Show simple item record

Files in this item

Thumbnail

Item metadata

dc.contributor.authorNelson, Ximena
dc.contributor.authorTaylor, Alex
dc.contributor.authorCartmill, Erica
dc.contributor.authorLyn, Heidi
dc.contributor.authorRobinson, Lauren
dc.contributor.authorJanik, Vincent M.
dc.contributor.authorAllen, Colin
dc.date.accessioned2023-05-04T09:30:05Z
dc.date.available2023-05-04T09:30:05Z
dc.date.issued2023-10-01
dc.identifier281360999
dc.identifier20d3dc65-f045-4802-927e-6268663a01f7
dc.identifier85158035965
dc.identifier85158035965
dc.identifier.citationNelson , X , Taylor , A , Cartmill , E , Lyn , H , Robinson , L , Janik , V M & Allen , C 2023 , ' Joyful by nature : approaches to investigate the evolution and function of joy in non-human animals ' , Biological Reviews , vol. 98 , no. 5 , pp. 1548-1563 . https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12965en
dc.identifier.issn1464-7931
dc.identifier.otherORCID: /0000-0001-7894-0121/work/134491720
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10023/27506
dc.descriptionFunding: This work was supported by Grant #0333 from the Templeton World Charity Foundation (TWCF) and a Brian Mason Technical Trust Fund grant to X. J. N. and A. H. T.en
dc.description.abstractThe nature and evolution of positive emotion is a major question remaining unanswered in science and philosophy. The study of feelings and emotions in humans and animals is dominated by discussion of affective states that have negative valence. Given the clinical and social significance of negative affect, such as depression, it is unsurprising that these emotions have received more attention from scientists. Compared to negative emotions, such as fear that leads to fleeing or avoidance, positive emotions are less likely to result in specific, identifiable, behaviours being expressed by an animal. This makes it particularly challenging to quantify and study positive affect. However, bursts of intense positive emotion (joy) are more likely to be accompanied by externally visible markers, like vocalisations or movement patterns, which make it more amenable to scientific study and more resilient to concerns about anthropomorphism. We define joy as intense, brief, and event-driven (i.e. a response to something), which permits investigation into how animals react to a variety of situations that would provoke joy in humans. This means that behavioural correlates of joy are measurable, either through newly discovered 'laughter' vocalisations, increases in play behaviour, or reactions to cognitive bias tests that can be used across species. There are a range of potential situations that cause joy in humans that have not been studied in other animals, such as whether animals feel joy on sunny days, when they accomplish a difficult feat, or when they are reunited with a familiar companion after a prolonged absence. Observations of species-specific calls and play behaviour can be combined with biometric markers and reactions to ambiguous stimuli in order to enable comparisons of affect between phylogenetically distant taxonomic groups. Identifying positive affect is also important for animal welfare because knowledge of positive emotional states would allow us to monitor animal well-being better. Additionally, measuring if phylogenetically and ecologically distant animals play more, laugh more, or act more optimistically after certain kinds of experiences will also provide insight into the mechanisms underlying the evolution of joy and other positive emotions, and potentially even into the evolution of consciousness.
dc.format.extent16
dc.format.extent401977
dc.language.isoeng
dc.relation.ispartofBiological Reviewsen
dc.subjectAffective stateen
dc.subjectAnimal behaviouren
dc.subjectAnimal emotionen
dc.subjectCognitive biasen
dc.subjectJudgement biasen
dc.subjectPlayen
dc.subjectReward-acquisition systemen
dc.subjectQH301 Biologyen
dc.subjectBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)en
dc.subjectAgricultural and Biological Sciences(all)en
dc.subject3rd-DASen
dc.subjectMCCen
dc.subject.lccQH301en
dc.titleJoyful by nature : approaches to investigate the evolution and function of joy in non-human animalsen
dc.typeJournal articleen
dc.contributor.sponsorTempleton World Charity Foundationen
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. Sea Mammal Research Uniten
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. Marine Alliance for Science & Technology Scotlanden
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. Scottish Oceans Instituteen
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. Institute of Behavioural and Neural Sciencesen
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. Centre for Social Learning & Cognitive Evolutionen
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. School of Biologyen
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. Bioacoustics groupen
dc.identifier.doi10.1111/brv.12965
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.identifier.grantnumberAWD00004888 (716568-4)en


This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record