Emotion cognition: comparative perspectives on the social cognition of emotion

Emotion is the crux of our everyday lives, yet emotion cognition has not been the focus of comparative study. The uniquely human aspects of emotion cognition can only be explored within a dynamic comparative perspective that embraces comparisons across species and across human cultures. Four themes are identified as important aspects of emotion cognition: (1) Positive emotion in comparative cognition; (2) Emotion and emotion regulation in the development of the self; (3) Emotion in communicative signalling; and (4) Emotion cognition and brain-behaviour relations. We propose that these themes be considered in light of a new theoretical approach, emotion cognition. This approach links neuroscience, anthropology, psychology, and ethology, to address questions concerning the universality and uniqueness in human emotion cognition.