A new study suggests that anger and hatred are not merely different intensities of the same feeling but are distinct emotional systems with unique evolutionary functions. The study indicates that while anger motivates individuals to negotiate for better treatment, hatred drives them to neutralize or remove a threat. These findings were published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior. Scientists have long debated the relationship between anger and hatred. Some psychological models suggest hatred is simply a more intense or durable form of anger. Other perspectives argue they are qualitatively different. The authors of the current study approached this debate through an adaptationist framework. This perspective views human emotions as evolved mechanisms designed to solve specific problems faced by our ancestors. “Anger and hatred are both central to conflict and aggression, but in everyday conversation—and often in research—they get treated as basically the same thing, just different intensities of ‘being mad,” said study author Mitchell Landers, a postdoctoral Scholar at the University of California, San Diego. “From an evolutionary perspective, that’s a strong claim. But …