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Aug 20, 2023 · A psychologist explains the five basic emotions — enjoyment, sadness, disgust, fear and anger — and how you can talk more effectively about how you feel.
- Overview
- Basic Emotions
- Combining Emotions
- Happiness
- Sadness
- Fear
- Disgust
- Anger
- Surprise
- Other Types of Emotions
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There are many different types of emotions that have an influence on how we live and interact with others. At times, it may seem like we are ruled by these emotions. The choices we make, the actions we take, and the perceptions we have are all influenced by the emotions we are experiencing at any given moment.
Psychologists have also tried to identify the different types of emotions that people experience. A few different theories have emerged to categorize and explain the emotions that people feel.
What Human Emotion Are You? Take the Quiz and Find Out
During the 1970s, psychologist Paul Eckman identified six basic emotions that he suggested were universally experienced in all human cultures. The emotions he identified were happiness, sadness, disgust, fear, surprise, and anger. He later expanded his list of basic emotions to include such things as pride, shame, embarrassment, and excitement.
Psychologist Robert Plutchik put forth a "wheel of emotions" that worked something like the color wheel. Emotions can be combined to form different feelings, much like colors can be mixed to create other shades.
According to this theory, the more basic emotions act something like building blocks. More complex, sometimes mixed emotions, are blendings of these more basic ones. For example, basic emotions such as joy and trust can be combined to create love.
A 2017 study suggests that there are far more basic emotions than previously believed. In the study published in Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, researchers identified 27 different categories of emotion.
Rather than being entirely distinct, however, the researchers found that people experience these emotions along a gradient. Let's take a closer look at some of the basic types of emotions and explore the impact they have on human behavior.
Of all the different types of emotions, happiness tends to be the one that people strive for the most. Happiness is often defined as a pleasant emotional state that is characterized by feelings of contentment, joy, gratification, satisfaction, and well-being.
Research on happiness has increased significantly since the 1960s within a number of disciplines, including the branch of psychology known as positive psychology. This type of emotion is sometimes expressed through:
•Facial expressions: such as smiling
•Body language: such as a relaxed stance
•Tone of voice: an upbeat, pleasant way of speaking
While happiness is considered one of the basic human emotions, the things we think will create happiness tend to be heavily influenced by culture. For example, pop culture influences tend to emphasize that attaining certain things such as buying a home or having a high-paying job will result in happiness.
Sadness is another type of emotion often defined as a transient emotional state characterized by feelings of disappointment, grief, hopelessness, disinterest, and dampened mood.
Like other emotions, sadness is something that all people experience from time to time. In some cases, people can experience prolonged and severe periods of sadness that can turn into depression. Sadness can be expressed in a number of ways including:
•Crying
•Dampened mood
•Lethargy
•Quietness
Fear is a powerful emotion that can also play an important role in survival. When you face some sort of danger and experience fear, you go through what is known as the fight or flight response.
Your muscles become tense, your heart rate and respiration increase, and your mind becomes more alert, priming your body to either run from the danger or stand and fight.
This response helps ensure that you are prepared to effectively deal with threats in your environment. Expressions of this type of emotion can include:
•Facial expressions: such as widening the eyes and pulling back the chin
•Body language: attempts to hide or flea from the threat
•Physiological reactions: such as rapid breathing and heartbeat
Disgust is another of the original six basic emotions described by Eckman. Disgust can be displayed in a number of ways including:
•Body language: turning away from the object of disgust
•Physical reactions: such as vomiting or retching
•Facial expressions: such as wrinkling the nose and curling the upper lip
This sense of revulsion can originate from a number of things, including an unpleasant taste, sight, or smell. Researchers believe that this emotion evolved as a reaction to foods that might be harmful or fatal. When people smell or taste foods that have gone bad, for example, disgust is a typical reaction.
Poor hygiene, infection, blood, rot, and death can also trigger a disgust response. This may be the body's way of avoiding things that may carry transmittable diseases.
Anger can be a particularly powerful emotion characterized by feelings of hostility, agitation, frustration, and antagonism towards others. Like fear, anger can play a part in your body's fight or flight response.
When a threat generates feelings of anger, you may be inclined to fend off the danger and protect yourself. Anger is often displayed through:
•Facial expressions: such as frowning or glaring
•Body language: such as taking a strong stance or turning away
•Tone of voice: such as speaking gruffly or yelling
•Physiological responses: such as sweating or turning red
Surprise is another one of the six basic types of human emotions originally described by Eckman. Surprise is usually quite brief and is characterized by a physiological startle response following something unexpected.
This type of emotion can be positive, negative, or neutral. An unpleasant surprise, for example, might involve someone jumping out from behind a tree and scaring you as you walk to your car at night.
An example of a pleasant surprise would be arriving home to find that your closest friends have gathered to celebrate your birthday. Surprise is often characterized by:
•Facial expressions: such as raising the brows, widening the eyes, and opening the mouth
•Physical responses: such as jumping back
•Verbal reactions: such as yelling, screaming, or gasping
The six basic emotions described by Eckman are just a portion of the many different types of emotions that people are capable of experiencing. Eckman's theory suggests that these core emotions are universal throughout cultures all over the world.
However, other theories and new research continue to explore the many different types of emotions and how they are classified. Eckman later added a number of other emotions to his list but suggested that unlike his original six emotions, not all of these could necessarily be encoded through facial expressions. Some of the emotions he later identified included:
•Amusement
•Contempt
•Contentment
•Embarrassment
Jan 21, 2022 · What Are Emotions and How Do They Work? The Important Role of Negative Emotions. 4 Ways to Better Understand Your Emotions. 2 Worksheets to Disentangle Emotions. Top 3 Rationalizing Activities. Understanding Children’s Emotions. 6 Books on the Topic. PositivePsychology.com Emotional Intelligence Tools. A Take-Home Message. References.
Jul 27, 2022 · What emotion is for you depends on your: perception. resilience. coping mechanisms. While emotions may be conscious, individual experiences of feeling come from specialized neural activations in...
Nov 4, 2022 · Feelings are how you experience emotions. They’re influenced by a person’s personal beliefs, memories, hormones, and even their environment. Because of this, they may differ from one person to another. Emotions typically range from four to eight core emotions.
Feb 14, 2023 · 1. Enjoyment. People generally like to feel happy, calm, and good. You might express these feelings by smiling, laughing, or indulging yourself. You might feel enjoyment when: You feel...
Jun 29, 2023 · Emotions are reactions that human beings experience in response to events or situations. The type of emotion a person experiences is determined by the circumstance that triggers the emotion. For instance, a person experiences joy when they receive good news and fear when they are threatened.
