Social Emotions from the Perspective of the Computational - - PDF document

• Rainer Reisenzein

Social Emotions from the Perspective of the Computational Belief-Desire Theory of Emotion

Contribution to Workshop "The cognitive foundations of group attitudes and social interaction" Toulouse, May 31 - June 1, 2012 Institute of Psychology General Psychology II

Rainer Reisenzein Social Emotions from the Perspective of CBDTE 2

Overview

CBDTE: A Computational model of the Belief-Desire Theory of Emotion Causes and nature of the social emotions from the perspective of CBDTE Evolutionary functions of the social emotions from the perspective of CBDTE

Rainer Reisenzein Social Emotions from the Perspective of CBDTE 3

• I. CBDTE: A computational model
• f the belief-desire theory of

emotion*

* Reisenzein, R. (2009). Emotions as metarepresentational states of mind: Naturalizing the belief-desire theory of emotion. Cognitive Systems Research, 10, 6-20. * Reisenzein, R. (2009). Emotional experience in the computational belief-desire theory of emotion. Emotion Review, 1, 214-222. * Reisenzein, R. (2012). What is an emotion in the Belief-Desire Theory of emotion? In

• F. Paglieri, L. Tummolini, R. Falcone & M. Miceli (Eds.), The goals of cognition:

Essays in honor of Cristiano Castelfranchi. London: College Publications (in press).

Rainer Reisenzein Social Emotions from the Perspective of CBDTE 4

The Belief-Desire Theory of Emotion: Happiness

Des(p,t) Bel(p,t) Happy(p,t) New information

• e. g. "Schroiber wins the election"

Rainer Reisenzein Social Emotions from the Perspective of CBDTE 5

The Belief-Desire Theory of Emotion: Surprise

Bel(¬ p,t-1) Bel(p,t) Surprised(p,t) New information

• e. g. "Schroiber wins the election"

Rainer Reisenzein Social Emotions from the Perspective of CBDTE 6

Naturalizing the Belief-Desire Theory of Emotion: A computational model

Belief-Belief Comparator (BBC) Belief-Desire Comparator (BDC)

Store for new ly acquired beliefs

• I will not be invited to Paul's party.
• Schroiber does not w in the election.
• I won't win a million Euros in the lottery.
• My daughter is sick.
• John does not get what he deserves.
• ...
• I will be invited to Paul's party.
• Schroiber w ins the election.
• I win a million Euros in the lottery.
• My daughter is not sick.
• John gets what he deserves.
• ...

Belief store ( preexisting beliefs) Desire store ( preexisting desires)

Desire-Fulfillm ent Signal Desire-Frustration Signal Belief-Confirmation Signal Belief-Disconfirm ation Signal

• Schroiber w ins the election.

Rainer Reisenzein Social Emotions from the Perspective of CBDTE 7

• II. Social emotions from the

perspective of CBDTE*

* Reisenzein, R. (2010). Moralische Gefühle aus der Sicht der kognitiv-motivationalen Theorie der Emotion [ Moral emotions from the perspective of the cognitive- motivational theory of emotion] . In M. Iorio & R. Reisenzein (Hg.), Regel, Norm,

• Gesetz. Eine interdiziplinäre Bestandsaufnahme [ Rule, norm, law. An

interdisciplinary survey] (pp. 257-283). Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. * Reisenzein, R. & Junge, M. (2012). Language and emotion from the perspective of the computational belief-desire theory of emotion. In P. A. Wilson (Ed.) Dynamicity in emotion concepts (Lodz Studies in Language, 27, 37-59). Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.

Rainer Reisenzein Social Emotions from the Perspective of CBDTE 8

Belief-Desire analysis of some emotions*

Emotion IF Belief at t Desire at (up to) t Belief at t-1 happy(p,t) Certain(p,t) Des(p,t) unhappy(p,t) Certain(p,t) Des(¬p,t) hopes(p,t) Uncertain(p,t) Des(p,t) fears(p,t) Uncertain(p,t) Des(¬p,t) surprised(p,t) Certain(p,t) irrelevant Bel(¬p,t-1) disappointed(¬p,t) Certain(¬p,t) Des(p,t) Bel(p,t-1) relieved(¬p,t) Certain(¬p,t) Des(¬p,t-1) Bel(p,t-1) ____________________________________________________________________ Notation: Bel(p,t)...believes p at t Certain(p,t)...firmly believes p at t Uncertain(p,t) iff Bel(p,t) & ¬Certain(p,t) & ¬Certain (¬p,t) Des(p,t)...desires p at t Des(¬p,t)...desires not-p at t (≈ is aversive against p) ____________________________________________________________________

* Reisenzein, R. (2009). Emotions as metarepresentational states of mind: Naturalizing the belief-desire theory of emotion. Cognitive Systems Research, 10, 6-20.

Rainer Reisenzein Social Emotions from the Perspective of CBDTE 9

Quantitative Formulation of BDTE

* Reisenzein, R. (2009). Emotions as metarepresentational states of mind: Naturalizing the belief-desire theory of emotion. Cognitive Systems Research, 10, 6-20.

Rainer Reisenzein Social Emotions from the Perspective of CBDTE 10

CBDTE-analysis of the fortunes-of-others emotions: Pity

Des(¬ Fo) Bel(Fo) Pity(Fo) New information BDC

• e. g., Fo = Karl (o) loses his job (F)

Bel(Fo ist bad for o, or ¬ Fo is good for o) Des(good things/ no bad things happen to o [ within limits] )

1

Pity is a form of unhappiness

2

One is unhappy about the fate of another, Fo

4

Des(¬ Fo) ist derived from a desire for o's welfare

3

One desires ¬ Fo, because one believes that Fo is bad for o

• e. g.: Fo frustrates a desire of o
• suffers emotionally from Fo

Fo decreases o's well-being

5

This desire is altruistic

Rainer Reisenzein Social Emotions from the Perspective of CBDTE 11

Pity requires an altruistic desire: data from an internet study

Beziehungstyp

Feind Neutral Freund

Mittelwert Mitleid

8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 positiv neutral negativ

Type of relationship, F(2, 100) = 31.5, p < .01, Egoistic consequences, F(2, 100) < 1; Interaction: ns.

positive neutral negative

Friend Acquaintance Enemy Type of interpersonal relationship Mean of Pity for the other

Rainer Reisenzein Social Emotions from the Perspective of CBDTE 12

CBDTE-analysis of the norm-based emotions: Guilt

Des(¬ Aa) Bel(Aa) Guilt(Aa) New information BDC

• e. g. Aa = Maria (a) lied-to-

her-friend-Berta (A)

Bel(a is in situation S and a is an agent of type T) Des(in S, agents of type T do not perform actions of type A)

1

Guilt is a form of unhappiness

2

One is unhappy about an own action

3

Des(¬ Aa) is derived from the desire to obey a behavioral rule

4

Desire to obey behavioral rule is derived from desire to obey P's commandments (= Norm internalization) Bel(in S, actions of type A are forbidden for agents of type T by P) Des(obey the commandments of P)

5

Desire to obey P's commandments is not egoistic

Rainer Reisenzein Social Emotions from the Perspective of CBDTE 13

Pity and guilt: Distinctive hedonic qualities?

• Do pity and guilt distinct have a distinctive hedonic

quality? Are the separate forms of displeasure feelings?

• Introspection suggests 'yes' to me
• An argument from self-knowledge of emotions:
• Assume CBDTE analysis of pity is correct.
• Assume we infer emotions from their cognitive and

motivational context.

• Then to know that we feel pity, we must infer that we

experience m ental pain caused by the frustration of an altruistic desire implausible

• Alternative: The displeasure of pity feels in a special,

distinctive way. That's how we know what we feel pity (with some experience).

Rainer Reisenzein Social Emotions from the Perspective of CBDTE 14

Evolutionary functions of the social emotions I

• Organismic (system-internal) evolutionary functions
• f emotions:
• emotions signal congruence or incongruence between

newly acquired beliefs and existing beliefs or desires

• globally prepare the cognitive system (or agent) to

deal with belief-desire (mis)matches

• Hedonic mechanism acts as a motivational support

system

• Creates an auxiliary desire to reduce or abolish the

displeasure caused by a threat to, or a frustration of, the primary desire

• hedonistic desire reinforces the primary desire

even though it is blind to the aim of the primary desire

Rainer Reisenzein Social Emotions from the Perspective of CBDTE 15

Evolutionary functions of the social emotions II

• A social-communicative function?
• Verbal or nonverbal communication of emotion informs
• ther agents about the occurrence of a belief-belief or

belief-desire match or mismatch in the agent

• Alerts other agents to two changes:
• The agent acquired a new belief that m atched or

mismatched a pre-existing belief or desire

• Something may have occurred in the world that caused

at least this agent to experience a belief-belief or belief-desire match or mismatch.

• This information is useful for other agents:
• Allows them to update their mental model of the em otion

experiencer, or of the environment, and thereby better adapt to either.

Rainer Reisenzein Social Emotions from the Perspective of CBDTE 16

Evolutionary functions of social emotions II

• What are the advantages for the communicator?
• Communicating emotion increases the agent's predicability and

exploitability by others, and gives away useful information for free

• readiness to (truthfully) communicate emotions is a form of

biological altruisim

• possible evolutionary: kin selection, reciprocal altruism, group selection

(Richerson & Boyd, 2005), costly signalling (Desalles, 2007)

• My proposal for the social emotions: group selection
• Groups in which social emotions are truthfully

communicated are at an advantage over groups in they are hidden or faked.

• involuntary signals of social (and possibly other)

emotions may have been selected as truthful signs of

• ther’s group-centered concerns: Their altruistic concern

for others, and their true caring for the obeyance of social norms.

• Rainer Reisenzein

Thank you for your attention!

Institute of Psychology General Psychologie II rainer.reisenzein@uni-greifswald.de