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Passions Within Reason: The Strategic Role of the Emotions

1989Robert H. Frank

4.8/5

A great book on the role of emotions in human behavior. Here are my reading notes.# IntroductionEmotions serve as a commitment device. They could be inborn or culturally-acquired but it's important that the people having them be noticeably different (on average).Character influences behavior, of course, but behavior also influences character. (p18)> The opportunist's goal is to appear honest while availing himself of every opportunity for personal gain. He wants to seem like a good guy to the people who count, but at the same time to refrain from tipping in distant cities. If character traits are discernible, however, this may not be possible. In order to appear honest, it may be necessary, or at least very helpful, to be honest. (p18)We have to be careful when we talk about altruistic behavior. Tit-for-tat for example, is not genuinely altruistic behavior. It's reciprocal altruism.Some theories posit emotions as mediating: as heuristics that allow us to make decisions faster or better. This could potentially explain emotions like fear but it's not sufficient. As the main example, Robert H Frank cites that the winning strategy to solve the prisoner's dilemma is tit-for-tat. It's a very simple strategy that does no seem to necessitate emotions as helpers.Altruism is a bit of a paradox: it's unclear how it developed by natural selection.As a good example of where emotions can hinder us (where a self-sacrifice is impossible to explain culturally) is the instinct to seek vengeance. It's a natural instinct that most cultures try to curtail.So we have a problem. We don't have a good theory of emotions or altruism. The goal of the book is to offer a partial explanation of non-self-serving behavior. The author sets out commitment problems as problems that can be solved by emotions. Four examples of commitment problems:- Cheating: how to select partners that will select not to cheat even if self-interest would dictate cheating. How to not appear as a cheater.- Deterrence: how to appear as someone who would seek retaliation, even if once the deed is done it would be counter to self-interest to pursue vengeance.- Bargaining: how to appear as someone who would refuse an unfair bargain, even if self-interest would still accept it.- Marriage: an old-fashioned example on the same model as cheating. How to find a partner that would be willing to commit long-term even if a better potential partner comes along. How to look like that kind of faithful partner.# Setting Up A Theory of Moral Sentiments- Actions are caused by emotions and feelings.- Rational deliberation is an input into the reward mechanism.- Emotions can over-power deliberation and vice versa.Moral sentiments tend to have a social function:> Moral sentiments could not emerge under the commitment model, however, if there were not substantial economies of scale in social interaction.There are lots of examples of decisions (e.g. cheating) being made non-rationally. Once we allow for that, it allows for a link between reputation and character. In other words, dishonest people will cheat even though there is a chance they might get caught. When they do get caught, their reputation will be tarnished. There is a link between reputation (a thief!) and character (dishonest).# The Matching LawThe matching law discusses the idea that the attractiveness of a reward is inversely proportional to its delay.There is nothing all that irrational about preferring rewards that will come faster as opposed to rewards that are far away in the future. But a reversal of preferences as demonstrated in the matching law _is_ irrational.Emotions can be seen as a way to bring future rewards in the present moment:> Being predisposed to feel anger when wronged helps solve this impulse-control problem. As with feelings of guilt, anger helps shift the relevant future payoffs into the current moment.Some expressions, like those that accompany anger or fear, are very hard to re-create consciously. This makes it harder to fake some emotions.# Moral DevelopmentThe author cites Kagan and his theory that morality develops out of simple emotions:- anxiety- empathy- responsibility- fatigue- uncertaintyPerhaps these emotions are enough to bring about feelings of guilt and shame.It looks like behaviorist reinforcement cannot be the only source of moral standards. As other sources of morality, Frank cites an innate sense of empathy, and an innate desire to duplicate the actions of authoritative figures.When an adult goes to a child, picks up a toy, and performs a series of hard-to-imitate sequences, the child is likely to cry. The sequences are hard to imitate and the child is frustrated.# FairnessFrank uses the following rough definition of fairness:> A fair transaction is one in which the surplus is divided (approximately) equally. The transaction becomes increasingly unfair as the division increasingly deviates from equality. (p165)Frank mentions that his definition of fairness is not complete but that it is simple and useful. It also yields the following prediction, when taken with the commitment model: people will sometimes reject transactions when the surplus is far from being divided equally.Frank's treatment of fairness is very different from other economists' who consider fairness as irrational or unimportant.Follows a big section on love that seems to me old-fashioned.# ConclusionsFrank closes with the following four conclusions:- People often do not behave as predicted by the self-interest model.- The reason for irrational behavior is not always that people miscalculate.- Emotion is often an important motive for irrational behavior.- Being motivated by emotions is often an advantage.
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