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The suffering ape hypothesis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 May 2023

Leander Steinkopf Open the ORCID record for Leander Steinkopf [Opens in a new window]
Leander Steinkopf*
Affiliation:
Placebo Lab, Institute of Medical Psychology, LMU Munich, 80336 Munich, Germany leander.steinkopf@outlook.com; www.leandersteinkopf.de
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Abstract

The “fearful ape hypothesis” could be regarded as one aspect of a more general “suffering ape hypothesis”: Humans are more likely to experience negative emotions (e.g., fear, sadness), aversive symptoms (e.g., pain, fever), and to engage in self-harming behavior (e.g., cutting, suicide attempts) because these might motivate affiliative, consolatory, and supportive behavior from their prosocial environment thereby enhancing evolutionary fitness.

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Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 46 , 2023 , e78
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Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

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