The basic emotions of the human being are those that are present from birth and have an adaptive function to the environment in terms of survival of the species. They have a universal character, we find them in all cultures.
In previous articles we have reviewed basic emotions such as fear, sadness and anger. Let’s go now with joy and then with some complex social emotions, such as guilt and shame.
Happiness
In this case, it is a pleasant or positive emotion. It can arise due to the achievement of an objective, to avoid some danger, to reduce a feeling of discomfort, to contemplate something beautiful, etc.
Joy is an emotion that provides numerous benefits to our health.
Regulation of our physiological system:
- When we experience it we generate serotonin, a neurotransmitter that reduces our stress and anxiety levels.
- Strengthens our immune systemsince it increases the concentration of immunoglobulin.
- It lowers our level of cortisol and adrenaline, so softens the stress response.
- It supposes a greater volume of inspired and expired airand an increase in cardiovascular activity.
- Regarding endocrine activity, they increase endorphinsrelated to pain relief, and catecholamines, which prepare the body to respond to stress or fear.
Regulation of our psychological state:
- Reduces anxiety and anger
- Reduces negative emotions
- It acts as an intrinsic reinforcer for the person, motivating them to achieve goals.
- It influences a more flexible, positive and open attitude towards problems.
Regulation of our social interaction
- Joy indicates our willingness to communicate with the other person.
- If the expression is not happy, it reports less receptivity towards the interaction.
There are various classifications of emotions: basic or primary, secondary or complex… Within complex emotions, we find those that are grouped within the category of social emotions. We stop at two examples:
Blame
It belongs to the subgroup of moral emotions, which has to do with the breaking of moral constructions or common principles. These refer to mutual respect and the avoidance of harm, injustice, suffering, etc.
Likewise, guilt is a negative emotion that appears when we break those rules or principles to which we alluded. The feeling of guilt can lead us to other emotions such as sadness, shame, a bad conscience, etc.
However, guilt also functions as positive factorin the sense that it teaches us to avoid what has made us feel it (for example, hurting another person, stealing, etc.).
At this point, we must warn that guilt can be a useless emotion if it is loaded on facts that are not reprehensible from an objective point of view. Thus, in certain contexts and historical moments this has been and is used manipulated emotion for social, moralistic, religious, economic control, etc.
Shame
This social emotion is also included in the subdivision of morals. To define it we can say that we experience it when we make a negative self-appraisal of our actions and we think that others are going to make negative judgments about us.
According to Albert Bandura, one of the greatest exponents of social learning theory, shame would occur after the following sequence of personality self-regulation:
- Observation of oneself
- Judgment. We compare our behavior to that of others, the standards we consider acceptable.
- Autoresponder. If this is negative, below the standard, emotions such as shame may arise, which goes hand in hand with insecurity. Also guilt if we think we have harmed someone. On the contrary, if it is positive, it can reinforce our self-esteem.
As in other cases, shame is natural and can be a positive factor when it works as a mechanism for adaptation to the group. So that the individual identifies what is correct, integrates into the reference social group and assumes the social rules as his or her own.
However, when this emotion overwhelms us it can be a negative element that interferes with our daily lives and limits us, and even becomes pathological that works like a loop and generates anxiety and depression.
.