The concepts of emotion and feeling are often confused because they seem to have a great similarity, so much so that even in psychology they can often be used as if they were synonyms. However, we are talking about two different experiences. We have used the words emotion and feeling all our lives to try to describe what we experience internally and which is a subjective event, since each person experiences situations in a different way.
It is important to learn the meaning of both concepts and know how to differentiate them, as this can help us know and understand ourselves better. This is why in this Psychology-Online article, we are going to explain in detail what the difference between emotion and feeling in psychology.
What are emotions in psychology
As we have commented previously, to discover the difference between emotion and in psychology, it is important to know what each one consists of. So we start by defining the emotion.
In neuroscience it is said that emotion It is the chemical reaction that occurs in our brain as a response to a new external stimulus and that results in an alteration being generated in our body.
The area of our brain that causes an emotion to occur is and it is here where the experiences we are having are memorized or recorded, which is why in most cases we are predisposed to react in a specific way to certain stimuli.
For example, when as children we burn our hand by touching a very hot object or approaching a fire, we learn that doing so will cause us pain and being close to a situation where we run the risk of getting burned to a greater or lesser extent. To some extent this will generate a feeling of fear in us. That is, we learn that when faced with certain stimuli in particular we are going to have a certain physical reaction.
These reactions can be different. To know the types of emotions, in this article you will find one.
Examples of emotions
Some examples of what emotions are are the following:
- When you have been promoted at your job, you feel very happy at that moment and surely in the days or weeks to come, but there comes a time when you stabilize again and you no longer feel the great emotion of happiness that you experienced a few days before.
- when you are in loveyou feel with unmatched energy, you are on alert at all hours thinking about the next encounter with that person, you feel the famous butterflies in your stomach, among others, however after a period of time in a relationship with that person, even years , you no longer feel so many emotional ups and downs and you stabilize again.
- You agreed to meet your best friend to go out for a drink, you have been planning that outing in advance since you have a lot of work, you cancel several activities to meet him (her) and at the time of the meeting he tells you that he is not going to be able to go. At first you will feel upset and even sad, however, after a few hours or days, that emotion will pass.
What are feelings
After seeing what , in order to understand the difference between emotion and feelings, we will see .
The definition of feeling is the following: a feeling it’s a affective state that is generated from an emotion, however, it is produced in a more conscious way since people can choose to maintain that mood for a long period of time unlike emotion which has a short duration.
This means that a feeling goes from being something more instinctive, such as emotion, and for it to be generated there must be a reasoning caused by a thought that makes the person nourish it and it becomes something lasting.
Examples of feelings
Some examples from everyday life where you can appreciate what a feeling is are the following:
- A person who has been in a relationship for some time (at first they were in love and felt all kinds of strong emotions when being with that person), however, when the stage of falling in love is finally over and the person has stopped feeling all those emotional ups and downs, decides in a less instinctive and more rational way to continue with the relationship because he really loves her, that is, he feels love as a feeling. So despite him he no longer feels all those emotions that caused him like butterflies in his stomach, he chooses to continue with her because he experiences something more lasting such as the feeling of unconditional love.
- When our father or mother asks us to do something and we react at that moment in an irritable and angry way, so anger takes over us and we speak badly to them, later, when we are calmer and can think and act less impulsively, we We realize that we exaggerated and should not have answered like that. We keep thinking objectively about our actions and a feeling is generated in us. guilty feeling as a result of the objective analysis of what we did, that is, it was no longer something that we began to feel instinctively like the emotion of anger and rage. Discover .
- He love we feel towards our parents It is a feeling that can last a lifetime or when we consciously decide to continue loving our partner for life or a long period of time.
Differences between emotion and feeling according to psychology
If we talk about the difference between emotions and feelings, it is also necessary to mention that they can be experienced at different levels of intensity and both can be quite intense or quite the opposite, depending on how they are experienced and the specific situations that the person is going through. . But,what are the differences between emotion and feeling? Are they really very different concepts?
After having explained the concept of emotion and feeling, as well as having given you some examples of what it means to experience each of them, we are going to learn what the main differences are between emotions and feelings in psychology.
1. The origin
A difference between emotion and feeling is their origin. We see it below:
- Emotions are something more instinctive and automatic that are generated without being aware of the situation, they simply appear and we experience in a more intense way the reactions that they provoke in our body.
- Unlike feelings that stop being instinctive and go through a kind of mental filter where we can think more rationally, so we value and evaluate the experience.
2. The order
- Emotion is an unconscious and immediate reaction that always comes first.
- The feeling arises slowly after the information received from emotions and thoughts and the interpretation of them.
3. The duration
- Emotions have a short period of duration.
- However, feelings can last as long as we want, they can even last a lifetime.
4. The participation of thoughts
- Emotions are immediate reactions not mediated by reason, first you feel the emotion and then you are aware that you feel it.
- The way we interpret emotions is what will determine the feelings, which are mediated by thoughts.
5. Universality
6. The intensity
- Although both can be felt in different degrees of intensity, by nature, emotions erupt abruptly and are felt more strongly.
- On the other hand, feelings are stable and can be felt deeper rationally, but their physical sensations are not as strong or intense as in the case of emotions.
7. The consequences
- Emotions move us and motivate us to action. So that these intense but ephemeral states do not dominate you, you can learn.
- While feelings, being more lasting and stable, influence our decisions and our lifestyle.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Aguiló, A. (2013). Educate feelings (Vol. 63). Word.
- Marina, JA, & Penas, ML (2000). Dictionary of feelings. Anagram.
- Vivas, M., Gallego, DJ, & González, B. (2007). Educate emotions. Dickenson.