What is emotion? (part 3) – 4 Ways of Manifestation

Source: tomfoolery (on flickr)

This is the final part in the What is emotion? series. In What is emotion? (part 1) – 4 Affective states we discussed the different affective states of emotion. In What is emotion? (part 2) – 3 Perspectives on Emotion we saw that in the last 100 years psychologists have offered a variety of definitions of emotion, each focusing on different manifestations or components of the emotion.

Manifestations

There seems to be no empirical solution to the debate on which manifestation is sufficient or necessary to define emotions. At present, the psychologists most favoured solution is to say that emotions are best treated as a multifaceted phenomenon consisting of several components (1, 2). These components, i.e. behavioural reactions, expressive reactions, physiological reactions and subjective feelings, are discussed below.

1. Behavioural reaction

Behavioural reaction (e.g. running, or seeking contact) is the action or behaviour one engages in when experiencing an emotion. Emotions initiate behaviour in the form of action tendencies such as approach, inaction, avoidance and attack (3). Fear makes one want to run; love makes one want to approach or caress, and so on. Frijda (4) proposed that actions like “crying out, mama! when faced by danger, uttering insults when being slighted, or constantly thinking of the other person when seriously in love,” are also examples of emotional action tendencies.

2. Expressive reaction

Expressive reaction (e.g. smiling or frowning) is the facial, vocal and postural expression that accompanies the emotion. Each emotion is associated with a particular pattern of expressions (5). For example, anger comes with a fixed stare, contracted eyebrows, compressed lips, vigorous and brisk movements and, usually, a raised voice, almost shouting (6, 7).

3. Physiological reaction

Physiological reaction (activation or arousal, e.g. increases in heart rate) is the change in activity in the autonomic nervous system which accompanies emotions. Emotions show a variety of physiological manifestations, such as pupil dilatation and sweat production.

4. Subjective feeling

Subjective feeling (e.g. feeling happy or feeling inspired) is the conscious awareness of the emotional state one is in, i.e. the subjective emotional experience. Each emotion involves a specific feeling which is a basic, irreducible kind of mental element (e.g. Titchener (8)). In his famous work, Frijda (9) states that “feelings form the core characteristic that differentiates affective from nonaffective experience.” Note that also in daily life, feeling is commonly seen as the essence of emotion (10).


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References

  1. IZARD, C.E. (1977) Human Emotions (Emotions, Personality, and Psychotherapy series)
  2. LAZARUS, R.S., KANNER, A.D. & FOLKMAN, S. (1980) Emotions: A cognitive-phenomenological analysis.
  3. ARNOLD, M.B. (1960) Emotion & Personality Volume 1: Psychological Aspects.
  4. FRIJDA, N.H. (1986) The Emotions (Studies in Emotion and Social Interaction) (p. 70)
  5. EKMAN, P. (1994b) Strong evidence for universals in facial expressions: a reply to Russells mistaken critique.
  6. DARWIN, C. (1872) The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals.
  7. EKMAN, P. & FRIESEN, W.V. (1975) Unmasking the Face: A Guide to Recognizing Emotions From Facial Expressions.
  8. TITCHENER, E.B. (1908) Lectures on the Elementary Psychology of Feeling and Attention.
  9. FRIJDA, N.H. (1986) The Emotions (Studies in Emotion and Social Interaction) (p. 179)
  10. DALKVIST, J. & ROLLENHAGEN, C. (1989) Three aspects of emotion awareness: feeling, perceived bodily reaction and cognition.
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You’re currently reading “What is emotion? (part 3) – 4 Ways of Manifestation,” an entry on Experiencing Architecture

Published:
January 31, 2010 / 16:00
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Architectural theory
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