How Emotions Are Made

1. Emotions are not universal reactions but constructed experiences

Emotions are not reactions to the world; they are your constructions of the world.

Constructed emotions. The theory of constructed emotion proposes that emotions are not innate, universal reactions triggered by external events. Instead, they are experiences that our brains actively construct using past experiences, cultural knowledge, and bodily sensations. This construction process involves:

• Predictions: The brain constantly predicts what sensations to expect based on past experiences
• Concepts: We use emotion concepts learned from our culture to categorize and make sense of our sensations
• Body budget: Internal sensations from our body's physiological state influence our emotional experiences

Cultural variation. This view explains why emotions can vary significantly across cultures and individuals. Different societies may construct and experience emotions in distinct ways based on their unique concepts and contexts.

2. The brain predicts and simulates reality, including emotions

You are an architect of your experience.

Predictive brain. Our brains don't passively react to the world, but actively predict and construct our reality. This includes:

• Sensory experiences: The brain fills in gaps and makes assumptions about what we see, hear, and feel
• Emotions: We simulate emotional experiences based on past instances and current context
• Actions: The brain predicts necessary actions before we're consciously aware of deciding to move

Simulation is key. This predictive, simulating nature of the brain allows us to:

• Imagine future scenarios
• Empathize with others
• Learn from past experiences
• Efficiently process the vast amount of sensory input we receive

3. Concepts shape our perceptions and experiences of emotions

Words seed your concepts, concepts drive your predictions, predictions regulate your body budget, and your body budget determines how you feel.

Conceptual knowledge. Our emotion concepts, learned from our culture and experiences, profoundly shape how we perceive and experience emotions. This involves:

• Categorization: We use concepts to group diverse sensations and situations into meaningful emotional experiences
• Language: Emotion words provide a framework for organizing our emotional concepts
• Cultural variation: Different cultures may have unique emotion concepts, leading to diverse emotional experiences

Expanding concepts. Developing a rich set of emotion concepts can enhance emotional intelligence and well-being by:

• Allowing for more nuanced emotional experiences
• Improving emotion regulation abilities
• Facilitating better communication about emotions

4. Interoception and body budgets influence emotional experiences

Interoception is your brain's representation of all sensations from your internal organs and tissues, the hormones in your blood, and your immune system.

Body-brain connection. Our internal bodily sensations, known as interoception, play a crucial role in emotional experiences:

• Body budget: The brain constantly regulates our body's resources, creating a "budget" of energy
• Affect: Our general sense of feeling (pleasant/unpleasant, calm/agitated) arises from our body budget
• Emotion construction: We use concepts to make meaning of our interoceptive sensations, constructing specific emotions

Implications. Understanding the body-brain connection in emotions suggests:

• Physical health can significantly impact emotional well-being
• Practices that regulate the body (e.g., exercise, sleep, diet) can influence emotional experiences
• Emotional disorders may involve disruptions in interoception and body budgeting

5. Emotional granularity enhances well-being and emotional intelligence

The more finely grained your vocabulary, the more precisely your predicting brain can calibrate your budget to your body's needs.

Emotional vocabulary. Developing a rich, nuanced emotional vocabulary can lead to:

• More precise emotional experiences
• Better emotion regulation
• Improved communication about emotions
• Enhanced overall well-being

Practical applications. To increase emotional granularity:

• Learn new emotion words, including from other languages
• Practice identifying and labeling emotions more specifically
• Engage with diverse experiences and perspectives to broaden your emotional repertoire

6. The classical view of emotions as distinct entities is scientifically unfounded

Emotions are real, but not in the objective sense that molecules or neurons are real. They are real in the same sense that money is real—that is, hardly an illusion, but a product of human agreement.

Challenging assumptions. The classical view of emotions as distinct, universal entities with specific neural circuits and expressions is not supported by scientific evidence:

• No consistent "fingerprints": Research has failed to find consistent patterns of neural activity, physiology, or facial expressions for specific emotions
• Variation is the norm: Instances of the same emotion category can vary widely in their physical manifestations
• Context matters: How we experience and perceive emotions depends heavily on context and concepts

Implications. Recognizing the constructed nature of emotions can lead to:

• More nuanced understanding of emotional experiences
• Reevaluation of how we approach emotional disorders
• Reconsideration of how emotions are understood in fields like law and AI

7. Emotions are social realities, not biological absolutes

Emotions are social reality. We construct instances of emotion in exactly the same manner as colors, falling trees, and money: using a conceptual system that is realized within the brain's wiring.

Social construction. Emotions exist as part of our social reality, similar to concepts like money or laws:

• Collective agreement: Emotions gain their meaning and power through shared understanding in a culture
• Cultural variation: Different societies may construct and experience emotions differently
• Transmission: Emotion concepts are passed down through generations via language and social interaction

Implications. Viewing emotions as social realities:

• Challenges the idea of universal, biologically determined emotions
• Highlights the role of culture in shaping emotional experiences
• Suggests that emotional experiences can change as societies evolve

8. The legal system's understanding of emotions needs updating

To believe otherwise is a fiction that is not supported by the architecture of the brain.

Outdated assumptions. Many legal concepts about emotions are based on outdated, essentialist views:

• The idea of "crimes of passion" assumes emotions override rationality
• Judging remorse in defendants assumes universal emotional expressions
• The concept of emotional harm as less serious than physical harm ignores the body-brain connection

Needed updates. A more scientifically grounded approach to emotions in law could:

• Recognize the constructed nature of emotional experiences
• Account for cultural variations in emotional expression and interpretation
• Consider the physical impacts of emotional experiences

9. Animals likely don't experience human-like emotions

Animals feel affect, but the reality of their emotion is, for the moment, only within ourselves.

Animal affect vs. human emotion. While animals likely experience affect (pleasant/unpleasant feelings), they probably don't have human-like emotions:

• Lack of concepts: Most animals don't have the conceptual system necessary to construct complex emotions
• Affective experiences: Animals can feel pleasure, pain, arousal, and calmness
• Human projection: We often project human-like emotions onto animals due to our tendency for mental inference

Implications. Understanding the difference between animal affect and human emotions:

• Challenges anthropomorphic views of animal behavior
• Suggests a need for more nuanced approaches to animal welfare
• Highlights the unique nature of human emotional experiences

10. A new view of human nature emerges from constructed emotions

The human brain evolved, in the context of human cultures, to create more than one kind of mind.

Beyond essentialism. The theory of constructed emotion suggests a new view of human nature:

• Variation is normal: Human minds can vary significantly based on cultural and individual experiences
• Cultural shaping: Our brains are wired by the cultures we grow up in
• Flexible adaptation: The human brain can create different kinds of minds adapted to diverse environments

Implications. This new view of human nature:

• Challenges ideas of fixed, universal human traits
• Emphasizes the importance of cultural context in understanding human behavior
• Suggests greater potential for individual and societal change

Last updated: July 30, 2024