The Science of Feeling: Tools to Understand Our Emotions

Until 2017, scientists assumed that humans have between six and eight basic emotions namely: Joy, anger, disgust, fear, contempt, sadness and surprise. However, US scientists have discovered that we actually feel 27 emotions.

The basic emotion is a mechanism that is understood in terms of evolutionary psychology or has developed phylogenetically and is found equally in all cultures. Accordingly, a cross-cultural, universal mimic expression behaviour (e.g. laughing or crying) can be seen as evidence of the existence of a basic emotion. Representatives of this approach include Paul Ekman and Carroll Izard.

Ekman has empirically proven seven basic emotions that are recognised independently of culture: Joy, anger, disgust, fear, contempt, sadness, and surprise. People can therefore decode these emotions worldwide, regardless of where they were brought up and socialised. However, how these feelings are expressed in social contact differs depending on the cultural context, e.g. whether the feelings are desired or undesired. This can lead to targeted emotional "role-playing"; this can imply deliberate attempts at deception. However, facial expressions, voice and body language show minimal deviations; these can be revealed by video recording, for example. Ekman developed the Facial Action Coding System (FACS) to classify basic emotions.

The latest research in this sphere from 2017 identified 27 distinct emotional categories, challenging traditional views and offering insights into future applications. The study by UC Berkeley researchers led by Dacher Keltner shed new light on the complexity of human emotions. Previously, six basic emotions (happiness, sadness, anger, surprise, fear, and disgust) were thought to encompass the full spectrum of human experience. However, this study suggests that there are at least 27 distinct emotional categories, and they are intricately linked. The extra 27 identified emotions are: admiration, adoration, aesthetic appreciation, amusement, anger, anxiety, awe, awkwardness, boredom, calmness, confusion, craving, disgust, empathic pain, entrancement, excitement, fear, horror, interest, joy, nostalgia, relief, romance, sadness, satisfaction, sexual desire, surprise

The researchers analysed data from over 800 participants who viewed over 2,000 video clips designed to evoke various emotions. They found that participants consistently reported experiencing 27 distinct emotions, ranging from pride and joy to envy and sadness.

Interestingly, the study revealed that emotions blend and flow into each other rather than existing as isolated states. For example, participants reported feeling a mix of awe and peacefulness upon viewing certain videos.

“There are smooth gradients of emotion between awe and peacefulness, horror and sadness, and amusement and adoration”. ―Dacher Keltner, Ph.D.

These findings have significant implications for various fields. The researchers hope that their "emotional atlas" will help scientists and engineers better understand and measure emotions, leading to advancements in mental health treatment, brain research, and technology development.

My name is Chris Ifeanyi Ezeh. I am a Journalist, Healthcare and Cultural Competence Expert. If you like my posts, please like, share comment and connect with me for more!

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