Fundamentals of emotions
Emotions are already part of human nature. But how much is really known about emotions? What are emotions? What are their elements? What are the most common types of emotions? In this chapter you will learn the basics of emotions to get you started.
Emotions seem to be like a king that rules your day to day life. The decisions you make are based on whether you are happy, sad, bored, frustrated or angry. Your hobbies and activities are chosen based on the type of emotions they elicit. But what exactly are emotions? By definition, emotions are complex psychological states that include three unique components: subjective experience, physiological response, and expressive or behavioral response.
A look at the world of emotions
In addition to trying to understand what exactly emotions are, researchers also tried to identify and classify the different types of emotions. Paul Eckman, a psychologist, suggested in 1972 that there are actually 6 basic emotions that can be considered universal in all human cultures, namely anger, fear, disgust, surprise, sadness and happiness. But in 1999 he expanded the list, including other basic emotions such as excitement, embarrassment, contempt, pride, shame, amusement and satisfaction.
