Assumptions on the Emotions Wheel

_Elsa_

‘It helps to delve deeper into the basic principles and assumptions behind the Plutchik Wheel of Emotions theory.

Humans and Animals - The basic emotions for humans are the same as they are for all other mammals. These emotions are generated in the middle part of the brain called the limbic system.

Evolution - Emotions are part of the human evolutionary process. They continue to develop in us as we evolve over time. Because of this continuous evolution, the range of emotions we have also constantly expands. In addition to the eight basic emotions, there are 34,000 different emotions a human being can feel.

Survival - Emotions play an essential role in human survival. They help determine how we react or respond to certain situations and stimuli. A basic example is fear, which warns us of potentially dangerous situations, and trigger our fight or flight response.

Basic Emotions - Dr. Plutchik identifies the eight basic emotions that humans and animals share. These emotions include joy, sadness, trust, disgust, fear, anger, anticipation, and surprise.

Basic Patterns - All basic emotions have a certain number of common and recognizable patterns. These patterns are also called prototypes.

Combinations - The wheel isn’t restricted to basic emotions and the changes in their intensity. It also covers the combinations of these emotions. For example, anger and anticipation can lead to aggressiveness, and joy and trust can lead to love. 

Constructs - Dr. Plutchik theorized that emotions are ideas or hypothetical constructs that we use to help us describe a specific experience.

Opposites - Duality and polar opposites are common in nature, and these are also reflected in the eight basic emotions. Dr. Plutchik put opposites across from each other in the emotions wheel. For example, joy is at the opposite of sadness, while anticipation is at the opposite of surprise.

Similarity - Some emotions share commonalities. On the wheel, basic emotions that have similarities are placed beside each other. For example, joy is next to trust, and disgust is next to sadness.

Intensity - The eight basic emotions also have varying levels of intensity. The more intense an emotion is, the closer it is to the middle of the wheel and the more intense its color is. 

Alternatively, the milder the emotion, the lighter the color, and the farther it is from the center of the wheel. The Emotions Wheel helps us not only identify our emotions, but also simplify more complex emotional concepts. Visualizing and breaking down emotions into the most basic form helps us to understand our feelings and to act on them calmly and intelligently.’ (Source) 

Tiffi’s head is spinning. This wheel is going to take a lot more discussion before she can totally understand it. 

“Tiffi don’t worry about this wheel,” says Teresa. “I know that this is a lot to take in so let it go! I just wanted to make you aware that other theorists have done things with emotions too.” 

What a relief! 

Let’s continue – Tiffi has had enough for one day

Start at the beginning - Tiffi ends up in the town of Wellspring