The same goes for studies of how well people recognize nonverbal emotional vocalizations; her own research shows that Himba tribespeople in Namibia cannot differentiate the quick audible inhale of fear from that of surprise. Feldman-Barrett goes on to provide a scathing critique of the research that supports the universal view. Indeed, most present-day emotion scientists would agree , without disavowing the universal view, that emotions cannot be signaled exclusively by facial expressions, or vocal patterns, or, for that matter, heart rate, pupil size, blood draws, brain activation, or behavior, among other modalities that emotion scientists examine.
Rather, emotions are understood to be supported by a cluster of processes: expressive behaviors in the face, voice, posture, touch, olfactory cues, language , alongside patterns of neural and peripheral physiological activation, some of which we may not even possess the technology to adequately capture.
But is it a mistake to claim that they cannot exist, particularly given evidence that they might? The enduring difference? Constructed emotions must be learned, while universal emotions are, in part, already there. While her book may prompt deeper thinking about how emotions work, her case against universality feels overzealous. Her own model is overcomplicated and, strangely, too similar to the one it aims to displace.
This suggests there might be ways to be more cognizant of, and more involved in shaping the course of, our own emotions. Feldman-Barrett suggests that mindfulness —attending to thoughts and sensations without judgment—can produce a state of mind where learned expectations have less influence on current experience. Last, we will talk about how we can change our emotions if we are feeling bad and want to feel better.
Try to remember the last time you felt scared. Do you remember what you were thinking? Scientists have discovered that our emotions are often caused by our thoughts [ 1 ].
This means two people could be in the same situation, but they might feel different emotions because they have different thoughts see Figure 1. Maybe you have noticed this with your own friends and family. This might happen if that person never had a pet dog before. This might happen if that person grew up having dogs as pets. This shows how, if two people have had different experiences, they might have different thoughts and emotions in the same situation.
Scientists have found that certain kinds of thoughts often lead to certain emotions. Scientists have discovered that the thoughts that cause emotions usually answer questions like these:. When something happens, you will feel different emotions depending on how your mind answers these different questions. This can be hard to understand. However, scientists have found that sometimes your brain can trigger an emotion unconsciously.
This means that your brain might notice something in your situation and trigger an emotional reaction, all without you even noticing it. This might help you figure out why you are feeling the way you do. When an emotion is triggered, what actually happens? For example, when you are afraid or angry, you might feel your heart start to pound and your lungs might start breathing faster.
Or, when you are sad, you might get tears in your eyes. Emotions can also cause some muscles in your body to move automatically. Another part of an emotional reaction is that you start to think differently. For example, scientists have found that when people are sad they usually think of sad memories, but when people are happy they usually think of happy memories. As another example, when people are scared they usually start looking for other dangers in their surroundings, and they are more likely to have thoughts about other scary things.
On the other hand, when people are happy, they usually notice more things that they like as they go through the day. The last part of an emotional reaction is that you start to want to behave differently than you usually behave. For example, if you are angry, you might want to yell or fight with someone. Or, if you are scared, you might feel a strong desire to run away.
Or, if you are sad, you may just want to stay home alone in your room and not talk to anyone. After we have emotional reactions, we usually also want to understand them. Have you ever been unsure about what emotion you were feeling? Sometimes our feelings can be confusing, and it can take effort to understand them. When you interact with other people, it is important to give clues to help them understand how you are feeling. These cues might involve emotional expression through body language , such as various facial expressions connected with the particular emotions you are experiencing.
In other cases, it might involve directly stating how you feel. When you tell friends or family members that you are feeling happy, sad, excited, or frightened, you are giving them important information that they can then use to take action.
Research suggests that people experience positive emotions 2. Just as your own emotions provide valuable information to others, the emotional expressions of those around you also give a wealth of social information.
Social communication is an important part of your daily life and relationships, and being able to interpret and react to the emotions of others is essential. It allows you to respond appropriately and build deeper, more meaningful relationships with your friends, family, and loved ones.
It also allows you to communicate effectively in a variety of social situations, from dealing with an irate customer to managing a hot-headed employee. Understanding the emotional displays of others gives us clear information about how we might need to respond in a particular situation. The emotional processing network is the group of brain regions and structures responsible for processing emotions.
Parts of the brain involved in this process include the amygdala, the hippocampus, the prefrontal cortex, and the cingulate cortex. Emotions can help a decision-maker determine which aspects of a decision are the most relevant to their specific situation.
They may also help people make faster decisions. This theory suggests that emotions step from the cognitive evaluations that people make about specific events. In other words, it implies that people must think about a situation before having an emotional response. As you have learned, our emotions serve a wide variety of purposes. Emotions can be fleeting, persistent, powerful, complex, and even life-changing. They can motivate us to act in particular ways and give us the tools and resources we need to interact meaningfully in our social worlds.
Ever wonder what your personality type means? Sign up to find out more in our Healthy Mind newsletter. Fear and the defense cascade: clinical implications and management. Harv Rev Psychiatry. Long-term deficits in risky decision-making after traumatic brain injury on a rat analog of the Iowa gambling task. Brain Research. Emotion and decision making. Annu Rev Psychol. Hwang H, Matsumoto D. Functions of emotions. Noba Textbook Series: Psychology.
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