EMOTIONS

Definition of Emotion
a) Emotions can be defined as a conscious mental
reaction (such as anger or fear) subjectively
experienced as strong feeling usually directed toward
a specific object and typically accompanied by
physiological and behavioral changes in the body.
b) Emotions are a state of feeling.
c) Emotions can be the affective aspect of
consciousness : FEELING
Definition of Emotion

The word emotion is derived from the middle French

is to stir; and from the Latin, is to move (Definition of
emotion, 2017).
Emotion is a sensory experience through which we
express our feelings. We recognize emotions in others
and communicate our own feelings in a language of
gestures, postures, and facial expressions. 
Basic Emotions
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.
Combining Emotions
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 blending of these more basic ones.
For example, basic emotions such as joy and trust can be
combined to create love.
Happiness
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
Sadness

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
Withdrawal from others
The type and severity of sadness can vary depending upon the root cause, and
how people cope with such feelings can also differ.
Fear

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.5
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
Disgust is another of the original six basic emotions described by Paul
Ekman. 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 disgust 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 and death can also trigger a disgust
response. This may be the body's way of avoiding things that may carry
transmittable diseases.
Anger
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
Aggressive behaviors: such as hitting, kicking, or throwing objects
Surprise
Surprise is another one of the six basic types of human emotions originally
described by Paul Ekman. 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
Surprise is another type of emotion that can trigger the fight or flight
response. When startled, people may experience a burst of adrenaline that
helps prepare the body to either fight or flee
 Other Types of Emotions
The six basic emotions described by Paul Ekman are just a portion of the many different
types of emotions that people are capable of experiencing. Paul Ekman(2003) 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. He 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
Excitement
Guilt
Pride in achievement
Relief
Satisfaction
Shame
 THE BIOLOGY OF
EMOTIONS
Limbic System
the limbic system, which is the area of the brain involved in emotion and
memory.
The limbic system includes the hypothalamus, thalamus, amygdala, and the
hippocampus.
The hypothalamus plays a role in the activation of the sympathetic nervous
system that is a part of any given emotional reaction.
The thalamus serves as a sensory relay center whose neurons project to both
the amygdala and the higher cortical regions for further processing.
The amygdala plays a role in processing emotional information and sending
that information on to cortical structures (Fossati, 2012).
The hippocampus integrates emotional experience with cognition (Femenía,
Gómez-Galán, Lindskog, & Magara, 2012).
Amygdala
The amygdala has received a great deal of attention from
researchers interested in understanding the biological basis for
emotions, especially fear and anxiety (Blackford & Pine, 2012;
Goosens & Maren, 2002; Maren, Phan, & Liberzon, 2013).
The amygdala is composed of various subnuclei, including the
basolateral complex and the central nucleus.
The basolateral complex has dense connections with a variety of
sensory areas of the brain. It is critical for classical conditioning
and for attaching emotional value to learning processes and
memory.
The central nucleus plays a role in attention, and it has
connections with the hypothalamus and various brainstem areas
to regulate the autonomic nervous and endocrine systems’ activity
(Pessoa, 2010).
Hippocampus
The hippocampus is also involved in emotional
processing. Like the amygdala, research has
demonstrated that hippocampal structure and
function are linked to a variety of mood and anxiety
disorders.
Individuals suffering from posttraumatic stress
disorder (PTSD) show marked reductions in the
volume of several parts of the hippocampus, which
may result from decreased levels of neurogenesis and
dendritic branching (the generation of new neurons
and the generation of new dendrites in existing
neurons, respectively) (Wang et al., 2010).
 FACIAL EXPRESSION AND RECOGNITION OF EMOTIONS

Culture can impact the way in which people display emotion. A cultural
display rule is one of a collection of culturally specific standards that
govern the types and frequencies of displays of emotions that are
acceptable (Malatesta & Haviland, 1982).
Therefore, people from different cultural backgrounds can have very
different cultural display rules of emotion.
For example, research has shown that individuals from the United States
express negative emotions like fear, anger, and disgust both alone and in
the presence of others, while Japanese individuals only do so while alone
(Matsumoto, 1990).
Furthermore, individuals from cultures that tend to emphasize social
cohesion are more likely to engage in suppression of emotional reaction so
they can evaluate which response is most appropriate in a given context or
situation (Matsumoto, Yoo, & Nakagawa, 2008).
Other distinct cultural characteristics might be involved in emotionality.
For instance, there may be gender differences involved in emotional
processing. There is some evidence that men and women may differ in
regulation of emotions (McRae, Ochsner, Mauss, Gabrieli, & Gross,
2008).
Despite different emotional display rules, our ability to recognize and
produce facial expressions of emotion appears to be universal.
In fact, even blind individuals produce the same facial expression of
emotions, despite their never having the opportunity to observe these
facial displays of emotion in other people.
This would seem to suggest that the pattern of activity in facial muscles
involved in generating emotional expressions is universal, and indeed,
this idea was suggested in the late 19th century in Charles Darwin’s
book The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals (1872). 
In fact, there is substantial evidence for seven universal emotions that
are each associated with distinct facial expressions. These include:
happiness, surprise, sadness, fright, disgust, contempt, and anger
(Ekman & Keltner, 1997).