Understanding Affective Processes: Emotions, Feelings, and Passions
Affective Processes
Emotion
It is a state of great excitement, manifesting complex behavior patterns, which may or may not be oriented towards a goal. Affective states are derived from the perception of past experiences and are not involved in mental activity. These states are intense, short-lived, and often linked to a shock.
Feeling
Feelings can be pleasant or unpleasant, are less intense than emotions, and are linked to intellectual processes. They are individual and of longer duration.
Passion
Passion is more emotional than rational; it becomes a fixation, persists for a long period, and can alter one’s personality.
Obsession
An obsession is a state of anxiety and restlessness, where one cannot abandon an idea that centralizes all their attention. It is an impulse, idea, or word representation imposed on the subject’s consciousness, independent of their will and beyond reasoning.
Emotions
Emotions are intense, violent, and short-lived reactions that occur in our lives, often acting as a disturbance. They are produced by sudden events or news and influence behavior, leading to emotional instability. Every emotion disrupts intellectual activity, hindering clear thinking.
Fundamental Emotions
- Excitement of Pleasure: An emotion associated with a sense of relief from tension, such as anger or fear. It makes us feel good.
- Thrill of Fear: Produces a behavior to escape, attack, or freeze. It aims to eliminate or remove the condition that caused it and can be perceived as a punishment or a sign that anticipates it.
- Excitement of Anger or Rage: A feeling of being attacked or frustrated, often occurring when a goal is not met.
- Emotion of Joy: An emotion of pleasure, where the subject is pleased with what is happening.
- Excitement of Grief: Generates dissatisfaction, pain, and a sense of decay, often leading to inaction. It is associated with something that does not bear fruit.
- Excitement of Panic: Collective fear, often leading to chaos when a mass is difficult to control. It is less rational.
Stages of Emotion
- An unexpected or sudden event occurs that affects us.
- An emotion is experienced.
- The body reacts (e.g., faintness, sweaty hands).
Role of Emotions
Emotions can dominate experience, incapacitating a person from experiencing other emotions. They can develop resistance to pain and fatigue and help maintain perspective. Emotions often generate deep feelings that guide subsequent behavior. They also serve as a precautionary warning for the future, preparing our conduct for eventualities.
Affective Life
According to Goleman, emotions are impulses to act. Each emotion prepares the body to respond. Reactions are related to our learning processes. Feelings are categorized into dependency and separation.
Components of Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence involves working with our emotions, not against them. It allows us to understand emotions and not be destroyed by them.
- Knowing One’s Emotions: Intrapersonal awareness of what one feels and why, without being bothered or affected by others.
- Managing Emotions: Understanding and dealing with emotions intellectually, controlling what is perceived, seen, and resolved, without stifling or suppressing them.
- Motivation: Self-motivation, knowing one’s capabilities, and maintaining spirit even after mistakes. Engaging in physical activity.
- Empathy: Social skills involving understanding others’ perspectives.
- Managing Relationships: Knowing how to act on the emotions of others, producing feelings of others as separate individuals.
In Summary: Our social and inner balance depends on the intelligent use of our emotions.