Emotions how many are there

Later on, though, Eckman added many more emotions to the list including amusement, awe, contentment, desire, embarrassment, pain, relief and sympathy. More recent research from the University of Glasgow has challenged the established view that there are six basic emotions: anger, fear, surprise, disgust, happiness and sadness. To reach their conclusions, Jack et al. They found that fear and surprise shared a common signal — the eyes are wide open — suggesting they only constitute one basic emotion, not two.

The authors argue that the facial expression associated with the basic emotions have an evolutionary function. Secondly, physiological advantages for the expresser—the wrinkled nose prevents inspiration of potentially harmful particles, whereas widened eyes increases intake of visual information useful for escape—are enhanced when the face movements are made early.

The theory is that there are four biologically basic emotions — anger, fear, happiness and sadness — on top of which have evolved much more complex varieties of emotion over the millennia.

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There are many different types of emotions that have an influence on how we live and interact with others. At times, it may seem like we are ruled by these emotions. The choices we make, the actions we take, and the perceptions we have are all influenced by the emotions we are experiencing at any given moment. Psychologists have also tried to identify the different types of emotions that people experience. A few different theories have emerged to categorize and explain the emotions that people feel.

During the s, psychologist Paul Eckman identified six basic emotions that he suggested were universally experienced in all human cultures. The emotions he identified were happiness, sadness, disgust, fear, surprise, and anger. He later expanded his list of basic emotions to include such things as pride, shame, embarrassment, and excitement. Psychologist Robert Plutchik put forth a "wheel of emotions" that worked something like the color wheel. Emotions can be combined to form different feelings, much like colors can be mixed to create other shades.

According to this theory, the more basic emotions act something like building blocks. More complex, sometimes mixed emotions, are blendings of these more basic ones. For example, basic emotions such as joy and trust can be combined to create love. A study suggests that there are far more basic emotions than previously believed.

Rather than being entirely distinct, however, the researchers found that people experience these emotions along a gradient. Of all the different types of emotions, happiness tends to be the one that people strive for the most.

Happiness is often defined as a pleasant emotional state that is characterized by feelings of contentment, joy, gratification, satisfaction, and well-being. Research on happiness has increased significantly since the s within a number of disciplines, including the branch of psychology known as positive psychology. This type of emotion is sometimes expressed through:. While happiness is considered one of the basic human emotions, the things we think will create happiness tend to be heavily influenced by culture.

For example, pop culture influences tend to emphasize that attaining certain things such as buying a home or having a high-paying job will result in happiness. The realities of what actually contributes to happiness are often much more complex and more highly individualized.

Happiness has been linked to a variety of outcomes including increased longevity and increased marital satisfaction. Stress, anxiety, depression, and loneliness , for example, have been linked to things such as lowered immunity, increased inflammation, and decreased life expectancy.

Sadness is another type of emotion often defined as a transient emotional state characterized by feelings of disappointment, grief , hopelessness, disinterest, and dampened mood. Like other emotions, sadness is something that all people experience from time to time.

In some cases, people can experience prolonged and severe periods of sadness that can turn into depression. Sadness can be expressed in a number of ways including:. The type and severity of sadness can vary depending upon the root cause, and how people cope with such feelings can also differ. Sadness can often lead people to engage in coping mechanisms such as avoiding other people, self-medicating, and ruminating on negative thoughts. Such behaviors can actually exacerbate feelings of sadness and prolong the duration of the emotion.

Fear is a powerful emotion that can also play an important role in survival. When you face some sort of danger and experience fear, you go through what is known as the fight or flight response.

Your muscles become tense, your heart rate and respiration increase, and your mind becomes more alert, priming your body to either run from the danger or stand and fight. This response helps ensure that you are prepared to effectively deal with threats in your environment. Expressions of this type of emotion can include:. Of course, not everyone experiences fear in the same way. Some people may be more sensitive to fear and certain situations or objects may be more likely to trigger this emotion.

Fear is the emotional response to an immediate threat. We can also develop a similar reaction to anticipated threats or even our thoughts about potential dangers, and this is what we generally think of as anxiety. Social anxiety , for example, involves an anticipated fear of social situations.

Some people, on the other hand, actually seek out fear-provoking situations. Extreme sports and other thrills can be fear-inducing, but some people seem to thrive and even enjoy such feelings. Repeated exposure to a fear object or situation can lead to familiarity and acclimation, which can reduce feelings of fear and anxiety. This is the idea behind exposure therapy, in which people are gradually exposed to the things that frighten them in a controlled and safe manner.

Eventually, feelings of fear begin to decrease. Disgust is another of the original six basic emotions described by Eckman. Disgust can be displayed in a number of ways including:. This sense of revulsion can originate from a number of things, including an unpleasant taste, sight, or smell. Researchers believe that this emotion evolved as a reaction to foods that might be harmful or fatal.

When people smell or taste foods that have gone bad, for example, disgust is a typical reaction. Poor hygiene, infection, blood, rot, and death can also trigger a disgust response. This may be the body's way of avoiding things that may carry transmittable diseases. People can also experience moral disgust when they observe others engaging in behaviors that they find distasteful, immoral, or evil. Anger can be a particularly powerful emotion characterized by feelings of hostility, agitation, frustration, and antagonism towards others.

You may have noticed that supposed emotions such as anger and happiness are not on the list. According to the research, these feelings can originate from other emotions such as fear or envy, for example. Type keyword s to search. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses.

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