Breaking a norm elicits both material and emotional consequences, yet how this coupling arose evolutionarily remains unclear. We investigate this question in light of emerging work suggesting that normativity's building blocks emerged earlier in evolution than previously considered, arguing that normative processes should inform accounts of how even ancient capacities such as mood evolved. Using a definition of normative processes we developed, we created an agent-based model with evolvable affect in a shared resource dilemma, comparing competition (non-normative) versus punishment (normative) conditions. Critically, different mood mechanisms emerge under each condition. Under competition, agents evolve a "bad mood -> consume more" response, creating a tragedy of the commons leading to resource depletion and population collapse. Under punishment, agents evolve a "bad mood -> consume less" mechanism, where negative affect functions as an implicit signal of social sanction, promoting resource conservation. Importantly, once normative logic is imprinted through punishment, it creates an evolutionary pathway for mood-based signalling that operates without costly physical enforcement. Our findings demonstrate how normative processes enable social preferences to emerge in a distributed manner within psychological mechanisms, showing how normative processes reprogram cognitive and physiological systems by embedding cultural patterns into psychological dispositions.

翻译：违反规范会引发物质与情感双重后果，但二者在进化层面的耦合机制尚不明确。本研究基于新兴研究进展展开探讨——这些研究表明规范性构建模块的出现时间早于既往认知。我们认为，规范性过程应被纳入情绪等古老能力的演化解释框架。运用我们提出的规范性过程定义，我们在共享资源困境中构建了具有可进化情感机制的基于智能体的模型，对比了竞争（非规范性）与惩罚（规范性）两种条件。关键发现显示：不同条件催生了相异的情感机制。在竞争条件下，智能体演化出"负面情绪→消耗更多"的反应模式，引发公地悲剧导致资源枯竭与种群崩溃；在惩罚条件下，智能体演化出"负面情绪→消耗更少"的机制，此时负面情感作为社会制裁的隐性信号，促进资源保护。值得注意的是，一旦惩罚机制烙印了规范性逻辑，就会为基于情绪的信号传递开辟进化路径，这种路径无需代价高昂的物理强制即可运作。我们的研究揭示了规范性过程如何使社会偏好以分布式形态内化于心理机制，展现了规范性过程通过将文化模式嵌入心理倾向，实现对认知与生理系统的重编程。