Emotions: Concepts & Theories – Psychology UGC NET – Notes

Introduction

Emotions not only give colour but also meaning to our lives and experiences. Crimes and even inhuman acts are often influenced by emotions. Emotions play a very important role in human behaviour and life. In fact, even moral behaviour is based on emotions to some extent (Daniel Goleman, 1995).

Emotion is defined as a strong mental or instinctive feeling, such as love or fear, involving many bodily processes and mental states. An emotion combines cognition, bodily arousal, and behaviour into a coordinated response based on how a situation is interpreted.

There is a significant difference between how humans and animals experience emotions, even though both can feel anger, fear, sadness, and joy.

Emotion can also be described as the feeling aspect of consciousness, characterised by physical arousal, outward behaviour, and an inner awareness of feelings. It is closely linked with mood, temperament, personality, and motivation.

The word “emotion” comes from the French word émouvoir, derived from the Latin emovere, meaning “to move out.” Similarly, the term motivation also originates from movere, meaning movement.

No aspect of mental life is more important to the quality and meaning of our existence than emotions. They can make life worth living or, in extreme cases, unbearable.

It is therefore not surprising that many great philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Spinoza, Descartes, Hobbes, and Hume developed theories of emotion. They viewed emotions as responses to significant events, involving bodily changes and motivating specific behaviours.

Basic Emotions

Energy in motion is emotion, and it is a way of expressing oneself in life. Emotions cannot be strictly classified as good or bad, as each emotion plays a specific role in shaping our experiences.

Human emotions can be broadly divided into positive and negative emotions.

In positive emotions, there is an intention to include, driven by a desire for enjoyment and unity. Examples include interest, enthusiasm, laughter, empathy, action, and curiosity.

In negative emotions, there is an intention to exclude, often driven by fear, uncertainty, or the need for control. Examples include apathy, grief, fear, hatred, shame, blame, regret, resentment, anger, and hostility.

Negative emotions are useful because they motivate individuals to move away from what they do not want, while positive emotions help individuals move toward what they desire.

According to McDougall’s theory, both instincts and emotions are innate patterns. This idea was also supported to some extent by the James-Lange theory, which suggested that emotional responses are linked to physiological changes.

For a long time, emotional behaviour was believed to be inherited. John Watson, a key figure in behaviourism, proposed that there are three basic emotional patterns present even in infants: fear, anger, and love.

Later, Paul Ekman expanded the study of emotions and identified basic universal emotions, contributing significantly to modern understanding of emotional expression.

Fear — Danger lurks
Sadness — Impending loss
Anger — Threat, trespass, thwarted goals, plea for justice
Joy — Impending gain
Surprise — Unexpected event
Disgust — Contamination or toxic contact
Contempt — Substandard behaviour

There are hundreds of emotions along with their blends. Some theorists group them into families of emotions. According to Daniel Goleman, the main emotional families include:

Fear (Safety): anxiety, apprehension, nervousness, dread, terror, and in extreme cases, phobia and panic.

Anger (Justice): fury, outrage, resentment, indignation, hostility, and in extreme cases, hatred and violence.

Sadness (Loss): grief, sorrow, loneliness, despair, and in extreme cases, depression.

Enjoyment (Gain): happiness, joy, contentment, delight, pleasure, and in extreme cases, euphoria or ecstasy.

Love (Attraction): acceptance, trust, kindness, affection, devotion, and adoration.

Disgust (Repulsion): contempt, aversion, distaste, and revulsion.

Surprise (Attention): shock, amazement, and wonder.

Shame (Self-control): guilt, embarrassment, remorse, humiliation, and regret.

Daniel Goleman and Paul Ekman (1992) suggest that emotions should not be seen as rigid categories but as dimensions or families. Each family has a central core emotion with many related variations branching outward.

These outer variations are called moods, which last longer than immediate emotions. Beyond moods are temperaments, which shape a person’s general emotional style (such as being cheerful or anxious).

At a deeper level are emotional disorders, such as clinical depression or chronic anxiety, which represent more persistent and intense emotional conditions.

Concept of Emotions

Emotions expressed by humans can be divided into two broad categories known as positive and negative emotions.

Examples of positive emotions include interest, enthusiasm, laughter, empathy, action, and curiosity. These emotions generally reflect an intention to include and engage with the environment.

On the other hand, negative emotions express an intention to exclude or withdraw. Examples include apathy, grief, fear, hatred, shame, blame, regret, resentment, anger, and hostility.

Emotions are accompanied by a state of activation or arousal in the organism. They involve both physiological and psychological changes.

Physiological changes include variations in gestures, muscular movements, and facial expressions, as well as changes in bodily functions such as blood pressure, pulse rate, heartbeat, and respiration.

Psychological changes may include clouding of consciousness, memory blockage, and confusion in perception.

General Characteristics of Emotions

All emotions have certain definite characteristics, and different emotions also have their own patterns of behaviour. Some of the general characteristics of emotions are as follows:

i) Emotions and biological drives: Emotions usually occur when a basic need is either satisfied or frustrated. For example, fear arises in response to danger, anger occurs when an activity is blocked, and joy is experienced when a need is fulfilled.

Emotions are also linked to biological needs in another way—they help direct behaviour toward satisfying those needs. For instance, anger can provide extra energy to deal with obstacles. Thus, emotions play a functional role in helping the organism meet its needs.

ii) Emotions and reasoning: Emotions and logical reasoning often oppose each other. Emotional responses tend to weaken when reasoning is applied, while strong emotions can block rational thinking. Emotions are considered a more primitive response and are especially useful in emergency situations where quick action is required.

iii) Emotion and overt behaviour: Each emotion is associated with specific expressive behaviour. For example, anger may lead to attacking behaviour, while fear may result in fight or escape responses. Other expressions such as smiling, laughing, and crying are also outward signs of emotions.

iv) Emotions and internal response: Emotions involve internal bodily changes, including activity in the autonomic nervous system, glands, and internal organs. These changes accompany emotional experiences.

v) Emotions and mood: Emotions are intense, but they often leave behind an after-effect known as a mood. For example, after an outburst of anger, a person may remain in an angry mood for some time and react strongly even to minor triggers. Similarly, after experiencing fear, a person may stay in a fearful mood and react to small stimuli with anxiety.

Changes in Emotions

We all experience various emotions in our day-to-day life. Have you ever noticed what changes occur in you when you feel an emotion? Emotions are characterised by definite overt behaviour patterns.

When emotions are experienced, they lead to noticeable outward changes as well as disturbances in visceral processes. These changes affect both behaviour and internal bodily functions.

Such changes are mainly produced due to the activity of ductless glands and the autonomic nervous system, which regulate the body’s responses during emotional experiences.

The Physiological Changes in Emotions

i) Facial expressions: Various muscles of the face—including the eyes, lips, nose, and forehead—undergo changes, forming different expressions. Most emotions have distinct facial expressions, though it is not always easy to identify emotions accurately. Some expressions are universal across cultures.

ii) Muscular adjustment: The entire muscular system may undergo contraction and adjustment. For example, in a startle reaction, caused by a sudden and strong stimulus, the body shows rapid movements such as blinking, shoulder raising, bending of limbs, and contraction of muscles. Although some consider this a reflex rather than an emotion, similar bodily changes are also seen in fear responses.

iii) Gestures and movement: Emotional states are often expressed through gestures and body movements, sometimes involving the whole body.

iv) Change in voice: Emotions influence the tone and pitch of voice. Excitement may produce a loud, high-pitched voice, while fear may result in a low, trembling tone.

Other changes include sweating, hair standing on end, and dryness of the mouth.

Another important effect of emotions is the release of extra energy. In intense situations, individuals may show strength and speed beyond normal limits—such as running faster during danger or showing unusual strength during anger. This surge of energy helps the individual cope with critical situations.

Internal changes that occur during emotions include:

• Increased heart activity

• Rise in pulse rate (common in fear and anger)

• Increase in blood pressure

• Changes in the gastro-intestinal system, such as reduced digestion and saliva secretion

• Increased release of glycogen into the bloodstream

• Greater activity of sweat glands and increased muscular tone

These physiological and behavioural changes prepare the body to respond effectively to emotional situations.

Development of Emotions

The fine emotions of an adult, with his controlled and symbolic expressions of some of them, are certainly far removed from the blunt, massive direct action of a baby under an emotion. The difference almost resembles that between a ‘cold war’ and an actual front line battle on the field. Obviously great changes are taking place during the years of growth of the individual from infancy to adulthood. Almost everyone has his own characteristic developmental process as the individual develops from an infant to an adult. One of the most widely accepted schemes of the development of emotions was proposed by Bridges (1932). Let us now understand the stages of emotions as proposed by Bridges.

Katherine Bridges’ Theory – Emotions develop as babies age
Newborns – One emotion only: diffuse excitement
3 Months – distress and delight
6 Months – Distress differentiates into fear, disgust, and anger
12 Months – Delight differentiates into elation and affection
2 Years – jealousy develops from distress; joy develops from delight

According to Bridges, new born infants have no differentiated emotional responses, but only have uncoordinated skeletal visceral responses to all emotional stimuli. As the organism develops and matures, various emotions begin to differentiate with general distress and delight by about the 6th month, distress developing into definite anger, distress and fear. Like this various emotions appear as the child advances in years. By about the age of 5 years, the responses such as envy, anxiety and shame appear.

Investigation undertaken by Bridges, several studies have been made on child development with reference to emotional characteristics. It has been noticed that different emotional responses are shown at different ages. Sometimes a particular stimulus which produced emotional response at an earlier age produces a distinct emotion at a later age. The converse also takes place.

These differences in emotional responses at different age levels occur as a result of both maturation and learning. One such study showing these changes was reported by Blatz and his colleagues. Observations have been made with deaf blind human subjects and also with chimpanzees. The role of maturation and role of learning plays a very vital role in the process of development of emotions. These investigators claim that many of the emotional responses and the way of behaviour are learned. Maturation also plays an important part in as much as some of the response patterns depend mainly on the maturational process.

Emotional expressions and emotions in a child vary from those in an adult in various ways. Apart from role of maturation, the learning process also plays a very great part in the development of emotions. As the child grows it learns a great deal with regard to its emotional life. It learns to experience new emotions. It learns to experience emotions like anger and fear towards new stimuli. It learns new ways of expressing emotions. Most of the changes in emotional life of a child that take place due to the process of learning are associated with what is ordinarily known as emotional maturity or proper development of emotions.

Emotions were found to be developed from environmental and genetic influences. Instincts and emotions are both innate patterns. Fear, Anger and Love are considered to be three basic emotional patterns found in infants and regarded as being inherited. Emotions have been acting as wise guides in the evolutionary long run. According to Darwin (1965), emotions are developed primarily to prepare animals for action, particularly in emergencies. The nature of emotional state may be termed as psychological conditions, or as a psychological condition modified by cognitive process, where psychological arousal emerges as an essential factor, usually guided and steered by present cognitive factors and by evaluations of past experiences (Leventhal, 1980).

Components of Emotions

Most psychologists would agree that an emotion is a complex pattern of changes that include physiological arousal, subjective feelings, cognitive processes and behavioural reactions, all in response to a situation we perceive to be personally significant. Accordingly, an emotion has four components:

i) Physiological arousal: Emotions involve the brain, nervous system and hormones, so that when you’re emotionally aroused the hormone secretion is more to give us instant energy. Each emotion has a specific characteristic of physiological aspects. For example: When angry, the blood rushes to our hands in order to fight. When afraid, the blood rushes to our skeletal system and legs to facilitate the fight or flight responses.

ii) Subjective feelings: Emotions also include subjective awareness, or ‘feeling’ that involves elements of pleasure, liking and disliking. Thus, in studying emotion or knowing another person’s feelings, we must rely heavily on that person’s own self reports.

iii) Cognitive processes: Emotions also involve cognitive processes such as memory, perceptions, expectations and interpretations. Our appraisal of an event plays an especially significant role in the meaning it has for us.

iv) Behavioural reactions: Emotions also involve behavioural reactions, both expressive and instrumental. Facial expressions such as smiles and frowns, as well as gestures and tones of voice, all serve to communicate our feelings that may enhance our chances for survival.

The various theories of emotion differ mostly in regard to which of these various components is given priority. In much the same way, authorities differ about how emotions are activated or triggered.

The various components of emotion can be illustrated with a famous example from William James (1884) paper, What is an emotion? James cited the example of encountering a bear. “Imagine you are walking casually through the woods enjoying the sights and sounds of nature. Suddenly, there is a roaring sound, a crashing of undergrowth and a bear emerges into the clearing immediately in front of you. You immediately come to a halt, your heart is pounding, your mouth is dry, your muscles tense and you feel intensely afraid. You remember that it is important, when confronted by bears, to stand your ground and so you stay very still despite your fear. Eventually, after an impressive paw waving show of aggression, the bear wanders off and you are safe.

In this example, the emotion is one of intense fear or terror when you encounter the bear in the woods. The fear goes hand in hand with marked physiological changes; for example, the dryness in the mouth, the tension in the muscles, the racing heart and so on. The fear is also characterised by a readiness to run or to fight—the fight or flight syndrome. This is the functionality of fear in this instance. However, although there is action readiness, you do not actually follow that through to the level of behaviour; instead, you stand your ground.

Another part of the fear is the cognitive aspect where you actually feel extremely afraid because the bear has been understood at some level to be threatening to your current concerns such as personal survival.