—How do you feel?

Introduction

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Many people have difficulty identifying the various emotions they may be experiencing. As a supplement to the course on recognizing emotions, two “mood maps” are provided here.

Objectives

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The objective of this course is to assist students in identifying the emotions they may be experiencing at any time.

This course is part of the Emotional Competency curriculum. This material has been adapted from the EmotionalCompetency.com page mood map, with permission of the author.

Energy-Affect Map

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Emotions create subjective feelings that are often evaluated as “feeling good” or “feeling bad”. Emotions also tend to increase or decrease our arousal level, which we often describe as increasing or lowering our energy level.

The map shown here places each of the major emotions roughly where they are often experienced in these two dimensions.

 

The placement of each emotion on this map is only approximate and very subjective. Each emotion can vary greatly in intensity. For example anger can range from mild irritation to intense rage. Clearly the energy level of those extremes vary greatly. You can improve your ability to recognize emotions in yourself by paying attention to how you are feeling on the good-bad axis and on the energy level axis as you go about your day. Click on each emotion name to learn more about that emotion.

Volition-Depth Map

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Two other, more subtle dimensions also differentiate among emotions. The first dimension describes the “depth of experience” or “depth of emotional involvement” characteristic of the emotion. The second dimension describes the extent to which the emotion is either involuntary or deliberate. The major emotions are placed on a grid along these two dimensions below.

 

These charts are based on data obtained from Averill, J.R. (1975) “A semantic atlas of emotional concepts”, JSAS Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA, Vol. 5, No. 330, pp.1-64 (Ms No. 1103).

The “activation” dimension is labeled High/Low energy and the “evaluation” dimension is labeled “Feel good/Feel bad” on the upper chart. The “depth of experience” dimension is labeled Deep/Shallow and the “Uncontrol” dimension is labeled Involuntary/Deliberate on the lower chart.

To better understand each of the four factors used, the fifteen emotional concepts from the list of 558 terms with the highest and lowest scores on each of the four factors are listed in the following table. In each column the terms with the highest score (toward +3) for each factor are listed in the first group. Those with the lowest score (toward -3) are listed in the second group, below the break in the table. The “uncontrol” factor describes the extent of autonomous or involuntary response as opposed to deliberate intent associated with each concept.

Activation Evaluation Depth of Experience Uncontrol
Rampageous

Rambunctious

Riotous

Rollicking

Uproarious

Furious

Fierce

Frolicsome

Enraged

Peppy

Ferocious

Excited

Ranting

Vivacious

Hilarious

Peaceful

Tender

Pleasant

Kindly

Contented

Tranquil

Harmonious

Serene

Thoughtful

Trusting

Compassionate

Warmhearted

Relaxed

Loving

Affectionate

Tragic

Excruciating

Ominous

Foreboding

Grave

Painful

Macabre

Agonizing

Heart-stricken

Loving

Magnanimous

Spiritual

Caring

Understanding

Intense

Terrified

Panicked

Blushing

Petrified

Hysterical

Trembling

Neurotic

Nervous

Scared

Spellbound

Infatuated

Delirious

Berserk

Helpless

Frightened

Low scoring factors:
Dreary

Lonely

Morbid

Grave

Somber

Glum

Despondent

Weary

Solemn

Desolate

Fatigued

Bored

Exhausted

Sluggish

Mournful

Morbid

Repulsive

Plagued

Evil

Shattered

Hateful

Hellish

Persecuted

Macabre

Cruel

Tragic

Tortured

Bloodthirsty

Violent

Suicidal

Shaky

Insecure

Listless

Mischievous

Cowardly

Fretful

Coy

Scoffing

Frivolous

Flirtatious

Sheepish

Timid

Peevish

Meek

Giddy

Devilish

Scoffing

Confident

Greedy

Sneering

Vindictive

Callous

Obstinate

Composed

Heartless

Fiendish

Serious

Determined

Cruel

Diabolical

Notes

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