6.1 Basic Emotions
List of emotions
What are the basic emotions? As ever, theorists disagree. Ortony and Turner (1990) collated a wide range of research as to what basic emotions are.
Theorist
Basic Emotions
Plutchik
Acceptance, anger, anticipation, disgust, joy, fear, sadness, surprise
Arnold
Anger, aversion, courage, dejection, desire, despair, fear, hate, hope, love, sadness
Ekman, Friesen, and Ellsworth
Anger, disgust, fear, joy, sadness, surprise
Frijda
Desire, happiness, interest, surprise, wonder, sorrow
Gray
Rage and terror, anxiety, joy
Izard
Anger, contempt, disgust, distress, fear, guilt, interest, joy, shame, surprise
James
Fear, grief, love, rage
McDougall
Anger, disgust, elation, fear, subjection, tender-emotion, wonder
Mowrer
Pain, pleasure
Oatley and Johnson-Laird
Anger, disgust, anxiety, happiness, sadness
Panksepp
Expectancy, fear, rage, panic
Tomkins
Anger, interest, contempt, disgust, distress, fear, joy, shame, surprise
Watson
Fear, love, rage
Weiner and Graham
Happiness, sadness
Here is a deeper list of emotions as described in Parrot (2001), where emotions were categorised into a short tree structure.
Primary emotion
Secondary emotion
Tertiary emotions
Love
Affection
Adoration, affection, love, fondness, liking, attraction, caring, tenderness, compassion, sentimentality
Lust
Arousal, desire, lust, passion, infatuation
Longing
Longing
Joy
Cheerfulness
Amusement, bliss, cheerfulness, gaiety, glee, jolliness, joviality, joy, delight, enjoyment, gladness, happiness, jubilation, elation, satisfaction, ecstasy, euphoria
Zest
Enthusiasm, zeal, zest, excitement, thrill, exhilaration
Contentment
Contentment, pleasure
Pride
Pride, triumph
Optimism
Eagerness, hope, optimism
Enthrallment
Enthrallment, rapture
Relief
Relief
Surprise
Surprise
Amazement, surprise, astonishment
Anger
Irritation
Aggravation, irritation, agitation, annoyance, grouchiness, grumpiness
Exasperation
Exasperation, frustration
Rage
Anger, rage, outrage, fury, wrath, hostility, ferocity, bitterness, hate, loathing, scorn, spite, vengefulness, dislike, resentment
Disgust
Disgust, revulsion, contempt
Envy
Envy, jealousy
Torment
Torment
Sadness
Suffering
Agony, suffering, hurt, anguish
Sadness
Depression, despair, hopelessness, gloom, glumness, sadness, unhappiness, grief, sorrow, woe, misery, melancholy
Disappointment
Dismay, disappointment, displeasure
Shame
Guilt, shame, regret, remorse
Neglect
Alienation, isolation, neglect, loneliness, rejection, homesickness, defeat, dejection, insecurity, embarrassment, humiliation, insult
Sympathy
Pity, sympathy
Fear
Horror
Alarm, shock, fear, fright, horror, terror, panic, hysteria, mortification
Nervousness
Anxiety, nervousness, tenseness, uneasiness, apprehension, worry, distress, dread
So What
Learn to recognise emotions at increasing levels of detail. If you can see the emotion, then you can respond appropriately to it.
Reference
Parrott, W. (2001), Emotions in Social Psychology, Psychology Press, Philadelphia
Ortony, A., & Turner, T. J. (1990). What's basic about basic emotions? Psychological Review, 97, 315-331.
Plutchik, R. (1980). A general psychoevolutionary theory of emotion. In R. Plutchik & H. Kellerman (Eds.), Emotion: Theory, research, and experience: Vol. 1. Theories of emotion (pp. 3-33). New York: Academic.