Global Emotions!

A study of peoples faces has shown that seven emotions seem to be universal around the world:

Joy, Sadness, Anger, Contempt, Surprise, Disgust and Fear

Considering how important emotions are in our everyday life, there is not as much research on emotions as you might think. In order to study emotions it’s necessary to define them first. Scientists studying emotions contrast them with moods and attitudes:

Emotions = have physiological correlates, expressed physically (gestures, facial expressions), often result in an action, and result from a specific event.

Moods = last longer than emotions, perhaps a day or two, may not be expressed physically, and may not come from a specific event.

Attitudes = have a more cognitive, conscious brain component.

For those of you who want to read more:

Ekman, Paul. (2007). Emotions Revealed: Recognizing Faces and Feelings to Improve Communication and Emotional Life, 2nd Edition. Holt.