Motivation and emotion/Lectures/Individual emotions

Lecture 09: Individual emotions
This is the ninth lecture for the motivation and emotion unit of study.

Overview

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This lecture discusses 20 specific emotions

Take-home messages:

  • Emotions are purposeful
  • Emotions guide action tendencies towards adaptive functional response
  • Learning about the functions of specific emotions expands our emotional repertoire and makes adaptive emotional responses in different situations more likely

Outline

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  • Basic (7)
  • Self-conscious (5)
  • Cognitively complex (8)

Motivations generated by specific emotions

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Typical motivational urges generated (functions served) by specific emotions are shown in Table 1.

Table 1

Motivational Urge Generated by Specific Emotions (based on Reeve (2018, p. 340))

Emotion Motivational urge
Basic
Fear Flee; protect oneself
Anger Overcome obstacles; right an illegitimate wrong
Disgust Reject; get rid of; get away from
Contempt Maintain dominance and social hierarchy
Sadness Repair a loss or failure
Joy Continue goal striving; play; engage in social interaction
Interest Explore; seek; acquire new information; learn
Self-conscious
Shame Restore the self; protect the self
Guilt Make amends
Embarrassment Appease others; communicate blunder was unintended
Pride Authentic: Acquire further skill; persist at challenging tasks

Hubristic: Self-inflation to boost self-esteem and social standing

Triumph Display dominance and power over the defeated
Cognitively complex
Envy Benign: Move up; improve one’s position.

Malicious: Tear down; reduce another's position

Gratitude Act prosocially; grow the relationship
Disappointment Give up; helplessness
Regret Undo a poor decision or behaviour
Hope Keep engaged in pursuit of a desired goal
Schadenfreude Reinforce feelings of superiority
Empathy Act prosocially; help the other
Compassion Reduce suffering

Note. Links go to specific motivation and emotion book chapters. For a table of these emotions with definitions and links to corresponding Wikipedia articles, see the 20 emotions tutorial.

Readings

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  1. Chapter 14: Individual emotions (Reeve, 2018)

Slides

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See also

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Lectures
Tutorial

Recording

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