We mention emotions easily; Between dialogues with a friend we express, for example, “how angry I see you today”, “it makes me very happy that you are by my side” or “listening to that song makes me very sad”. Varied signifiers of the many sensations that we are experiencing, and that is what often causes difficulty in understanding them. What is emotion in psychology? In this Online Psychology article we share with you some definitions proposed by authors involved in research into the emotional world. We will also see what relationship there is between emotion and motivation and emotions and feelings. Additionally, we will explain the concept of emotional intelligence.
Definition of emotion according to authors
One of the best-known authors for the ease of reading with which he managed to disseminate the importance of the emotional world is (1995) with his book emotional intelligencewho defines emotions as “impulses for action”taking up for its proposal the research and theories of dozens of authors who years before, even centuries, guided their interests and efforts towards the lucidity of emotions in the animal world and the implication that these have in each person’s life.
All emotions are impulses to act, instant plans to face life that evolution has instilled in us. Deep-rooted impulses that lead us to act. Daniel Goleman (1995).
Let’s consider the corollary that Goleman raises in each of the chapters of his book. The author reopens the approach that the naturalist had made centuries before. Charles Darwin, in which emotions existed long before language and this is why most of the recognized emotions are also experienced by a large group of animals. Charles Darwin showed that both animals and men perform actions survival expressions that have emerged and structured as a product of evolution.
There is no difference between man and animals in their ability to feel pleasure and pain, happiness and misery. Charles Darwin (1872).
However, there are current proposals in which it is said that some of these emotions have evolved to levels of sophistication that would only be developed by humans (supposedly more intelligent creatures). Thus we understand that humans can manifest a much more diverse and complex repertoire of emotions due to neocortical (cognitive) processes.
Thus, Daniel Goleman makes reading easier for us not only with a very perceptible and understandable language, but also because of the accurate compilation of the authors and their theories.
For these two authors cited, emotions are means or mechanisms of survival that have developed during millions of years of phylogenetic evolution – biologically and culturally.
Darwin proposes that the association of useful customs, where the force of customs and associations become fundamental elements for the birth of acts, even when these do not pass into our field of consciousness or when they do not represent any reasonable utility. This is how they arise actions produced by the stimulation or excitation of the peripheral nervous system or the limbic system In general, they transmit information to the nerve cells and the action of the muscles that determine a series of acts produced many times without us being aware of them.
Thus we understand that emotions are mechanisms that allow us to surviveand that they exist long before language (the reptilian brain precedes the cerebral cortex), and therefore they are impulses recorded in our human genetics for adaptation to the environment in which we function every day.
Functions of emotions
The function of an emotion will vary depending on the need that the environment requires, that is, each emotion prepares the organism for different types of response. But in general they function as survival and adaptation mechanisms.
Below Daniel Goleman (1995) shares some of the main functions of emotions:
The fear
With fear, blood goes to the skeletal muscles of the legs to make the action of fear much more efficient. flee (for example, running or jumping); the body freezes even for a few seconds, but this makes it possible to estimate whether it is more suitable hide or not of the threatening stimulus. The emotional circuits of the brain involved release hormones that put us in alert general, which makes us prepare to act and focus our attention on the most immediate threat. In this article you will find more information about .
For example, the fear alert system is necessary to flee when seeing that a truck is approaching us at high speed.
The sadness
It helps us adapt to significant losses in our lives (for example the loss of an ideal, the death of a loved one, the loss of a job). Sadness produces a need for introspective isolation (reflective-metacognitive), which creates a moment of understanding the effects or consequences of the loss on one’s own life, and thus little by little the energy is recovered and one begins to plan again.
It is important to mention that there are no positive and negative emotions, although some of them may be unrewarding or uncomfortable to experience. Sadness is one of the emotions most avoided by euphoric states, however, when the way of expression of any emotion is interrupted, it finds a place in the return of symptoms of different mental and physiological pathologies.
The wrath
With this emotion the blood flows primarily to the hands, this makes it much easier to hit to the enemy, and the adrenergic system is exacerbated and thus generates enough energy to achieve a vital act.
Surprise
The expression of raising the eyebrows allows a greater visual perception and so much more light can reach the retina of the eye. This action allows get more information of the unexpected event, and thus be able to distinguish it accurately.
What are the basic emotions
Below we share with you what are the six basic emotions that Daniel Goleman proposes, from which he says that all the others that are known arise and which appear as an immediate response to a stimulus, also have the intrinsic character in human beingsthat is, the basic emotions come engraved in our DNA due to a process of phylogenetic evolution.
The basic emotions are therefore those that we share with all our fellow humans, wherever they live and regardless of the culture they have.
- Sadness.
- Surprise.
- Fear.
- Disgust.
- Happiness.
- Gonna.
What are the secondary emotions
Secondary emotions, unlike basic ones, are learned throughout life, and are generally a mixture of two emotions (for example, shame can arise from guilt and fear; jealousy from love and fear). Secondary emotions are social, that is, they are learned from an interaction with the society in which we live.
Below we share some recognized secondary emotions:
- Blame.
- Jealousy.
- Resignation.
- Distress.
- Uncertainty.
- Indignation.
- Loneliness.
- Hate.
In this article you can see where you will find the primary emotions and the secondary emotions that derive from each of them.
Emotions and feelings
As we have seen, the emotions are reactions of the nervous system common in animals, which motivate action according to the perceived stimulus. Therefore, emotions are immediate and short-lived. On the other hand, the feelings are more lasting and stable emotional states that arise from thoughts, rather than from a specific stimulus.
In this article you will find the.
emotional intelligence
Knowing what emotion is in psychology, we can define emotional intelligence as the ability to perceive, observe, understand and manage emotions in ourselves and also in others. Knowing how to recognize emotions allows us to listen to them and learn. Knowing how to manage them allows us to act intelligently in each situation, paying attention to emotions but also to reasoning.
In this article you will find more information about what it is and how to develop it.
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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References
The expression of emotions in man and animals
Bibliography
- Darwin, C. (1872). The expression of emotions in man and animals. John Murray Publishing.
- Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence. Vergara Publishing House.