Emotions for Success

Emotions are already a part of human nature. But how much do you really know about emotions? What are emotions? What are their elements? What are the most common types of emotions? This chapter is where you will learn the basics of emotions for you to get started. Emotions can be like a king that rules your day to day life. The decisions that you make are based on whether you are happy, sad, bored, frustrated or angry. Your hobbies and activities are chosen based on the kind of emotions that they incite. But what exactly are emotions? By definition, emotions are complex psychological states involving three unique components: subjective experiences, physiological responses and expressive or behavioral responses.

A Glimpse into the World of Emotions Aside from trying to understand what exactly emotions are, researchers also trying to identifying and classify the various types of emotions. Paul Eckman, a psychologist, suggested in 1972 that there are actually 6 basic emotions that can be considered universal in all human cultures, they are anger, fear, disgust, surprise, sadness, and happiness. But in 1999, he further expanded the list, including some other basic emotions such as excitement, embarrassment, contempt, pride, shame, amusement and satisfaction.