Introduction
Behavior in a certain situation depends on the emotions experienced by a person at a particular moment. The spectrum of human emotions is vast; however, they can be classified in a simplified way. Psychologist Paul Ekman identified six basic emotions that, in his opinion, are inherent in all people, regardless of ethnicity and culture (Freitas-Magalhaes, 2020). These emotions include happiness, sadness, fear, disgust, anger, and surprise (Freitas-Magalhaes, 2020). More complex and diverse feelings are formed from basic emotions, affecting everyday human behavior.
Happiness and Sadness
Happiness can be defined as a pleasant emotional state in which a person experiences joy, satisfaction, and well-being. Happiness can be expressed through a smile, a calm posture and pleasant speech. When people are happy, their behavior can change a lot. For example, they become more efficient, friendly, and pleasant to talk to. The opposite of happiness is the feeling of sadness, characterized by grief, hopelessness, and a depressed mood. Sadness is expressed in a depressed mood, tears, and a desire to protect oneself from society. When people are sad, they may engage in coping mechanisms, such as refusing to communicate with loved ones, shutting themselves in, or not leaving the house. Happiness and sadness can be called the basic contrasting emotions that govern human behavior.
Fear
Fear is one of the strongest emotions that originates from the primitive motives of human survival. A frightened person looks tense, and their breathing and heartbeat increase. At such moments, a person makes a decision, preparing to escape or confront danger. A frightened person may have dilated pupils and breathe rapidly (Weiner, 2019). Fear is a logical response to an immediate threat; anxiety is a sign of thinking about potential dangers. Some people, on the contrary, may not avoid the feeling of fear; they enjoy the adrenaline they receive, for example, during extreme sports. Frightened people can behave unpredictably or, conversely, show atypical composure under the influence of adrenaline. Fear helps people protect themselves from dangers and survive in extreme situations.
Disgust
Disgust is a basic emotion that may have originally arisen to protect people from tainted food. The disgusted person may turn away from the object, vomit, wrinkle their nose, or cover their face with their hands. Disgust can be caused by almost anything, including an unpleasant smell, taste, or social phenomenon. People can also experience moral disgust when they observe the behavior of others that they find unpleasant. If people feel disgusted, they will try to stop contact with the source that caused this emotion. If people are disgusted with human behavior, they can openly condemn it or, vice versa, ignore the object of unpleasant emotion.
Anger
Anger is characterized by feelings of hostility, anxiety, and opposition to other people. Anger is predominantly caused by a sense of threat and is needed by people to protect themselves (Hickman, 2020). This basic emotion is manifested through a frown or ferocious facial expression, a hoarse voice or shout, facial flushing, and aggressive behavior. It is difficult to think rationally in anger, and this emotion often pushes people to rash and dangerous actions. In anger, a person may offend another person or even cause physical harm. Angered people tend to use harsh language that they would never use in a calm state. This basic emotion was given to people for survival; however, social norms dictate the need to cope with anger.
Surprise
The emotion of surprise is short-lived and is usually the result of a physiological fear response. A person can be positively surprised at an unexpected party; a negative effect can be caused if they are jokingly scared, and people can experience neutral surprise due to reading the news. Surprise is characterized by raising eyebrows, dilated pupils, and an involuntary cry. Surprise has a significant effect on behavior; for example, a short-term behavioral response to surprise can manifest itself in involuntary movements. It has also been proven that people remember events or facts that were surprising and atypical for them much better (Nairne et al., 2019). Surprise helps people react in time to danger, clearly separating familiar and unusual situations.
Personal Experience
I consider myself an emotional person, and emotions often determine my behavior. When I am happy, I feel more confident; it is easier for me to speak in public and make decisions. If I am sad, I can refuse a party with friends that I myself organized. When I am afraid, this emotion becomes dominant and defining. If I am scared, I freeze and cannot act rationally, I am not a person who can act quickly in extreme circumstances. The emotion of disgust is experienced quite rarely, and I do not think that it greatly affects my behavior. If I feel disgust at the actions of people, I try not to express it openly so as not to offend anyone. Anger is not typical for me, and I know how to deal with it. Anger sometimes motivates me to try harder if I cannot learn something. Finally, the emotion of surprise is also rare for me. If I am surprised, I can be very frightened, jump away, or scream; however, I quickly calm down.
Conclusion
Emotions are the fundamental driving force for human behavior. The six basic emotions add up to more complex sensations and determine a person’s actions, influencing the decision-making process. Most emotions have primitively arisen from the need for human survival. In different cultures and ethnic groups, basic emotions are the same; however, the cause of their occurrence may change. In modern society, people tend to control their emotions for effective social interaction.
References
Freitas-Magalhaes, A. (2020). The Psychology of Emotions-The Allure of Human Face. Leya.
Hickman, C. (2020). We need to (find a way to) talk about… Eco-anxiety. Journal of Social Work Practice, 34(4), 411-424. Web.
Nairne, J. S., Coverdale, M. E., & Pandeirada, J. N. (2019). Adaptive memory: The mnemonic power of survival-based generation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 45(11), 1970-1985. Web.
Weiner, H. (2019). The psychobiology and pathophysiology of anxiety and fear. In Anxiety and the anxiety disorders (pp. 333-354). Routledge.