“You are too emotional!”

We are probably told at least once not to be swayed by our emotions. Emotions are often stigmatized—seen as something that gets in the way of making optimal or rational decisions.

Yes, it is true that emotions, especially negative ones, can sometimes lead us to behave in ways we later regret. 

But can we then say that negative emotions are all maladaptive?

The evolutionary lens and functionalist view of emotion research challenge this belief. This view suggests that negative emotions serve important survival functions—otherwise they would have been filtered out through natural selection. The most common example is the role of fear. When you encounter a bear in the wild, fear kicks in and pushes your body to run—often before your rational mind even processes the danger. In that sense, the “motion” in “emotion” really is a driving force that helped our ancestors survive.

The fear example might sound a bit too obvious. So I want to elaborate on another negative emotion: envy, which I study myself.

What about envy? 

Is envy—one of the seven deadly sins—maladaptive? The intuitive answer is yes. The feeling of envy is not only unpleasant, but it can also lead us to harm others, with consequences we cannot undo.

But from an evolutionary perspective, envy is a signal. It tells you that someone is better off than you in a domain that matters. If we break that down, there are two pieces of information in the experience of envy:

(1) This domain is important to you

(2) You are doing worse than someone else

In ancient times, doing worse in a key domain might have meant a lower chance of survival or reproduction. Today, the stakes are different, but envy still signals something that might be inherently meaningful—even something you did not realize was important.

An example: 

For instance, you might think you do not care about wealth. So you tell yourself there is no reason to feel envious of the big bonus your friend received. But you still do. So, what now?

On one hand, maybe wealth matters more to you than you thought. Maybe it is worth reconsidering your attitude and striving for it—it might actually bring you happiness.

On the other hand, maybe you are still in the process of letting go of that desire. The envy reminds you that you are not quite there yet.

In other words, what envy tells you depends on your goal. But regardless of what that goal is, envy gives you useful information.

No wonder some therapists say: “Follow your envy—it tells you what you want.”

Now, let’s consider a different perspective. Some evolutionary psychologists argue that our environment is changing too fast—faster than evolution can catch up. If that is true, then some emotions we commonly experience today might disappear in the future, and some new emotions might emerge.

That means some emotions could be maladaptive in our current environment—they just have not been filtered out yet.

Personally, I believe emotions do serve important functions—but of course, I am a bit biased.

So I leave that choice to you.