Psychology Of Emotions Article 2022

Running head: PSYCHOLOGY
PSYCHOLOGY
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PSYCHOLOGY1
Emotions are something that exert incredibly powerful force on the human behaviour.
Often strong emotions could result in forcing a person to take actions that he or she might not
normally perform. According to some of the theories, emotions are universal phenomena,
albeit influenced by culture (Ferrera, 2014). Most of the researchers, philosophers and
psychologists in the field of psychology surround their attention on the various biological
aspects of emotions as being the key source of prevalence of human emotions. This paper
would elaborate on the notion of emotions and would highlight the different controversial
arguments on the notion that emotions are universal phenomena.
In the field of psychology, emotions are often defined as a complicated state of
feeling that ultimately results in psychological and physical changes and this further affect
the behaviour and thoughts of the human beings. According to Seligman and
Csikszentmihalyi (2014), emotions are “internal phenomena that can, but do not always,
make themselves observable through expression and behaviour”. No one can survive without
emotions. They are emotions that allow for the complicated social relationships and networks
and that further helps in enhancing the meaning of the normal and day to day activities. They
are something that drive human beings to pursue happiness and being creative in the field of
art, work, music and drama. With the same, it is the emotions that motivate human to seek for
recreation and for engaging into sports and organising competitions, be it in the Olympic
Games or in the local community Little League. However, it is to note that according to
Jazaieri et al. (2014), while there are certain emotions that are universal and are experience in
same ways as reaction to the similar kind of events over all the cultures, there are also many
other emotions that show some notable cultural differences in their antecedent events as well
as the way in which they are experienced. It is to note that emotionality is linked with a wide
range of psychological phenomena, including mood, motivation, personality and
temperament.

PSYCHOLOGY2
It is to note that the universality of emotions in terms of biology, Charles Darwin as
an evolutionary theorists have opined that all the facial expressions of human beings are
result of some evolutionary means of survival (Meyer & Terry, 2014). For instance, an
expression of human anger indicates a defensive situation for warning off the predators. On
the other hand the disgusted facial expression might be indicator of the rotten food,
something pugnacious or poisonous or unsuitable for consuming. It is very vital to mention
that Charles Darwin in this regard have suggested that there is a relationship in between facial
expressions of human beings and communication. It also explains that the usage of the facial
expressions from the psychological point of view in terms of the learning behaviour
(Richards, 2015). Hence, the facial expressions are linked with experiencing emotions. This
is what claims the facial-feedback theory of evolution (Reisenzein, Horstmann &
Schutzwohl, 2019). Both William James and Charles Darwin noted early on that “sometimes
physiological responses often had a direct impact on emotion, instead of simply being a
consequence of the emotion”. With the same, it is also claimed that the emotions are directly
tied to the changes in the facial muscles. For instance, the ones who are forced for smiling
pleasantly at the social function would have a better time at event as compared to when they
will if they had carried or frowned a more neutral expressions.
Moreover, as per the appraisal theories of emotion, thinking in human beings take
place first before experiencing the emotion. As per the theory, the various sequence of events
involves a stimulus, followed by thought that leads to simultaneous experience of
physiological emotion and response (Bower & Cohen, 2014). For instance, if one encounter a
bear in woods, one might immediately start to think that he or she is in great danger. It further
lead to an emotional experience of physical reactions and fear that are associated with fight or
flight response.