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Chapter 4
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-7278-9.ch004
Emotions and Social Evolution:
A Computational Approach
ABSTRACT
Emotion and social processes are evolutionarily intertwined. In this chapter, the authors present their
TPR, TPR 2.0 and The Game of Emotions simulations along with the justification of necessary ideas in
order to achieve the next level of research. This chapter describes a defense of the epistemological value
of computer simulations for the analysis of emotions and social interactions. Finally, the elements of the
model are described and defined with a sketch of the basic control algorithm.
1. WHY DO WE NEED
ARTIFICIAL EMOTIONS?
Living entities increase their range of possible
interactions and behavior according to the com-
plexity of their embedded information processing
systems, which reached a maximum level with the
emergence of central nervous system and brain.
Encephalization, adjusted by the Encephaliza-
tion Quotient (EQ), understood by early modern
researchers, was cognition at a high capacity of
cognitive tasks, situating symbolic thinking at the
top of possible brain performances. Leading in-
telligence, symbolic thought and encephalization
considered as correlated variables. In this model,
emotions had no place or role, but were even
considered noisy or fuzzy elements that should
be minimized or avoided. What we learned is
that all these ideas were incorrect, at least in that
naïve form. First, cognition not only happens into
the brain, but there are morphological constraints
that affect and direct cognition; second, extended
cognitive processes are at the core of the cogni-
tion and make possible to understand how brains
evolved towards the use of symbolic elements fol-
lowing auxiliary elements like external memories
or graphical notations for better visualization;
and finally, emotions have demonstrated to play
a determinant role in the cognitive processes.
This has proven valid for any cognitive system
emerged from natural evolution, and consequently,
for human beings.
D. Casacuberta
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
J. Vallverdú
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain