Emotions
Meaning
and Definitions of Emotions:
Emotion is any conscious experience characterized by intense
mental activity and a certain degree of pleasure or displeasure. Scientific
discourse has drifted to other meanings and there is no consensus on a
definition. Emotion is often
intertwined with mood, temperament, personality, disposition, and motivation.
Emotion plays a major role in
influencing our behavior. Life would be dreary without feelings like joy and
sorrow, excitement and disappointment, love and fear, hope and dismay. Emotion
adds color and spice to life.
Emotions are
feelings such as happiness, disappointment and sorrow that generally have both
physiological and cognitive elements that influence behavior. The word emotion
is derived from the Latin word ‘Emover’ which means to stir up’ or to excite’.
Emotion can be understood as an agitated or excited state of our mind and body
Here are
some definition of emotion.
1.
Charles G Morris:
2.
“Emotion is a complete effective experience
that involves diffuse physiological changes and can be expressed overtly in
characteristic behaviour patterns”.
3.
2. Crow and Crow:
4.
“Emotion is an affective experience that
accompanies generalized linear adjustment and mental and physiological stirred
up states in the individual and that shows itself in his overt behaviour”.
5.
3. Woodworth:
6.
“Emotion is a ‘Moved or ‘stirred up’ state of an
organism. It is a stirred up feeling that is the way it appears to the
individual himself. It is a disturbed muscular and glandular activities that is
the way it appears to an external observer”.
7.
4. McDougall:
8.
Emotion is an affective experience that one undergoes
during an instinctive excitement. For example, when a child perceives a bull
coming towards him (cognition) he experiences an affective experience in the
form of the arousal of accompanied emotion of fear and consequently tries to
run away. McDougall discovered 14 basic instincts and concluded that each and
every emotion, whatever it may be is the product of some instinctive behavior.
On the basis
of these definitions, emotions can be understood as some sort of feelings or
affective experiences which are characterized by some physiological changes
that generally lead them to perform some or the other types of behavioral acts.
Characteristics of Emotions:
Some of the important characteristics of emotions are as follows:
1. Emotional experiences are associated with some instincts:
Every emotional experience is associated with one or the other innate
instinct. An emotion is aroused under the influence of an instinctive
excitement. One can experience emotion of anger only after riding on the
instinctive waves of pugnacity or combat.
2. Emotions are the product of perception:
Perception of a proper stimulus (object or situation) is needed to start an
emotional experience. The organic changes within the body (favourable or
unfavourable) then, may intensify the emotional experience.
3. Emotions bring physiological changes:
Every emotional experience involves many physical and physiological changes
in the organism. Some of the changes which express themselves as overt
behaviour are easily observable. For example, the heart beating, reddened eyes,
flushed cheeks, choke in the voice, or an attack on an emotion aroused stimulus.
In addition to these easily observable changes, there are internal
physiological changes, e.g. changes in the circulation of blood, impact on the
digestive system and changes in the functioning of some glands like adrenal
glands.
4. The core of an emotion is feeling:
Actually every emotional experience, whatever it may be involves feelings—a
sense of response aroused in the heart. Feeling and emotions—both are affective
experiences. There is only the difference of degrees. After perceiving a thing
or a situation, pleasure or displeasure feelings can be aroused. There may be
some intensity or degree of strength in these feelings.
Kinds of Emotions:
Emotions have both positive as well as negative effects.
1. Negative emotions:
Unpleasant emotions like fear, anger and jealousy which are harmful to the
individual’s development are termed as negative emotions.
2. Positive emotions:
The pleasant emotions like affection (love), amusement, curiosity and
happiness which are very helpful and essential for normal development are
termed as positive emotions.
By their nature of being both positive and negative, it should not be
assumed that all the positive emotions are always good; and the negative
emotions are bad. While weighing their impact, other factors like frequency and
intensity, nature of situations and the stimuli aroused should also be
considered. Excess of everything is bad.
Emotions with too much of intensity and frequency, whether positive or
negative, bring harmful effects. But the so-called negative emotions are
essential for human welfare. The emotion of fear prepares an individual to face
the danger ahead. The child who has no emotions of fear is sure to get affected
because it does not learn to save itself against a possible danger.
Importance of Emotions:
Emotions occupy a very important position in a person’s life, as they
motivate many in their job endeavors. A person in love makes sacrifices for the
object of his love. The love of their offspring spurs the parents to great sacrifices.
Emotions have a stimulating effect, for example, a person who is in a happy
state of mind invariably makes others also happy and sees happiness around him.
Similarly, a person who is angry makes others angry. Thus emotion is
contagious. Emotions also play a crucial role in creative and artistic
activities.
The ability to understand and interpret the emotional states of others is
very important in our social life. It is clear that emotions play a major role
in our behaviour and in understanding other’s behaviour. Sometimes, emotions
are beneficial and at other times they are harmful.
It depends on the intensities and duration of emotion. When emotion becomes
intense, whether pleasant or unpleasant, they usually result in some
description of thought or behaviour. So also when emotions are prolonged or
excessive they do harm because of the sustained physiological changes that
accompany them.