Writing Notes: Emotions

Writing Notes: Emotions

Definitions in Psychology (Anger; Anticipation; Anxiety; Contempt; Desire; Disgust; Distress; Fear; Guilt; Happiness; Interest; Joy; Pain; Pleasure; Rage; Sadness; Shame; Sorrow; Surprise; Terror; Wonder)

Anger

An emotion characterized by tension and hostility arising from frustration, real or imagined injury by another, or perceived injustice.

Can manifest itself in behaviors designed to remove the object of the anger (e.g., determined action) or behaviors designed merely to express the emotion (e.g., swearing).

Distinct from, but a significant activator of, aggression, which is behavior intended to harm someone or something. Despite their mutually influential relationship, anger is neither necessary nor sufficient for aggression to occur.

Anticipation

Looking forward to a future event or state.

Sometimes with an affective component (e.g., pleasure, anxiety).

Anxiety

An emotion characterized by apprehension and somatic symptoms of tension in which an individual anticipates impending danger, catastrophe, or misfortune.

The body often mobilizes itself to meet the perceived threat:

Muscles become tense, breathing is faster, and the heart beats more rapidly.

May be distinguished from fear both conceptually and physiologically, although the two terms are often used interchangeably.

Considered a future-oriented, long-acting response broadly focused on a diffuse threat, whereas fear is an appropriate, present-oriented, and short-lived response to a clearly identifiable and specific threat.

Contempt

An emotion characterized by negative regard for anything or anybody considered to be inferior, vile, or worthless.

Desire

A strong feeling of wanting or needing something.

Can be a motivating force that drives behavior and influences decision-making.

Can be related to a wide range of things, such as material possessions, experiences, relationships, or personal goals.

Often considered to be an emotion, and it can be accompanied by physical sensations such as an increased heart rate or butterflies in the stomach.

However, it can also be more cognitive in nature, driven by thoughts and beliefs rather than just emotional reactions.

Disgust

A strong aversion.

For example, to the taste, smell, or touch of something deemed revolting, or toward a person or behavior deemed morally repugnant.

Distress

A negative emotional state in which the specific quality of the emotion is unspecified or unidentifiable.

For example, stranger anxiety in infants is more properly designated stranger distress because the infant’s negative behavior, typically crying, allows no more specific identification of the emotion.

Fear

A basic, intense emotion aroused by the detection of imminent threat, involving an immediate alarm reaction that mobilizes the organism by triggering a set of physiological changes.

These include rapid heartbeat, redirection of blood flow away from the periphery toward the gut, tensing of the muscles, and a general mobilization of the organism to take action.

Fear differs from anxiety in that the former is considered an appropriate short-term response to a present, clearly identifiable threat, whereas the latter is a future-oriented, long-term response focused on a diffuse threat.

Some theorists characterize this distinction more particularly, proposing that fear is experienced when avoiding or escaping an aversive stimuli and that anxiety is experienced when entering a potentially dangerous situation (e.g., an animal foraging in a field where there might be a predator).

Whatever their precise differences in meaning, however, the terms are often used interchangeably in common parlance.

Guilt

A self-conscious emotion characterized by a painful appraisal of having done (or thought) something that is wrong and often by a readiness to take action designed to undo or mitigate this wrong.

It is distinct from shame, in which there is the additional strong fear of one’s deeds being publicly exposed to judgment or ridicule.

Happiness

An emotion of joy, gladness, satisfaction, and well-being.

Interest

An attitude characterized by a need or desire to give selective attention to something that is significant to the individual:

Such as an activity, goal, or research area.

Joy

A feeling of extreme gladness, delight, or exultation of the spirit arising from a sense of well-being or satisfaction.

The feeling of joy may take two forms: passive and active. 

Passive joy involves tranquility and contentment with things as they are. 

Active joy involves a desire to share one’s feelings with others. It is associated with more engagement of the environment than is passive joy.

The distinction between passive and active joy may be related to the intensity of the emotion, with active joy representing the more intense form.

Both forms of joy are associated with an increase in energy and feelings of confidence and self-esteem.

Pain

An unpleasant sensation resulting from damage to nerve tissue, stimulation of free nerve endings, or excessive stimulation (e.g., extremely loud sounds).

Physical pain is elicited by stimulation of pain receptors, which occur in groups of myelinated or unmyelinated fibers throughout the body but particularly in surface tissues.

Pain that is initiated in surface receptors generally is perceived as sharp, sudden, and localized; pain experienced in internal organs tends to be dull, longer lasting, and less localized.

Although pain is generally considered a physical phenomenon, it involves various cognitive, affective, and behavioral factors: It is an unpleasant emotional as well as sensory experience. It may also be a feeling of severe distress and suffering resulting from acute anxiety, loss of a loved one, or other psychological factors (see psychic pain).

Because of these various factors, as well as previous experience in pain response, individual reactions vary widely.

Psychologists have made important contributions to understanding pain by demonstrating the psychosocial and behavioral factors in the etiology, severity, exacerbation, maintenance, and treatment of both physical and psychic pain.

Pleasure

The emotion or sensation induced by the enjoyment or anticipation of what is felt or viewed as good or desirable.

Rage

Intense, typically uncontrolled anger.

Usually differentiated from hostility in that it is not necessarily accompanied by destructive actions but rather by excessive expressions.

In nonhuman animals, rage appears to be a late stage of aggression when normal deterrents to physical attack, such as submissive signals, are no longer effective.

Generally includes rapid respiration; thrusting and jerking of limbs; and clawing, biting, and snarling.

Sadness

An emotional state of unhappiness.

Ranges in intensity from mild to extreme.

Usually aroused by the loss of something that is highly valued (e.g., by the rupture of a relationship).

Shame

A highly unpleasant self-conscious emotion.

Arising from the sense of there being something dishonorable, immodest, or indecorous in one’s own conduct or circumstances.

Typically characterized by withdrawal from social intercourse:

For example, by hiding or distracting the attention of another from one’s shameful action—which can have a profound effect on psychological adjustment and interpersonal relationships.

May motivate not only avoidant behavior but also defensive, retaliative anger.

Psychological research consistently reports a relationship between proneness to shame and a host of psychological symptoms, including depression, anxiety, eating disorders, subclinical sociopathy, and low self-esteem.

Theorized to play a more positive adaptive function by regulating experiences of excessive and inappropriate interest and excitement and by diffusing potentially threatening social behavior.

Sorrow

A more "intense" emotion than sadness.

Can be caused by a past event (somebody's death, some other great loss).

Implies a long term state, possibly resulting from a past event, or from a past discovery of a long-term condition (e.g. childlessness or an incurable disease of one's child or spouse).

May have its roots in the past, but the stress is an ongoing, long-term state.

Surprise

An emotion typically resulting from the violation of an expectation or the detection of novelty in the environment.

Considered by some theorists to be one of the emotions that have a universal pattern of facial expression.

The physiological response includes raising or arching the eyebrows, opening the eyes wide, opening the mouth wide in an oval shape, and gasping.

Terror

Intense and overwhelming fear.

Wonder

An emotional state that arises when individuals encounter something surprising, unexpected, or profoundly beautiful.

This experience can lead to a heightened state of awareness and a desire to understand or explore the phenomena further.

Wonder is considered a positive emotion that can enhance cognitive functioning, creativity, and overall well-being.

Components of Wonder

Awe: A feeling of reverence and amazement, often in response to something grand or sublime.

Curiosity: A strong desire to learn or know more about the object of wonder.

Admiration: A sense of appreciation for the beauty, complexity, or uniqueness of the experience.

Surprise: An unexpected element that challenges preexisting knowledge or assumptions.

Transcendence: A feeling of being connected to something larger than oneself, often evoking a sense of humility and perspective.

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