Emotion

Part of a series on
Emotions
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Emotions are what people feel. They are very ancient, and can be seen in all mammals.

Emotions are caused by a complex mixture of hormones and the unconscious mind. Only with great difficulty can we control our emotions by conscious effort. They cause mammals to change behaviour according to changes in their situation. In our case, they sometimes run against our attempt to live our lives in a logical way.

A scientific definition is not simple; over 90 definitions have been offered by experts.^[1] A definition of emotion needs to include three things:

1. conscious experience (feelings)
2. expressions which can be seen by others
3. actions of the body ('physiological arousal')

Here is one definition:

"Emotion is a complex psychological phenomenon which occurs as animals or people live their lives. Emotions involve physiological arousal, appraisal of the situation, expressive behaviours, and conscious experience. Emotion is associated with feeling, mood, temperament, personality, disposition, and motivation".^[2][3]

In physical terms, emotions involve body systems which have operated for hundreds of millions of years. These are the hormone system, the autonomic nervous system and the 'lower' brain centers (hindbrain and midbrain).

1. ↑ Robert Plutchik 2001. The nature of emotions. American Scientist
2. ↑ Frijda 1992. The laws of emotions.
3. ↑ Myers, David G. 2004. Theories of emotion in Psychology. 7th ed, Worth, New York.