Evolution of emotion Evolution of emotion The study of the evolution of emotions dates back to the 19th century. Evolution and natural selection has been applied to the study of human communication, mainly by Charles Darwin in his 1872 work, "The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals". Darwin researched the expression of emotions in an effort to support his theory of evolution. He proposed that much like other traits found in animals, emotions also evolved and were adapted over time. His work looked at not only facial expressions in animals and specifically humans, but attempted to point out parallels between behaviors
The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication grown too long, & I think I shall publish separately a very small volume, 'an essay on the origin of mankind'". This "essay" would become two books: "The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex" (1871) and "The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals" (1872). The book had been advertised as early as 1865 with the unwieldy title "Domesticated Animals and Cultivated Plants, or the Principles of Variation, Inheritance, Reversion, Crossing, Interbreeding, and Selection under Domestication" but Darwin agreed to the shorter "The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication" suggested by the compositors. By May he