Basic Emotions

Table of Contents


Many psychologists have claimed that certain emotions are more basic than others, often for very different reasons. According to the
PEN Model, emotions arise as aspects of a person's personality. Many Personality Disorders include problems with emotions, in addition to problems with thoughts and behavior.
 


Theorists Table

Basic Emotions

Basis for Inclusion

Arnold

Anger, aversion, courage, dejection, desire, despair, fear, hate, hope, love, sadnessRelation to action tendencies

Ekman, Friesen, and Ellsworth

Anger, disgust, fear, joy, sadness, surpriseUniversal facial expressions

Frijda

Desire, happiness, interest, surprise, wonder, sorrowForms of action readiness

Gray

Rage and terror, anxiety, joyHardwired

Izard

Anger, contempt, disgust, distress, fear, guilt, interest, joy, shame, surpriseHardwired

James

Fear, grief, love, rageBodily involvement

McDougall

Anger, disgust, elation, fear, subjection, tender-emotion, wonderRelation to instincts

Mowrer

Pain, pleasureUnlearned emotional states

Oatley and Johnson-Laird

Anger, disgust, anxiety, happiness, sadnessDo not require propositional content

Panksepp

Expectancy, fear, rage, panicHardwired

Plutchik

Acceptance, anger, anticipation, disgust, joy, fear, sadness, surpriseRelation to adaptive biological processes

Tomkins

Anger, interest, contempt, disgust, distress, fear, joy, shame, surpriseDensity of neural firing

Watson

Fear, love, rageHardwired

Weiner and Graham

Happiness, sadnessAttribution independent

Basic Emotions

Basis for Inclusion

(This table is taken from Ortony and Turner, 1990.)
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Reference

Ortony, A., & Turner, T. J. (1990). What's basic about basic emotions? Psychological Review, 97, 315-331.
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Basic Emotions Links

Basic Emotions: Student Papers in This Website Basic Emotions: Papers Elsewhere Basic Emotions: Websites Elsewhere Basic Emotions: Reference Sources
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Last modified April 1998
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