Emotional states: happiness, sadness, fear, disgust, anger and surprise
Emotional state - is the state of person's emotions in a particular time. How to they feel? How do they feel about themselves?
Emotions are defined as "states elicited by instrumental reinforcers, that is, by stimuli that are the goals for action" (Rolls, 2013). Kleinginna and Kleinginna (1981) define emotions as “a complex set of interactions among subjective and objective factors, mediated by neural/hormonal systems, which can (a) give rise to affective experiences such as feelings of arousal, pleasure/displeasure; (b) generate cognitive processes such as emotionally relevant perceptual effects, appraisals, labeling processes; (c) activate widespread physiological adjustments to the arousing conditions; and (d) lead to behavior that is often, but not always, expressive, goal-directed, and adaptive.”
Our emotional experience listings refer to 32 emotions by Plutchik's Wheel of emotions: Acceptance, Admiration, Aggressiveness, Amazement, Anger, Annoyance, Anticipation, Apprehension, Awe, Boredom, Contempt, Disappointment, Disgust, Distraction, Ecstasy, Fear, Grief, Interest, Joy, Loathing, Love, Optimism, Pensiveness, Rage, Remorse, Sadness, Serenity, Submission, Surprise, Terror, Trust, Vigilance.
The emotional state - is the condition of a person's emotions at a particular time. For instance, when we receive good news, we feel joy. And when we feel threatened, we experience fear. However, the person's emotional state is crucial to their emotional balance and ability to manage suppressed emotions.
Different types of Emotional States
In the 1970s, psychologist Paul Eckman described six basic emotions. These universal emotions may include happiness, sadness, fear, disgust, anger, and surprise. Let's figure out each emotional state and see how they influence our lives.
Emotional state of Happiness:
The best human emotion people strive for is happiness. This type of emotion is characterised by feelings of contentment, joy, and satisfaction.
It can be expressed in multiple ways, such as by smiling, laughing, or speaking in an upbeat tone. It is, in fact, a pleasant emotional state correlated with our sense of well-being and gratification.
"Happiness is associated with increased longevity and marital satisfaction. In contrast, unhappiness is associated with poor health outcomes."
Emotional state of Sadness:
Sadness is defined as a transient emotional state characterised by feelings of disappointment, hopelessness, disinterest, and grief. People may show this emotion in several ways, like crying, lethargy, and quietness.
Sometimes, people experience prolonged and severe periods of sadness that lead to depression. However, the type and severity of sadness can vary, and it merely depends upon the root cause that brings this feeling.
Emotional state of Fear:
Fear is a powerful emotional response to an immediate threat. It can be demonstrated by widening the eyes, rapid breathing or heartbeat, and pulling back the chin. It is strongly associated with fight or flight responses.
For instance, when you experience some danger, your muscles tense, your heart rate and respiration increase, and your mind becomes more alert, preparing your body to either run or fight. Thus, fear prepares you for how to deal with threats in your environment effectively.
Emotional state of Disgust:
Disgust is a typical response that originates from several ways, such as unpleasant taste, sight, or smell. It can be shown by vomiting, retching, wrinkling the nose, and moving away from the object of disgust. Different factors like poor hygiene, infection, blood, rot, and death may trigger disgust
Researchers believe that this emotion develops in response to potentially harmful or fatal foods. For example, people react when they smell or taste rotten food. It is because their bodies try to avoid things that carry transmittable diseases.
Emotional state of Anger:
Anger is another one of the six basic types of human emotions that is represented by feelings of hostility, agitation, frustration, and antagonism towards others. It can express through frowning, turning red, hitting, or throwing objects.
Also, anger helps you to take action in your life and find solutions to problems that trouble you. While on the flip side, it turns into aggression, violence, or abuse when you express it in an unhealthy way.
So, it is essential to find a healthy outlet for anger so that it does not harm yourself or others.
Emotional state of Surprise:
Surprise is a physiological startle response that occurs when something happens unexpectedly. Yelling, screaming, raising the brows, and opening the mouth are the expressions that may occur when you experience surprise.
Surprise can be positive, negative, or neutral, depending upon the situation. For example, an unpleasant surprise may occur when you walk to your car at night; someone might jump out from behind a tree and scare you. In comparison, a pleasant surprise would be when your closest friends turn up to celebrate your birthday at your home.
Conclusion
In our daily lives, emotions play a vital role in how we engage with others and make decisions. Understanding different emotions can help you recognize how they are expressed and impact your behaviour. Remember, emotion is not an island. However, some emotions are simple, while some are complex. They all work together to create your emotional life's rich and distinct. Emotions.market is an emotional experience directory, place to find different experiences, to match the emotions you, personally, would like to trigger.