human Affective Genome represents an important step toward a unified understanding of human affective phenomena, creating a more cohesive and integrated field of research. This collaborative, interdisciplinary effort promises to offer new perspectives on the complex nature of human emotions, benefiting both science and society. 

Written by Maria Eduarda Ledo de Abreu.