4.2: What Are Emotions?

Emotions Defined

Emotions and related terms can be misunderstood, so we will start by defining what emotions are. “Emotions are constituted by a process of categorizing the self as being in an emotional state” (Pober, 2018, p. 640). This process is both immediate and rapid (Rohmann, et al., 2009). Emotions are not synonymous with feelings. Emotions are more than the feelings we experience, although feelings are a big part of emotions. Feelings can be fleeting, while emotions are not fleeting and tend to be accompanied with physiological and nonverbal changes. Emotions can change over time and context, and are connected to physiological dimensions, cultural dimensions, cognitive interpretations, personality, and expression.

Consider This: Where Did You Learn To Feel? By Brielle Plump

Have you ever thought about where you learned how to feel? Feelings, emotions, and moods are often things we consider automatic, or simply part of our physiological responses. However, emotions and feelings—and specifically how we value and express them—are more influenced by our upbringing and society than you would think.

For example, there is one particular theory that can help us consider how we learned how to feel: the dimensions of cultural variability (Hofstede, 1980), which is based on a global study conducted by the researcher Geert Hofstede in the 1970s. Although culture has changed a lot since this theory was first developed, the dimensions covered in this theory can help us begin to understand some of the ways cultures (and specifically nationalities) communicate and behave. Per the theory, every country exists on a scale between the two extremes (high or low) of each dimension. For now, we will just look at one, the dimension of Achievement (formerly termed Masculinity). According to the theory, in a high Achievement society, success is marked by winning and material gain. Within an Achievement-based society, emotions may not be expressed outwardly as often, and may be communicated about within relationships in more subtle ways. In contrast, in a society that is low in this dimension, and considered a highly Nurturing society, success is based on cooperation, quality of life is an asset, and emotions may be more overtly expressed and outwardly displayed.

While the research within Hofstede’s studies have many limitations, it does help us understand how society impacts our communication surrounding emotions and emotional expression.

Reflection Question

1. Consider some of the other generalized ways achieving and nurturing cultures differ. How may emotions and feelings be valued or expressed as a result?
2. Also, consider your family history, where you grew up, and whether or not your surroundings represent a more achievement based or more nurturing culture. How might that impact how you process emotions?

Emotions are often seen as inherently negative. "Why are you so emotional? Oh, that person is too emotional." Beyond these uncomplimentary descriptions, why do we see emotions as negative? Why is it a bad idea to “be emotional?” As humans we are interconnected with our emotions. We literally have sayings like these: “Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed?” “Don’t be so emo,” or “Don’t be so salty.” These sayings infer that from the start of our day, we are experiencing emotions and this connects to the events we experience in our day. Our emotions relate to our interpretation of events with others, our perceptions of those events, and our reaction as a result, which we call reappraisal. Since we interact in our interpersonal relationships from our identity outward and that affects our perceptions, then our personality and self-concept affect our emotions. We embody our emotions. We experience events differently and the same is true of our emotions.

We experience multiple emotions simultaneously (Pober, 2018). For instance, consider the last time you felt incredibly excited. What other emotions were you experiencing? Let’s say you just got asked to go on a date with someone you really like. Perhaps you are excited but also nervous, apprehensive, invigorated, and even reluctant. It is common for us to experience all these different emotions at the same time. One emotion can fuel another emotion and spur a chain of reactions as emotions are experienced. Russell (2012) further defined emotions as a “cluster of events with unclear boundaries and no single cause” (p. 140). That sense of happiness may turn to elation, pride, and a sense of giddiness. Whereas the apprehension you experience may create or increase the likelihood of nervousness, reluctance, and fear over the date or romantic appeal of the person.

Emotions Are Relational

Not only do we internally experience emotions and are affected by others emotions, but we create chain emotions. Figure 4.1 showcases psychologist Robert Pluchik’s wheel of emotions, which showcases eight central emotions that polarize one another. The eight emotions are joy and sadness, trust and disgust, fear and anger, and lastly, surprise and anticipation. These eight central emotions then extend outward and inward of the wheel, showcasing intensity of the emotions that can be felt. The information in this figure is also provided in Table 4.1, which lists the central emotions alongside the varying levels of intensity that can be felt from them. For example, an extension of joy could be serenity, optimism, or ecstasy, while an extension of sadness could be pensiveness, remorse, or grief. These chain emotions can be felt seemingly all at once or over time as our emotions grow or subside. As we get closer to our date, our ecstasy and nervousness/anticipation might turn to optimism.

Figure 4.1 Plutchik Wheel by Robert Pluchik on Wikipedia Commons

Intensity of Emotions as Displayed in the Plutchnik Wheel

Central Emotion	Varying Intensities of Central Emotion
Joy	Ecstasy, serenity, optimism, or love
Trust	Admiration, acceptance, love, or submission
Fear	Terror, apprehension, submission, or awe
Surprise	Amazement, distraction, awe, or disapproval
Sadness	Grief, pensiveness, disapproval, or remorse
Disgust	Loathing, boredom, remorse, or contempt
Anger	Rage, annoyance, contempt, or aggressiveness
Anticipation	Vigilance, interest, aggressiveness, or optimism

Table 4.1 Intensity of Emotions by Elizabeth Encarnacion is licensed under CC BY 4.0

Emotions are relational. We are interdependent, which means that we mutually affect each other. We do this relationally and physically through our communication climate. The way we experience our emotions is related to the type of relationships we have developed. When you are sick, is there someone who brings you comfort? Does just the thought of that person being near you result in you not feeling as sick, starting to smile, or even feeling physically stronger? One of our authors shares her experience:

When my child was a baby and I had a bad day, seeing that baby face would result in me feeling better. Similarly, when I was sick as a child, I wanted to be near my grandmother. I had scarlet fever as a teenager, and I wanted her to be near me. She couldn’t provide medical assistance, but her presence resulted in a different mood and therefore, more positive emotions. Family, or other people we would consider our caretakers, tend to have this effect depending on the relationships we have with them.

The tone of any given relationship that we have with our someone, affect our emotions. There are physical spaces and people that allow us to feel like we can be our true and authentic selves, while in other spaces and relationships we may use a mask. A mask is our presenting self that we use to conceal certain aspects of ourselves. Perhaps at work, although we are still ourselves, we avoid certain language that we use in other contexts, do not share personal stories, or avoid certain details to meet the professional climate. Many of us have had an unexpected event that created sadness, anger, or frustration before we entered an environment where we did not want to share those emotions, which resulted in us masking our emotions. One of our authors shares an example: "My father had cancer and it was clear we had a small window of time before he passed away. I had lectures planned and wanted to avoid my students becoming my support system, so I used masking." This is commonplace in many professional settings, but also used in other contexts. Many of us have had to conceal information from others, which results in us using a mask. You may have heard the saying “wear many hats.” This is a way of saying we present certain aspects of ourselves while concealing others. Masking can be emotionally laborious and result in negative effects. In the film Encanto, the character Luisa develops an eye twitch from masking all the time. She is the strength in her family and does not want to admit to feeling weak at times, so she uses a mask. When it comes to our emotions, we tend to use masks without being conscious of the decision to do so. However, masking is common when we experience negative emotions. This is related to the physiological changes we experience with emotions.

Emotions and Experience

There are many influences on our emotional expression. These influences help shape the way we perceive and interact with our emotions. We may think that our emotions are singular and not attached to other emotions and experiences. In this section we clarify how our emotions affect other emotions and experiences. We focus on how we interpret and react differently based on our own physiological changes and how our culture and society itself shape the emotions we experience.

Physiological Changes

Emotions are a deep-seated process that is happening continuously. When an event happens that results in our emotion occurring, we look at the physiological changes. This includes sweating, an increase in heart rate, a flush in our face, all the things we experience physiologically and nonverbally as we experience our emotions. Think of the last time you were “red hot angry” or “excited down to your toes.” What did you experience physiologically? Did you experience a feeling of raciness, perhaps an increased heart rate? Did you feel hot all over, perhaps sweaty? Our bodies react in conjunction with the emotions we are experiencing. Therefore, physiological changes are a part of our emotions.

Research has consistently found that emotions impact and are impacted by our physical selves (Tyng et al., 2017). Most notably, Tyng et al. (2017) found that the external sources of emotions are accompanied by internal physiological factors that impact the heart, lungs, gut, and so forth. Our body expresses emotions through our blood flow in order to regulate our homeostatic balances. For example, someone in a state of anger generates more “heat,” or excess blood flow throughout their body near the head, chest, and arms. Someone on the opposite end of the spectrum, in a neutral, state, generates so much less physical “heat” that the blood flow to extremities like their arms and legs is “cooled” or has slowed down. In addition, emotions can create physical reactions such as higher sweat production, restlessness, faster heartbeat, or increased breath rate. For example, the feeling of excitement and nervousness are usually characterized by the same physical traits while the emotions themselves are opposites.

To continue our example from earlier, when we are interacting with someone we want a romantic relationship with, that person might make us feel happy and nervous at the same time. Those two emotions may both showcase themselves through the same physiological changes of jittery movements, increased heart rate, and maybe sweaty palms. The same can be true of more unfavorable emotions. When we are experiencing a fight or argument within our interpersonal relationships, this can cause emotions of anger, anticipation, anxiety, and doubt. Those emotions can manifest themselves physiologically as rapid heart rate, sweat, increased breathing patterns, and jitteriness as well.

Figure 4.2 Painting of a man by Aarón Blanco Tejedor on Unsplash

 Culture and Emotion

 Our culture is based on the beliefs, values, and behaviors of a given group, and includes rules and norms that members of the culture follow. The way in which we display, recognize, and interpret emotions is heavily influenced by our social environments and cultural worldview because of their norms and rules (Course Hero, n.d.c). Different cultures have different structures of behavior and therefore different rules regarding how they display their emotions. Research has shown that cultures that are more collectivistic, and where social harmony is emphasized, are less likely to showcase negative emotions such as disgust or anger in social settings. In contrast, individualistic cultures, where personal self concept is emphasized, are more likely to showcase emotions of anger or disgust no matter the social context (Dzokoto et. al, 2018). For example, research demonstrated that people from individualistic cultures, like the United States, used exaggerated facial expressions to showcase emotion as a way to influence others and gain attention from those around them, which is accepted within an individualistic culture (University of Minnesota, n.d.). This is opposed to people from collectivistic cultures, such as Japan, where the tendency is to suppress or not show their emotional expressions as a way to observe the social context and interaction between interpersonal relationships. Because collectivistic cultures put the primary concern on the interdependence of the cultural group, emotional displays are direct reflections of the family system and the primary driver is to maintain relationships (University of Minnesota, n.d.).

Understanding emotions in the context of culture is important to making sure we are aware of the ways that differences in communicating emotions may occur. The perception of emotional display rules differs between cultures, where different rules and norms are established and subconsciously understood amongst members. While these elements are rarely spoken about explicitly between cultural group members, they impact the way we interpret and communicate emotions in our relationships. In order to prevent miscommunication within our social relationships, knowing the ways in which a person may express or not express an emotion will allow us to better regulate our own emotional reaction as well.

Cognitive Dimensions of Emotion

As discussed earlier, we integrate our culture, self-concept, and personality when we examine how emotions are processed. We consciously and unconsciously experience emotions. When we use cognitions, we interpret emotions and understand what circumstances led to this emotion, called the activating event. Emotions can be driven by this cognitive dimension (Kriegel, 2014). Whether we are conscious about emotions as they are occurring, that does not change their presence. Our interpretation and interaction with our emotions relates to our personalities. Emotions, personality, and behavior are interrelated (Mobbs, 2020). Understanding our personalities and how they relate to our emotions can help us become effective in our relationships. Emotions entail cognitive dimensions including personality, and this leads to how emotions are expressed.

Emotions in the Workplace

In a professional setting, we may mask more or avoid dialogue related to emotions, in an attempt to be seen as fulfilling a professional role. In a social setting or role, we may use masking or our decision to engage in discourse related to emotions to promote relational growth. For example, there are certain emotions that may be more often avoided by certain people in the workplace for a variety of reasons. Women, particularly women of color, are less likely to overtly showcase emotions of confidence, assuredness, or even sadness or anger in the workplace so as to not be deemed “too emotional,” because perceptions of assertiveness can turn into aggressiveness or confidence can be misconstrued as arrogance. When we deconstruct how different individuals are or are not “allowed” to experience emotions in different settings, we can start to draw out the stereotypes and biases within our social conventions and society roles.

With the many roles we take on, we utilize these tools to be communication competent. We should beware of emotional labor, the expectation to manage emotions in work environments. Some settings require a lot of masking, which can take a toll on us as individuals and within our interpersonal relationships. If we mask at work all day, we become exhausted. The more we mask or avoid engagement in our emotions, the more we experience emotional labor. Later in this chapter we will discuss identifying our emotions and using reappraisal as a strategy. The capacity to recognize and act on certain emotions decreases without practice.