Table 1.

Major predictions and outstanding questions that arise from applying emotion theory to animal contests.

major predictions	outstanding questions
Contest appraisals cover more variables than traditionally recognized (i.e. RV and RHP)	Are contest appraisals sequential? Do untested human appraisals (e.g. perceived agency) modify contest dynamics in animals?
Positive affective states induce self-assessment; negative states induce mutual assessment	Do assessment strategies vary with affective state? How might this influence the outcome?
Winner effects are associated with optimistic responses to judgement bias tasks; loser effects are associated with pessimistic responses	What neurocognitive mechanisms underpin judgement bias? Are they equivalent to the mechanisms underpinning winner/loser effects?
Incidental affective influences modify contest behaviour	Do incidental affective states commonly impact contests in nature? Why evolve a generalized (rather than domain-specific) affective system?
Humans and animals share rules that increase the likelihood of incidental influences (e.g. concurrence, ambiguity, and link to moods)	What mechanisms minimize incidental influences? How do these affect fitness?
The above predictions apply only to animals with a central nervous system	Do all animals with a central nervous system have affective states? Are contest dynamics fundamentally different in organisms without a central nervous system?