Feelings and emotions in psychology: essence, functions and types

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Emotions and feelings are the constant companions of a person that appear in response to stimuli and events of the outside world, as well as internal thought processes. This topic has been studied by psychologists since time immemorial, but it cannot be said that it has been studied thoroughly.

Definition of concepts

Emotions and feelings form the basis of a person's inner world. These are mental processes that are a reflection of reality in the form of experiences. They also demonstrate the degree of satisfaction of human needs.

Feelings are a state that reflects our attitude both to ourselves and to others. This is a subjective indicator of a person's satisfaction with external circumstances. Experts say that feelings are unique to humans. Moreover, by the nature of the flow, the feelings of different people are not the same.

Emotions are manifestations through which a feeling is revealed. For example, if a person loves music, this is a feeling. When he hears a beautiful melody, he experiences a positive emotion "pleasure", and if the performance is false,the listener experiences the negative emotion "outrage".

What is the difference between feelings and emotions

These two categories are closely related, so people rarely think that they are not the same thing. And among scientists there is no unity on this issue. You can imagine them as different parts of one whole. Let's try to explain in general terms how feelings differ from emotions. For ease of perception, we will arrange the material in the form of a table.

Emotions	Feelings
They appear in specific situations, reflecting the attitude of the individual towards himself or the environment, without being tied to specific objects	Arise from simple emotions
Innate spontaneous response to an external stimulus	Formed in the process of acquiring life experience
A person is aware of the cause of emotions	It is almost impossible to assess the origin and degree of fullness of feeling
Short-term, quickly replace each other	Keep relevant for a long period of time
The same emotions can express completely different feelings	Do not change depending on the external context

Experiences: Major Groups

All human life is accompanied by the manifestation of feelings and emotions. There are a great many of them. But the most common pairs of emotional experiences are:

• Pleasure and dissatisfaction. These emotions are related to the degree of satisfaction of needs.human.
• Tension and relief. The first emotion is associated with the appearance of something unfamiliar or a change in the usual way of life. When this process ends, relief sets in.
• Excitement and soothing. When an impulse enters the cerebral cortex, the brain centers are activated. When the cortex begins to inhibit impulses, calm sets in.

Types of states

Feelings and emotions can manifest themselves with different duration and intensity. In this regard, we can distinguish the following main types of emotional states:

• Mood - a state of weak or medium strength, as well as significant stability. It can remain unchanged from several hours to several months. This is a general condition that does not relate to any particular event, but determines the entire experience, affects behavior and physical activity.
• Affect is a very strong, violent and short-term state. The actions that accompany it are reminiscent of an "explosion". This is usually manifested in erratic broken speech and violent movements. But there may be a backlash - tension and stiffness. The state of affect is accompanied by a temporary loss of will and self-control, as a result of which a person commits rash acts.
• Inspiration has tremendous power and is characterized by the desire for a certain type of activity (mobilization of physical and mental strength). It occurs when a person has a clear idea of the mode of action andexpected results. Inspiration can take collective forms.
• Stress is a persistent excessive psychological stress that occurs as a result of overloading the nervous system or getting into extreme conditions. The condition is accompanied by rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, high blood pressure, disorganized behavior.
• Frustration is the disorganization of consciousness and activity caused by the presence of insurmountable obstacles on the way to the goal. As a result, there is an internal conflict between the aspirations of the individual and real possibilities. As a rule, frustration is accompanied by a strong nervous shock, which is expressed in the form of annoyance, depression, indifference, self-flagellation or anger.

Basic emotions

Emotions and feelings in psychology have been studied for several centuries. They are so multifaceted and numerous that it is difficult to single out any base. For example, according to Izard, the main human emotions are the following (see table).

Emotion	Color	Description
Interest	Positive	Encourages to replenish knowledge, develop skills and abilities
Joy	Positive	Associated with the ability to fully meet the current need after a period of uncertainty
Surprise	Positive/negative	Reaction to sudden circumstances. It hasproperty to inhibit other experiences, feelings, emotions
Suffering	Negative	Reaction to receiving information about the impossibility of satisfying an urgent need, which up to a certain point was regarded as optimistic
Anger	Negative	Reaction to a sudden obstacle to satisfying a need or achieving goals
Disgust	Negative	A condition caused by a collision with an object or situation contrary to moral principles and other attitudes
Contempt	Negative	It is born due to the mismatch of life positions of individuals
Fear	Negative	Appears in response to information about a possible threat to life, he alth and well-being
Shame	Negative	Emotion is caused by a mismatch of beliefs, actions and appearance with the expectations of others and one's own desires

Basic Feelings

As you can see, the list of human emotions and feelings is quite extensive. Among the latter, it is worth paying the closest attention to the following (see table).

Feeling	Color	Description
Sympathy	Positive	Sustained positive attitude towards the subject or group of subjects, manifested in goodwill, admiration, desire to communicate
Affection	Positive	Feeling closeness based on enduring sympathy
Friendship	Positive	Selective attachment associated with the need to communicate with a specific subject
Love	Positive	Sustained emotional attitude caused by passionate attraction to the subject
Hostility	Negative	Unfriendly attitude due to conflict or emotional incompatibility
Envy	Negative	Hostility towards material and moral superiority of the subject
Jealousy	Negative	Suspicious attitude towards the subject, caused by doubts about his commitment to feelings and commitments
Happiness	Positive	The state of inner satisfaction with the conditions of life and the fulfillment of human destiny

Functions of human feelings and emotions

Most people underestimate the importance of the emotional component in their lives. Nevertheless, it has a significant impact on absolutely all areas of activity. Here are the functions of emotions and feelings in psychology:

• Signal (or communicative) - emotional manifestations are accompanied by motor, mimic, vegetative activity. Such manifestations give others an understanding of exactly what emotions you are experiencing.
• Regulatory - stable experiencesguide human behavior and maintain its specific direction. The regulatory mechanism reduces emotional arousal, transforming heat into tears, respiratory reflexes, facial expressions, and so on.
• Reflective (or evaluative) - expresses a generalized assessment of reality. Thanks to this, a person forms an attitude towards surrounding objects and phenomena, as well as his own actions.
• Incentive (or stimulating) - implies a sensual direction that provides a solution to urgent problems. Experience gives a person an image of an object that can satisfy needs.
• Reinforcing - provides fast and reliable memorization of events that cause strong emotional reactions. Moreover, this is accompanied by love or dislike for any objects or activities.
• Switching - manifests itself in the case of competition of motives in order to determine the dominant needs (for example, fluctuations between a sense of duty and fear).
• Adaptive - establishing the importance of certain conditions to meet needs.

Correspondence table

Every feeling generates a huge number of emotions. In this regard, psychologists have carried out some generalization and grouping. As a result, a table of feelings and emotions appeared, which will help us figure out what exactly you are experiencing in a particular situation.

Anger	Fear	Sadness	Joy	Love
Rabies Hate Angry Contempt Resentment Vulnerability Envy Outrage Disgust Dislike Annoyance Jealousy Resentment Irritation Hysterics Rage	Horror Fright Suspicion Fear Confusion Wine Embarrassment Dazed Broken Fear Doubt Confusion Humiliation Anxiety Alarm Dazed Despair	Bitterness Pity Despair Heartache Aloofness Shock Boredom Sadness Desperation Regret Disappointment Helplessness Detachment	Happiness Glee Revitalize Passion Care Excitement Hope Impatience Amazement Faith Curiosity Expectation Waiting Interest Pacification Delight	Tenderness Sympathy Trust Thanks Sympathy Pride Respect Love Charmed Sincerity Kindness Friendly Admiration Calm Bliss

Basic theories of the origin of emotions

The development of emotions and feelings took place in parallel with the development of human civilization. And since time immemorial, scientists have been interested in the origin and nature of this phenomenon. Here are the main theories that explain the emergence of emotions:

• Darwin's evolutionary theory. It lies in the fact that emotions have a historically determined physiological manifestation, which is either useful or has a residual character. For example, when angry, a person instinctively clenches his fists, preparing for a fight, like his distant ancestors.
• Wundt's associative theory. Emotions are internal changes under the direct influence of feelings. So, facial expressions and gestures arose in connection with elementary sensations, and higher feelings developed later. Nevertheless, when any emotions arise, the body reacts associatively, taking as a basis some similar feeling of a lower level.
• Peripheral theory of James - Lange. Emotions are directly related to physiological reactions. For example, joy is accompanied by an increase in motor innervation and vasodilation, which causes laughter, loud speech and active gestures.
• Psychoanalytic theory of Freud. The world of feelings and emotions is based on drives and motivating factors. Sensual manifestations are the direct result of unconscious instincts.
• Weinbaum's Vascular Theory. Facial muscles are in close interaction with cerebral circulation. Thus, the musculature can regulate blood flow by increasing or decreasing the flowblood to the brain, causing certain emotional reactions.

Emotional properties

Moods, feelings and emotions in different people are manifested differently and with different intensity. This is due to emotional properties. Here's what it's all about:

• Emotional excitability - a person's readiness to respond to all sorts of stimuli. This characteristic is significantly influenced by the hormone adrenaline.
• Emotional depth - the degree of intensity of sensory manifestations.
• Emotional rigidity - stability ("viscosity") of emotions, feelings, attitudes to something, caused by fixing attention on significant events.
• Emotional stability - the resistance of the human nervous system to conditions that stimulate the generation of feelings.
• Expressiveness - the degree of manifestation of emotions.

Emotion Management Tips

The list of feelings and emotions can be continued indefinitely. All of them daily and hourly cover a person, penetrating all spheres of his activity. Here's how you can control your emotions and reduce their negative impact:

• Focusing on tactical objectives rather than global goals.
• Reassessment of the significance of an event or action in the direction of reducing its significance.
• Search for additional information aimed at eliminating uncertainty.
• Expanding the time frame for achieving goals in case it is impossible to obtain momentary results.
• The habit of carefully analyzing the situation inwriting in order to find positive points.
• Listening to calm harmonious music.
• Positive facial expressions and gestures in response to negative experiences.
• Developing a sense of humor.
• Muscle relaxation.