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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.

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

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