Abstract

Most of the intense experiences are inherently social. Whether we feel we need to help others because we empathize with their unfortunate situation; whether we feel an urge to make a some what hostile or insulting remark (to let the other pay for some past offense); whether we feel guilty that we have not helped a needy other person; whether we feel somewhat bad about ourselves because we violated a strong norms of decency … It is not hard to fill the entire first page with intense experiences that are inherently social. Traits such as agreeableness or extra-version are inherently social; emotions such as guilt and shame are inherently social; and norms such as helping the poor (responsibility), sharing benefits equally (fairness), or being nice to those who have been nice to you (reciprocity) are inherently social. Indeed, much of life unfolds in the context of dyadic or group interactions, numerous human traits have their origins in interpersonal experience, and the source of many powerful norms can be identified in the interdependent situations for which those norms provide good adaptations. It is hard to come to terms with phenomena such as human cooperation, conflict, or trust without some basic understanding of social interaction and interdependence among people.