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Why so complex? Emotional mediation of revenge, forgiveness, and reconciliation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 December 2012

Filippo Aureli  and
Colleen M. Schaffner
Filippo Aureli
Affiliation:
Instituto de Neuroetologia, Universidad Veracruzana, CP 91190 Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. faureli@uv.mx Research Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF, United Kingdom. f.aureli@ljmu.ac.ukhttp://www.ljmu.ac.uk/NSP/98732.htm
Colleen M. Schaffner
Affiliation:
Instituto de Neuroetologia, Universidad Veracruzana, CP 91190 Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. faureli@uv.mx Department of Psychology, University of Chester, Chester CH1 4BJ, United Kingdom. cm.schaffner@gmail.com
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Abstract

Humans have the cognitive abilities to implement the revenge and forgiveness systems hypothesized by McCullough et al., but the evidence suggests that simpler processes may underlie most revenge cases in humans and other animals. The mediating role of emotions can be at the basis of the flexibility needed in the hypothesized systems and the associated assessment of social relationships.

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Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 36 , Issue 1 , February 2013 , pp. 15 - 16
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013

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