The universality of affective experience

Original defense mechanisms

For a long time there was an extremely intense academic debate about the formative origin of our passions.

Some groups of specialists argued that all affective reactions, such as forming a smile, were behaviors assimilated through observation during the early growth stage.

In parallel, another current argued strongly that individuals came into the world with these impulses already genetically incorporated into their biological nature.

To resolve this fundamental discrepancy, one researcher led an ambitious field project, traveling extensively to test the dominant hypothesis that expressions were simply cultural constructs acquired by visual learning.

Scientific evidence for the innate quality of emotions

The study reached its climax when assessing an isolated aboriginal community living in a remote jungle region, a human group with no previous contact with civilization or the media.

The results obtained shattered the prevailing theories of the time; the leader of the experiment found that his assumption of cultural learning was completely wrong.

It was conclusively demonstrated that human beings are born with their emotional expressions intact.

The smile of an infant is not a rehearsed imitation of the gestures of its caregivers, but an authentic and innate manifestation of joy.

It is impossible to genuinely suppress laughter at a hilarious event or to avoid irritation at a great annoyance, confirming that our sentimental scheme is a universal biological condition.

Summary

For several years there was a strong academic dispute about our feelings. Different scholars debated whether facial expressions were learned behaviors or simply biological traits.

An ambitious global study sought to resolve this great scientific conundrum. The principal investigator traveled to remote jungles to assess isolated populations with no outside influences.

The findings showed that all primary emotions are born with us. It is impossible to avoid smiling at something funny because our nature responds through innate impulses.