Emotion

Emotion refers to a complex reaction that people experience in response to events, situations, or internal thoughts. It combines physical changes in the body, mental interpretations, and observable behaviors that help individuals understand and respond to what is happening around them.

For example, a person may feel joy after hearing good news or fear when facing a perceived threat. These emotional responses occur quickly, often automatically, and play a critical role in survival, decision-making, and communication.

 

What Makes Up an Emotion?

Emotions are commonly described as psychological states made up of multiple interacting components. Rather than being a single feeling, an emotion is a coordinated system that prepares the mind and body for action.

Psychologists generally agree that emotions consist of three key elements.

1. Subjective Experience

The subjective experience refers to how an emotion feels to the individual. While emotions like anger, sadness, or happiness are broadly recognized, each person experiences them differently.

For example, sadness can feel different for different people. One person may feel slightly low or quiet, while another may feel deeply upset or overwhelmed by the same situation. Emotions can also overlap. Someone starting a new job might feel hopeful about new opportunities while also feeling sad about leaving what is familiar.

This personal and context-dependent nature makes emotion inherently subjective.

2. Physiological Response

Emotions trigger physical reactions in the body. These may include changes in heart rate, breathing, muscle tension, or voice characteristics such as pitch, pace, and intensity.

Many of these responses are controlled by the autonomic nervous system, particularly the fight-or-flight mechanism. For example, fear can cause a racing heart and rapid breathing, preparing the body to respond to danger.

Brain research has shown that areas such as the amygdala play a key role in emotional processing, especially for emotions like fear and threat detection.

3. Behavioral and Expressive Response

The behavioral response is how emotions are expressed outwardly. This includes facial expressions, gestures, posture, tone of voice, and word choice.

Some expressions, such as smiling when happy or frowning when sad, are widely recognized across cultures. However, cultural and social norms also influence how emotions are expressed and interpreted. Certain cultures value high-energy emotional expression, while others prefer calm and restraint.

Understanding these expressions is closely linked to emotional intelligence.

 

Types of Emotions

Researchers have developed different ways to group and understand emotions. These models help explain why emotions can feel simple at times and complex at others.

Basic Emotions

Psychologist Paul Ekman identified six basic emotions that are widely recognized across cultures. These include  happiness ,  sadness , fear,  anger , surprise, and  disgust . These emotions tend to appear quickly and are often expressed naturally through facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language.

 

Expanded Basic Emotions

Over time, researchers found that human emotional experiences go beyond just six categories. This led to the addition of emotions such as embarrassment, pride, shame, excitement, and amusement. These emotions are still rooted in basic emotions but are more influenced by social situations, self-awareness, and personal experience.

 

Wheel of Emotions

Psychologist Robert Plutchik introduced the wheel of emotions, which shows emotions on a spectrum rather than as fixed labels. In this model, emotions can vary in intensity and can combine with one another. For example, joy and anticipation together can create excitement, while fear and surprise may blend into anxiety. This helps explain why emotions often feel layered rather than singular.

 

Primary and Secondary Emotions

Emotions can also be grouped based on how they develop.

Primary emotions are immediate and instinctive. They occur as direct reactions to a situation, such as feeling fear when faced with danger or happiness after receiving good news. 

Secondary emotions are more complex and develop after thinking about a situation. They are often shaped by personal beliefs, past experiences, or social expectations. For example, someone may feel frustrated about feeling sad, or ashamed for feeling angry. These emotions tend to be deeper and longer-lasting than primary emotions.

 

Why Emotions Matter

Emotions influence nearly every aspect of human life. They affect decision-making, behavior, communication, relationships, and health. Chronic emotional states such as prolonged fear, anger, or sadness have been linked to stress-related health issues, while positive emotions are associated with resilience and well-being.

Being aware of emotions improves self-regulation, reduces stress, and helps individuals respond more effectively to challenges.

 

Understanding Emotion Through Emotion AI

Emotion AI focuses on identifying emotional patterns using artificial intelligence. Instead of relying solely on self-reported feelings, Emotion AI analyzes observable signals such as:

• Facial expressions
• Voice tone and speech patterns
• Language and sentiment
• Behavioral changes over time

At Imentiv AI, we track emotional changes over time through valence–arousal graphs, showing both emotional intensity and whether an emotion leans positive or negative. Analyzes facial cues, voice, and words together to reveal moments where what someone says does not match how they actually feel. Ask questions to get clear, context-specific AI insights that explain what the emotions really mean.

This approach ensures emotion analysis remains explainable, multimodal, and actionable, especially in use cases like customer experience, leadership conversations, interviews, research, and media analysis.

Explore how Imentiv AI analyzes emotions in context.