basisemoties

Basisemoties, or basic emotions, is a concept in affective science that designates a small set of emotions regarded as biologically based, universal, and evolutionarily adaptive. Proponents suggest these emotions emerge from dedicated neural circuits and are recognizable across cultures, often expressed through characteristic facial expressions, voice, and physiology.

Historically, Paul Ekman identified six basic emotions: happiness, sadness, fear, disgust, anger, and surprise, claiming their facial expressions are recognized worldwide. Some researchers later added contempt as a seventh basic emotion. Other theories propose different inventories; Robert Plutchik proposed eight primary emotions arranged on a wheel (joy, trust, fear, surprise, sadness, disgust, anger, anticipation), while Carroll Izard enumerated ten basic emotions (e.g., interest, joy, surprise, sadness, anger, disgust, contempt, fear, shame, guilt).

Development and universality: basic emotions are often described as present in infancy and broadly universal, though cultural variation in emotion display rules and labeling is acknowledged. Critics argue that many emotions are blends or context-dependent and that the boundary between basic and complex emotions is not clear-cut.

Neuroscience and function: basic emotions are associated with relatively fast, automatic appraisal processes and specific neural substrates, such as the amygdala for fear and the insula for disgust. They tend to motivate rapid, stereotyped responses that aid survival and social coordination.

Limitations and applications: the basic-emotions framework provides a useful heuristic for research and affective computing but may oversimplify emotional life. It informs fields such as psychology, anthropology, and human–computer interaction, as well as clinical work on emotion regulation.