# Motivation and emotion/Tutorials/20 emotions

Tutorial 09: 20 emotions This is the ninth tutorial for the motivation and emotion unit of study.

## Overview

This tutorial discusses the nature and functions of 20 individual emotions.

## Individual emotions

Emotion knowledge can be developed by expanding one's vocabulary for different types of feelings. Having a wide vocabulary helps to distinguish a wide range emotions and to understand their purposes and functions.
This tutorial distinguishes 20 specific emotions and their functions.
When dealing with many emotions, it helps to organise them into categories.

### Categories

The 20 emotions can be organised into three categories (Reeve, 2018; see Table 1):
* Basic (7) - Core emotions: present in early development; recognised cross-culturally
* Self-conscious (5): occurs when we become self-aware about how others perceive us
* Cognitively complex (8): arise from thoughts/perceptions about life events often involving others
Table 1
20 Individual Emotions Organised Into Three Categories
| Basic (7) | Self-conscious (5) | Cognitively complex (8) |
| Fear | Shame | Envy |
| Anger | Guilt | Gratitude |
| Disgust | Embarrassment | Disappointment |
| Contempt | Pride | Regret |
| Sadness | Triumph | Hope |
| Joy | | Schadenfreude |
| Interest | | Empathy |
| | | Compassion |
Note. Links go to Wikipedia articles; For a table of these emotions with links to specific Wikiversity book chapters, see the individual emotions lecture; Based on Reeve (2018)
What other systems of categorisation (or dimensions) could be useful? e.g.,
* Active vs. passive emotions - trigger motivation for action vs. involve inception or reflection
* Approach vs. avoidance emotions - motivation towards positive engagement vs. motivate withdrawal of defensive behaviours
* Positive vs. negative emotions - pleasant vs. unpleasant
* Primary vs. secondary emotions - innate, universal, appear early in life vs. develop later, require self-awareness
* Short-term vs. long-term emotions - transitory, immediate reactions vs. sustained over time
* Social vs. non-social emotions - arise in interpersonal contexts vs. not dependent on social relations

### I feel ...

What do each of these 20 emotions actually feel like and why do we feel them?
The main reason for each of the emotions is presented in Table 2.
Table 2
"I Feel" Definitions for 20 Emotions
| Emotion | Definition |
| Anger | I feel injustice |
| Compassion | I feel caring about you |
| Contempt | I feel superior to you |
| Disappointment | I feel down about a poor outcome |
| Disgust | I feel repulsed |
| Embarrassment | I feel awkward in front of you |
| Empathy | I feel with you |
| Envy | I feel jealous - I want what you have |
| Fear | I feel in danger |
| Gratitude | I feel thankful |
| Guilt | I feel bad about wronging you |
| Hope | I feel optimistic about my future |
| Interest | I feel curious |
| Joy | I feel happiness within |
| Pride | I feel good about myself and achievements |
| Regret | I feel sorrow for what I did |
| Sadness | I feel bad about a loss |
| Schadenfreude | I feel pleasure at your misfortune |
| Shame | I feel bad about myself because I am publicly wrong |
| Triumph | I feel victorious |

## Emotion matching exercise

* Activity: Emotion matching
* Collaborate in pairs to discuss and complete the 20 Individual Emotions Matching Exercise
* Each pair completes two sheets:
* Find the emotion and category that matches the definition
* Find the definition and category that matches the emotion

## Discussion

* What is/are your favourite or most interesting emotion(s)? Why?
* What is the difference between shame, guilt, and embarrassment?
* What is the difference between pride and triumph?
* What are the two aspects of pride?
* What emotions are associated with these interpersonal scenarios?
| | ... other person feels good | ... other person feels bad |
| I feel good because ... | vicarious joy, mudita, compersion, empathy, freudenfreude | schadenfreude, contempt, hate, narcissism, arrogance |
| I feel bad because ... | envy, jealousy, gluckschmerz | empathy, compassion, sympathy |
* What are the two types of envy?
* What is the difference between empathy, compassion, and sympathy?
* What is the difference between disappointment and regret?
* What are the two aspects of gratitude?
* What is the opposite of hope?

## Readings

* Chapter 14: Individual emotions (Reeve, 2018)

## Recording

* Tutorial 09 (2024)