Emotions
Affection Anger Angst Anguish Annoyance Anxiety Apathy Arousal Awe Boldness Boredom Contempt Contentment Curiosity Depression Desire Despair Disappointment Disgust Distrust Dread Ecstasy Embarrassment Envy Euphoria Excitement Fear Fearlessness Frustration Gratitude Grief Guilt Happiness Hatred Hope Horror Hostility Hurt Hysteria Indifference Interest Jealousy Joy Loathing Loneliness Love Lust Misery Panic Passion Pity Pleasure Pride Rage Regret Remorse Sadness Satisfaction Shame Shock Shyness Sorrow Suffering Surprise Terror Trust Wonder Worry Zeal Zest
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Examples of basic emotions.

Emotions are the various bodily feelings associated with mood, temperament, personality, disposition, and motivation and also with hormones such as dopamine, noradrenaline, and serotonin. Motivations direct and energize behavior, while emotions provide^{[clarification needed]} the affective component to motivation, positive or negative.^[1] Emotions are defined as feeling states with physiological, cognitive, and behavioral components (Carlson & Hatfield, 1992). Strong emotions arouse the autonomic nervous system (Gomez et al, 2005). The greater the arousal the more intense the emotion. It also appears that the type of arousal affects the emotion being experienced. Although the work emotion might seem to be about feeling and not about thinking, cognitions-particularly interpretations of the meanings of events--are important aspects of emotions. Fear, which usually occurs in response to a threat, involves cognitions that one is in danger as well as arousal of the sympathetic nervous system (e.g. rapid heartbeat and breathing, sweating, muscle tension). Emotions also involve behavioral tendencies. No definitive emotion classification system exists, though numerous taxonomies have been proposed. Some categorizations include:^{[citation needed]}

• "Cognitive" versus "non-cognitive" emotions ^[2]
• Instinctual emotions (from the amygdala), versus cognitive emotions (from the prefrontal cortex).^{[citation needed]}
• Universal emotions recognized cross-culturally based on research on identification of facial expressions ^[3]

Several different theories aim to explain the origin, neurobiology, experience, and function of emotions.

Classification[link]

In 1972, Paul Ekman developed the following classifications of basic emotions: anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness and surprise.^[4] Robert Plutchik developed the "wheel of emotions", suggesting eight primary bipolar emotions: joy versus sadness; anger versus fear; trust versus disgust; and surprise versus anticipation.^[4] Some basic emotions can be modified to form complex emotions. The complex emotions could arise from cultural conditioning or association combined with the basic emotions. Alternatively, similar to the way primary colors combine, primary emotions could blend to form the full spectrum of human emotional experience. For example interpersonal anger and disgust could blend to form contempt. Relationships exist between basic emotions, resulting in positive or negative influences. ^[5]

A distinction is then made between emotional episodes and emotional dispositions. Emotional dispositions are also comparable to character traits, where someone may be said to be generally disposed to experience certain emotions. For example an irritable person is generally disposed to feel irritation more easily or quickly than others do. Finally, some theorists place emotions within a more general category of "affective states" where affective states can also include emotion-related phenomena such as pleasure and pain, motivational states (for example, hunger or curiosity), moods, dispositions and traits.^[6]

[edit] Theories

Theories about emotions stretch back to at least as far as the stoics of ancient Greece, as well as Plato and Aristotle. There are sophisticated theories in the works of philosophers such as René Descartes,^[7] Baruch Spinoza^[8] and David Hume. Later theories tend to be shaped by advances in empirical research. Often theories are not mutually exclusive and many researchers incorporate multiple perspectives (theories) in their work. Issues include the relative importance of cognitive judgements versus perception of body states and the role of neurobiology and evolution.

Somatic theories[link]

Somatic theories of emotion claim that bodily responses, rather than judgements, are essential to emotions. The first modern version of such theories came from William James in the 1880s. The theory lost favor in the 20th century, but has regained popularity more recently due largely to theorists such as John Cacioppo,^[9], António Damásio^[10], Joseph E. LeDoux^[11] and Robert Zajonc^[12] who are able to appeal to neurological evidence.^{[citation needed]}

James–Lange theory[link]

William James, in the article "What is an Emotion?",^[13] argued that emotional experience is largely due to the experience of bodily changes. The Danish psychologist Carl Lange also proposed a similar theory at around the same time, so this position is known as the James–Lange theory. This theory and its derivatives state that a changed situation leads to a changed bodily state. As James says "the perception of bodily changes, as they occur, is the emotion." James further claims that "we feel sad because we cry, angry because we strike, afraid because we tremble, and neither we cry, strike, nor tremble because we are sorry, angry, or fearful, as the case may be."^[13]

This theory is supported by experiments in which by manipulating the bodily state, a desired emotion is induced.^[14] These experiments also have therapeutic implications (for example, in laughter therapy, dance therapy). Some people may believe that emotions give rise to emotion-specific actions: e.g. "I'm crying because I'm sad," or "I ran away because I was scared." The James–Lange theory, conversely, asserts that first we react to a situation (running away and crying happen before the emotion), and then we interpret our actions into an emotional response. In this way, emotions serve to explain and organize our own actions to us.

The James–Lange theory had until 1953 been all but abandoned by most scholars.^[15]

Tim Dalgleish (2004)^[16] states the following:

The James–Lange theory has remained influential. Its main contribution is the emphasis it places on the embodiment of emotions, especially the argument that changes in the bodily concomitants of emotions can alter their experienced intensity. Most contemporary neuroscientists would endorse a modified James–Lange view in which bodily feedback modulates the experience of emotion." (p. 583)

The issue with the James–Lange theory is that of causation (bodily states causing emotions and being a priori), not that of the bodily influences on emotional experience (which can be argued is still quite prevalent today in biofeedback studies and embodiment theory). ^[17]

Cognitive theories[link]

Several theories argue that cognitive activity—in the form of judgments, evaluations, or thoughts—is necessary for an emotion to occur. This, argued Richard Lazarus, is necessary to capture the fact that emotions are about something or have intentionality. This cognitive activity may be conscious or unconscious and may or may not take the form of conceptual processing.

Lazarus' theory is very influential; emotion is a disturbance that occurs in the following order: 1.) Cognitive appraisal—The individual assesses the event cognitively, which cues the emotion. 2.) Physiological changes—The cognitive reaction starts biological changes such as increased heart rate or pituitary adrenal response. 3.) Action—The individual feels the emotion and chooses how to react. For example: Jenny sees a snake. 1.) Jenny cognitively assesses the snake in her presence, which triggers fear. 2.) Her heart begins to race faster. Adrenaline pumps through her blood stream. 3.) Jenny screams and runs away. Lazarus stressed that the quality and intensity of emotions are controlled through cognitive processes. These processes underline coping strategies that form the emotional reaction by altering the relationship between the person and the environment.

George Mandler provided an extensive theoretical and empirical discussion of emotion as influenced by cognition, consciousness, and the autonomic nervous system in two books (Mind and Emotion, 1975, and Mind and Body: Psychology of Emotion and Stress, 1984)

There are some theories on emotions arguing that cognitive activity in the form of judgements, evaluations, or thoughts is necessary in order for an emotion to occur. A prominent philosophical exponent is Robert C. Solomon (for example, The Passions, Emotions and the Meaning of Life, 1993). The theory proposed by Nico Frijda where appraisal leads to action tendencies is another example.

It has also been suggested that emotions (affect heuristics, feelings and gut-feeling reactions) are often used as shortcuts to process information and influence behavior.^[18] The affect infusion model (AIM) is a theoretical model developed by Joseph Forgas in the early 1990s that attempts to explain how emotion and mood interact with one's ability to process information.

Perceptual theory[link]

A recent hybrid of the somatic and cognitive theories of emotion is the perceptual theory. This theory is neo-Jamesian in arguing that bodily responses are central to emotions, yet it emphasizes the meaningfulness of emotions or the idea that emotions are about something, as is recognized by cognitive theories. The novel claim of this theory is that conceptually-based cognition is unnecessary for such meaning. Rather the bodily changes themselves perceive the meaningful content of the emotion because of being causally triggered by certain situations. In this respect, emotions are held to be analogous to faculties such as vision or touch, which provide information about the relation between the subject and the world in various ways. A sophisticated defense of this view is found in philosopher Jesse Prinz's book Gut Reactions and psychologist James Laird's book Feelings.

Affective events theory[link]

This is a communication-based theory developed by Howard M. Weiss and Russell Cropanzano (1996), that looks at the causes, structures, and consequences of emotional experience (especially in work contexts). This theory suggests that emotions are influenced and caused by events which in turn influence attitudes and behaviors. This theoretical frame also emphasizes time in that human beings experience what they call emotion episodes— a "series of emotional states extended over time and organized around an underlying theme." This theory has been utilized by numerous researchers to better understand emotion from a communicative lens, and was reviewed further by Howard M. Weiss and Daniel J. Beal in their article, "Reflections on Affective Events Theory" published in Research on Emotion in Organizations in 2005.

Cannon–Bard theory[link]

In the Cannon–Bard theory, Walter Bradford Cannon argued against the dominance of the James–Lange theory regarding the physiological aspects of emotions in the second edition of Bodily Changes in Pain, Hunger, Fear and Rage. Where James argued that emotional behavior often precedes or defines the emotion, Cannon and Bard argued that the emotion arises first and then stimulates typical behavior.

Two-factor theory[link]

Another cognitive theory is the Singer–Schachter theory. This is based on experiments purportedly showing that subjects can have different emotional reactions despite being placed into the same physiological state with an injection of adrenaline. Subjects were observed to express either anger or amusement depending on whether another person in the situation displayed that emotion. Hence, the combination of the appraisal of the situation (cognitive) and the participants' reception of adrenaline or a placebo together determined the response. This experiment has been criticized in Jesse Prinz's (2004) Gut Reactions.

Component process model[link]

A recent version of the cognitive theory regards emotions more broadly as the synchronization of many different bodily and cognitive components. Emotions are identified with the overall process whereby low-level cognitive appraisals, in particular the processing of relevance, trigger bodily reactions, behaviors, feelings, and actions.

Situated perspective on emotion[link]

A situated perspective on emotion, developed by Paul E. Griffiths and Andrea Scarantino , emphasizes the importance of external factors in the development and communication of emotion, drawing upon the situationism approach in psychology.^[19] This theory is markedly different from both cognitivist and neo-Jamesian theories of emotion, both of which see emotion as a purely internal process, with the environment only acting as a stimulus to the emotion. In contrast, a situationist perspective on emotion views emotion as the product of an organism investigating its environment, and observing the responses of other organisms. Emotion stimulates the evolution of social relationships, acting as a signal to mediate the behavior of other organisms. In some contexts, the expression of emotion (both voluntary and involuntary) could be seen as strategic moves in the transactions between different organisms. The situated perspective on emotion states that conceptual thought is not an inherent part of emotion, since emotion is an action-oriented form of skillful engagement with the world. Griffiths and Scarantino suggested that this perspective on emotion could be helpful in understanding phobias, as well as the emotions of infants and animals.

Evolutionary psychology[link]

Illustration from Charles Darwin's The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals.

Perspectives on emotions from evolutionary theory were initiated in the late 19th century with Charles Darwin's book The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals.^[20] Darwin's original thesis was that emotions evolved via natural selection and therefore have cross-culturally universal counterparts. Furthermore, animals undergo emotions comparable to our own (see emotion in animals). In the early 1970s, Paul Ekman and colleagues began a line of research that suggests that many emotions are universal.^[1] He found evidence that humans share at least five basic emotions: fear, sadness, happiness, anger, and disgust.^[1] Other research in this area focuses on physical displays of emotion including body language of animals and humans (see affect display). The increased potential in neuroimaging has also allowed investigation into evolutionarily ancient parts of the brain. Important neurological advances were derived from these perspectives in the 1990s by, for example, Joseph E. LeDoux and António Damásio.

Social emotions evidently evolved to motivate social behaviors that were adaptive in the ancestral environment.^[1] For example, spite seems to work against the individual but it can establish an individual's reputation as someone to be feared.^[1] Shame and pride can motivate behaviors that help one maintain one's standing in a community, and self-esteem is one's estimate of one's status.^[1][21]

Neurobiological theories[link]

Based on discoveries made through neural mapping of the limbic system, the neurobiological explanation of human emotion is that emotion is a pleasant or unpleasant mental state organized in the limbic system of the mammalian brain. If distinguished from reactive responses of reptiles, emotions would then be mammalian elaborations of general vertebrate arousal patterns, in which neurochemicals (for example, dopamine, noradrenaline, and serotonin) step-up or step-down the brain's activity level, as visible in body movements, gestures, and postures.

For example, the emotion of love is proposed to be the expression of paleocircuits of the mammalian brain (specifically, modules of the cingulate gyrus) which facilitate the care, feeding, and grooming of offspring. Paleocircuits are neural platforms for bodily expression configured before the advent of cortical circuits for speech. They consist of pre-configured pathways or networks of nerve cells in the forebrain, brain stem and spinal cord.

The motor centers of reptiles react to sensory cues of vision, sound, touch, chemical, gravity, and motion with pre-set body movements and programmed postures. With the arrival of night-active mammals, smell replaced vision as the dominant sense, and a different way of responding arose from the olfactory sense, which is proposed to have developed into mammalian emotion and emotional memory. The mammalian brain invested heavily in olfaction to succeed at night as reptiles slept—one explanation for why olfactory lobes in mammalian brains are proportionally larger than in the reptiles. These odor pathways gradually formed the neural blueprint for what was later to become our limbic brain.

Emotions are thought to be related to certain activities in brain areas that direct our attention, motivate our behavior, and determine the significance of what is going on around us. Pioneering work by Broca (1878), Papez (1937), and MacLean (1952) suggested that emotion is related to a group of structures in the center of the brain called the limbic system, which includes the hypothalamus, cingulate cortex, hippocampi, and other structures. More recent research has shown that some of these limbic structures are not as directly related to emotion as others are, while some non-limbic structures have been found to be of greater emotional relevance.

In 2011, Lövheim proposed a direct relation between specific combinations of the levels of the signal substances dopamine, noradrenaline and serotonin and eight basic emotions. A model was presented where the signal substances forms the axes of a coordinate system, and the eight basic emotions according to Silvan Tomkins are placed in the eight corners. Anger is, according to the model, for example produced by the combination of low serotonin, high dopamine and high noradrenaline.^[22]

Lövheim Cube of emotion

Prefrontal cortex[link]

There is ample evidence that the left prefrontal cortex is activated by stimuli that cause positive approach.^[23] If attractive stimuli can selectively activate a region of the brain, then logically the converse should hold, that selective activation of that region of the brain should cause a stimulus to be judged more positively. This was demonstrated for moderately attractive visual stimuli^[24] and replicated and extended to include negative stimuli.^[25]

Two neurobiological models of emotion in the prefrontal cortex made opposing predictions. The Valence Model predicted that anger, a negative emotion, would activate the right prefrontal cortex. The Direction Model predicted that anger, an approach emotion, would activate the left prefrontal cortex. The second model was supported.^[26]

This still left open the question of whether the opposite of approach in the prefrontal cortex is better described as moving away (Direction Model), as unmoving but with strength and resistance (Movement Model), or as unmoving with passive yielding (Action Tendency Model). Support for the Action Tendency Model (passivity related to right prefrontal activity) comes from research on shyness^[27] and research on behavioral inhibition.^[28] Research that tested the competing hypotheses generated by all four models also supported the Action Tendency Model.^[29][30]

Homeostatic/primordial emotion[link]

Another neurological approach distinguishes two classes of emotion. "Classical" emotions including love, anger and fear, are evoked by appraisal of scenarios fed by environmental stimuli via distance receptors in the eyes, nose and ears.^[31] "Homeostatic"^[32] or "primordial"^[33] emotions are feelings such as pain, hunger, thirst and fatigue, evoked by internal body states, communicated to the central nervous system by interoceptors, which motivate behavior aimed at maintaining the body's internal milieu at its ideal state.^[34] These demanding sensations that capture conscious attention are coordinated from the lower or basal regions of the brain and impact diverse regions of the brain, including the frontal lobes.^[33]

Disciplinary approaches[link]

Many different disciplines have produced work on the emotions. Human sciences study the role of emotions in mental processes, disorders, and neural mechanisms. In psychiatry, emotions are examined as part of the discipline's study and treatment of mental disorders in humans. Nursing studies emotions as part of its approach to the provision of holistic health care to humans. Psychology examines emotions from a scientific perspective by treating them as mental processes and behavior and they explore the underlying physiological and neurological processes. In neuroscience sub-fields such as social neuroscience and affective neuroscience, scientists study the neural mechanisms of emotion by combining neuroscience with the psychological study of personality, emotion, and mood. In linguistics, the expression of emotion may change to the meaning of sounds. In education, the role of emotions in relation to learning is examined.

Social sciences often examine emotion for the role that it plays in human culture and social interactions. In sociology, emotions are examined for the role they play in human society, social patterns and interactions, and culture. In anthropology, the study of humanity, scholars use ethnography to undertake contextual analyses and cross-cultural comparisons of a range of human activities. Some anthropology studies examine the role of emotions in human activities. In the field of communication sciences, critical organizational scholars have examined the role of emotions in organizations, from the perspectives of managers, employees, and even customers. A focus on emotions in organizations can be credited to Arlie Russell Hochschild's concept of emotional labor. The University of Queensland hosts EmoNet,^[35] an e-mail distribution list representing a network of academics that facilitates scholarly discussion of all matters relating to the study of emotion in organizational settings. The list was established in January 1997 and has over 700 members from across the globe.

In economics, the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services, emotions are analyzed in some sub-fields of microeconomics, in order to assess the role of emotions on purchase decision-making and risk perception. In criminology, a social science approach to the study of crime, scholars often draw on behavioral sciences, sociology, and psychology; emotions are examined in criminology issues such as anomie theory and studies of "toughness," aggressive behavior, and hooliganism. In law, which underpins civil obedience, politics, economics and society, evidence about people's emotions is often raised in tort law claims for compensation and in criminal law prosecutions against alleged lawbreakers (as evidence of the defendant's state of mind during trials, sentencing, and parole hearings). In political science, emotions are examined in a number of sub-fields, such as the analysis of voter decision-making.

In philosophy, emotions are studied in sub-fields such as ethics, the philosophy of art (for example, sensory–emotional values, and matters of taste and sentimentality), and the philosophy of music (see also Music and emotion). In history, scholars examine documents and other sources to interpret and analyze past activities; speculation on the emotional state of the authors of historical documents is one of the tools of interpretation. In literature and film-making, the expression of emotion is the cornerstone of genres such as drama, melodrama, and romance. In communication studies, scholars study the role that emotion plays in the dissemination of ideas and messages. Emotion is also studied in non-human animals in ethology, a branch of zoology which focuses on the scientific study of animal behavior. Ethology is a combination of laboratory and field science, with strong ties to ecology and evolution. Ethologists often study one type of behavior (for example, aggression) in a number of unrelated animals.

Sociology[link]

We try to regulate our emotions to fit in with the norms of the situation, based on many (sometimes conflicting) demands upon us which originate from various entities. These entities are studied by sociology on a micro level, such as social roles and "feeling rules" the everyday social interactions and situations are shaped by, and on a macro level by social institutions, discourses, ideologies, etc. For example, (post-)modern marriage is based on the emotion of love yet the very emotion is to be worked on and regulated by love. The sociology of emotions also focuses on general attitude changes in a population. Emotional appeals are commonly found in advertising, health campaigns and political messages. Recent examples include no-smoking health campaigns and political campaign advertising emphasizing the fear of terrorism.

Psychotherapy[link]

Depending on the particular school's general emphasis on either cognitive components of emotion, physical energy discharging, or on symbolic movement and facial expression components of emotion,^[36] different schools of psychotherapy approach human emotions differently. Cognitively oriented schools approach them via their cognitive components, such as rational emotive behavior therapy. Yet others approach emotions via symbolic movement and facial expression components (like in contemporary Gestalt therapy).^[37]

Computer science[link]

In the 2000s, research in computer science, engineering, psychology and neuroscience has been aimed at developing devices that recognize human affect display and model emotions.^[38] In computer science, affective computing is a branch of the study and development of artificial intelligence that deals with the design of systems and devices that can recognize, interpret, and process human emotions. It is an interdisciplinary field spanning computer sciences, psychology, and cognitive science.^[39] While the origins of the field may be traced as far back as to early philosophical enquiries into emotion,^[13] the more modern branch of computer science originated with Rosalind Picard's 1995 paper^[40] on affective computing.^[41][42] Detecting emotional information begins with passive sensors which capture data about the user's physical state or behavior without interpreting the input. The data gathered is analogous to the cues humans use to perceive emotions in others. Another area within affective computing is the design of computational devices proposed to exhibit either innate emotional capabilities or that are capable of convincingly simulating emotions. Emotional speech processing recognizes the user's emotional state by analyzing speech patterns. The detection and processing of facial expression or body gestures is achieved through detectors and sensors.

Etymology[link]

The English word emotion is derived from the French word émouvoir. This is based on the Latin emovere, where e- (variant of ex-) means "without" and movere means "move."^[43]

Notable theorists[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

William James about the time he wrote on emotions

In the late 19th century, the most influential theorists were William James (1842–1910) and Carl Lange (1834–1900). James was an American psychologist and philosopher who wrote about educational psychology, psychology of religious experience/mysticism, and the philosophy of pragmatism. Lange was a Danish physician and psychologist. Working independently, they developed the James–Lange theory, a hypothesis on the origin and nature of emotions. The theory states that within human beings, as a response to experiences in the world, the autonomic nervous system creates physiological events such as muscular tension, a rise in heart rate, perspiration, and dryness of the mouth. Emotions, then, are feelings which come about as a result of these physiological changes, rather than being their cause.^[44]

Silvan Tomkins (1911 – 1991) developed the Affect theory and Script theory. The Affect theory introduced the concept of basic emotions, and was based on the idea that the dominance of the emotion , which he called the affect system, was the motivating force in human life.^[45]

Some of the most influential theorists on emotion from the 20th century have died in the last decade. They include Magda B. Arnold (1903–2002), an American psychologist who developed the appraisal theory of emotions^[46]; Richard Lazarus (1922–2002), an American psychologist who specialized in emotion and stress, especially in relation to cognition; Herbert A. Simon (1916–2001), who included emotions into decision making and artificial intelligence; Robert Plutchik (1928–2006), an American psychologist who developed a psychoevolutionary theory of emotion^[47]; Robert Zajonc (1923–2008) a Polish–American social psychologist who specialized in social and cognitive processes such as social facilitation. An American philosopher, Robert C. Solomon (1942–2007), contributed to the theories on the philosophy of emotions with books such as What Is An Emotion?: Classic and Contemporary Readings (Oxford, 2003). Peter Goldie (1946-2011) British philosopher who specializes in ethics, aesthetics, emotion, mood and character

Influential theorists who are still active include the following psychologists, neurologists, and philosophers:

• Lisa Feldman Barrett – Social philosopher and psychologist specializing in affective science and human emotion.
• John Cacioppo – from the University of Chicago, founding father with Gary Berntson of social neuroscience.
• António Damásio (born 1944) – Portuguese behavioral neurologist and neuroscientist who works in the US
• Richard Davidson (born 1951) – American psychologist and neuroscientist; pioneer in affective neuroscience.
• Paul Ekman (born 1934) – Psychologist specializing in the study of emotions and their relation to facial expressions
• Barbara Fredrickson – Social psychologist who specializes in emotions and positive psychology.
• Nico Frijda (born 1927) – Dutch psychologist who specializes in human emotions, especially facial expressions
• Arlie Russell Hochschild (born 1940) – American sociologist whose central contribution was in forging a link between the subcutaneous flow of emotion in social life and the larger trends set loose by modern capitalism within organizations.
• Joseph E. LeDoux (born 1949) – American neuroscientist who studies the biological underpinnings of memory and emotion, especially the mechanisms of fear
• George Mandler (born 1924) - American psychologist who wrote influential books on cognition and emotion
• Jaak Panksepp (born 1943) – Estonian-born American psychologist, psychobiologist and neuroscientist; pioneer in affective neuroscience.
• Jesse Prinz – American philosopher who specializes in emotion, moral psychology, aesthetics and consciousness
• Klaus Scherer (born 1943) – Swiss psychologist and director of the Swiss Center for Affective Sciences in Geneva; he specializes in the psychology of emotion
• Ronald de Sousa (born 1940) – English–Canadian philosopher who specializes in the philosophy of emotions, philosophy of mind and philosophy of biology.

See also[link]

Wikiversity has learning materials about Emotion

References[link]

Notes[link]