Emotions As Information
Ever felt your heart pang when you saw a picture of a puppy? Or been so elated that you found your keys?
Psychologists believe emotions are signals from our brain to let us know when we're doing well or not. Understanding how emotions work and how they can help us make better decisions is key for living a more fulfilling, less stressful life.
In this post, psychologist Renee Walker discusses what emotions really are and how they help us thrive in the modern world. She also explains why it is essential to gain awareness of the different types of feelings and figure out what they tell us about the world around us.
"We believe that emotions are signals. They come as a message to the brain. As with any other information, they may be good or they may be bad."
-Dr. Milton Rokeach, The Emotions: Genesis and Development(1970)
in "Emotions as Information", by Renee Walker, Psychology Today , 01/2011
First let's start by understanding what emotions are : Emotions are our feelings based on past experience - whether positive or negative. The most important thing to understand is that we don't feel emotions all the time - they only become activated when they are needed in order to impel us to act (i.e. make a decision). But how do emotions provide information? Our feelings are actually a kind of memory - they are representations of what we have experienced in the past. So our emotions can guide us in making better choices and help us learn from mistakes.
Emotions play an important role in propelling us to act when needed, which means we can't ignore them. In fact, if you could choose whether to feel happy or sad then it makes sense that you should focus on the things that make you feel happy (because they will make a direct positive contribution to your life) and avoid those that make you feel sad (because they will have a negative impact on your life).
How are emotions represented in the brain? The brain relies on its ability to remember past experiences and represent them as feelings or moods. Specifically, the limbic system is where past experience gets encoded - this primitive area of our brain is responsible for emotions, motivation and memory. This means that every experience will get encoded somewhere in the limbic system, which is why if you are ever able to remember how you were feeling during a past experience it will "re-activate" your emotional memory. In other words, the limbic system acts as a kind of 'hard drive' for storing all of our emotional memories.
However we don't feel all emotions at once - instead emotions are activated on demand when needed for making decisions. For example, if we're angry it usually means something has hurt our feelings. So if we are driving and get cut off by another driver our anger gets triggered to impel us to act by making a decision - should we honk at them or flash them the finger?
A good way to think about it is that emotions are the body's response to the mind's rules . In other words, the mind sets up certain rules which then trigger specific responses in our body (i.e. emotions). For example, if we want to get out of bed in the morning or go running before work then the mind will make a rule that we should do this. But if we don't want to do it then our emotions may tell us another story - "no, I'm too tired". Ultimately how you decide to respond is up to you and depends on your ultimate goals .
So now that we understand what emotions are let's take things one step further and explore why they can be so important for living a rich, fulfilling life...
What makes emotions more useful? Emotions are a key part of what makes us human - they give us a sense of being alive and connected. Emotions obviously play an important role in our lives, which is why they are so relevant.
However there are certain things that make us feel better than others... For example, if you're feeling 'down' it's probably because you're not getting enough sleep or are suffering from depression. In contrast, if you're feeling down it means that something in your life has made you feel sad - maybe your dog just passed away, your house was burgled or your husband left...
In other words, there are some states that we want to achieve and others that we want to avoid . So the first step can be to recognize what our emotions are telling us about the world around us . For example, if you feel sad then it means something has made you feel this way (i.e. you have suffered a loss).
When we don't understand why we feel a certain way then it makes sense that we will focus on 'fixing ourselves' because the answer lies outside of us. However realizing how emotions inform us about the world around us can make all the difference in living a more meaningful, conscious life - and hopefully attract positive feelings over negative ones.
Emotions can change your life :
Positive emotions can have a direct impact on our lives because they signal things that we like (i.e. something has made us feel good). For example, if we just received a promotion at work then this would make us feel happy. However if we cheated on our partner then it would make us feel unhappy (i.e. guilty).
Emotions can also provide indirect feedback about things that affect our lives . For example, an emotion such as sadness can signal to us that something isn't right and therefore needs fixing, which will ultimately have a positive impact on our life (i.e. we will feel happy or content). In other words, when we feel sad it means that something is missing from our lives and we can set about to actively change things.
So now let's take a look at the different categories of emotions that exist and how they can be so important...
The Six Basic Categories of Emotions:
Anger : Is an emotion felt when something threatens our interests or goals. It signals that we want to get back at whoever has hurt us. This emotion motivates us to make decisions - for example, if someone bumps into you then anger will impel you to think about how you deserve an apology.
Emotions are contagious : The first time that you feel angry it's likely that it was triggered by something outside of you but now it will be easier for you to feel this way again in the future. For example, if someone cut you off in traffic then it could have been an accident. However if the driver does this on purpose then you'll be more likely to get angry because you know that they deliberately tried to upset you.
Emotions can be beneficial : Anger is beneficial when used properly, which means we need to think about our goals and if we are trying to achieve something important.
Conclusion : It's important to realize that we need reasons not to get angry, otherwise it won't help us achieve our goals when we need it. For example, if we are upset with our partner because they brought us the wrong food (when we wanted the right food) then getting angry won't do anything to help us. Likewise if you feel angry because your friend was rude to you then your friends will probably respect you less if you confront them about this (i.e. scream at them in public).
Emotions can also be contagious : The first time that you feel anger it's likely that it was triggered by something outside of you but now it will be easier for you to feel this way again in the future.
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Emotions As Information