Emotion

Emotion refers to short-lasting affective states which occur in response to daily life events.

Figure 1. An emotions wheel. Basic emotions are depicted in the centre (inner ring). Less intense aspects of basic emotions are shown in lighter colours (middle ring). More intense aspects of basic emotions are shown in darker colours (outer ring).

Emotions are complex—they involve physiological, cognitive, behavioural, and social aspects, as well as subjective feelings. Different emotions each serve distinct motivational function. There appear to be six to eight basic emotions (see Figure 1).

What is emotion?

Emotion is not easily defined. It involves the complex psychophysiological experience of an individual's state of mind as interacting with biochemical and environmental influences. In humans, emotion fundamentally involves "physiological arousal, expressive behaviours, and conscious experience".

More simply, it's how we feel about things. Many of the chapters which follow will delve into conceptualising emotion and particular aspects of emotion - both what affects emotion and how emotion affects behaviour and thinking.

• "short-lived, feeling-purposive-expressive-bodily responses that help us adapt to the opportunities and challenges we face during important life events" (Reeve, 2018, p. 288)
• "synchronised brain-based systems that coordinate feeling, bodily response, purpose, and expression so to ready the individual to adapt successfully to life circumstances" (Reeve, 2018, p. 289)
• "short-lived psychological-physiological phenomena that represent efficient modes of adaptation to changing environmental demands" (Levenson, 1994, p. 123)

Questions about emotion

• What is an emotion?
• What causes an emotion?
• What type of emotions are there?
• What functions do emotions serve?
• How can we regulate emotions?
• What is the difference between emotion and mood?
• How can emotion be measured?
• What are the consequences of emotion?
• How can emotion be changed?
• How and why did emotions evolve?
• How are the emotions of animals and humans similar and how do they vary?

Types of emotion

Some of the main types of emotion are:

• Fear
• Anger
• Sadness
• Disgust
• Contempt
• Guilt
• Surprise
• Joy

Emotion causes

Model of emotion (Reeve, 2015)

The causes of emotion are debated; they could be caused primarily by:

• physiological responses first, followed by cognitive interpretation
• cognitive responses first, followed by physiological responses
• a combination of physiological and cognitive responses

Emotion images

What emotions do you think are depicted in each of these images?

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To find more emotion pictures, visit the Motivation and Emotion gallery or go to the emotions category on Wikimedia Commons.

See also

1. Emotion (Wikipedia)
2. Mood
3. Motivation
4. Motivation and emotion

References

Reeve, J. (2018). Understanding motivation and emotion (7th ed.). Wiley.