The demanding world of emotion: A Gestalt approach to emotion experience |
| |
Affiliation: | 1. TOBB University of Economics and Technology, Department of Psychology, Söğütözü cd. no: 43, Ankara, 06530, Çankaya, Ankara, Turkey;2. Istanbul University, State Conservatory, Department of Musicology, Rıhtım Caddesi No:1, 81300, Kadıköy, Istanbul, Turkey;4. Reykjavik University, Reykjavik, Iceland |
| |
Abstract: | Psychology is biased towards thinking of emotions as feelings rather than as an experiences of the world. But they are both. World-focused emotion experiences (WFEE) are how the world appears or is consciously perceived in one's emotion experience. For example, when happy the world may seem welcoming, or when sad the world may seem barren of possibilities. What explains these experiences? This article discusses explanations of WFEE from phenomenology and Gestalt psychology. Influenced by Lewin, I propose an “emotional demand model” of WFEE. The emotional demand character of objects (e.g. bear-to-be-run-from) is distinguished from their expressive character (e.g. angry bear). It is a mistake to think of emotion faces only as expressions—they are also demands. This distinction explains some anomalous findings in infancy and autism research. The model highlights another tool for recognizing our own emotions: noticing when we feel “demanded of” by the world, with implications for emotion regulation. |
| |
Keywords: | Emotion World-focused Phenomenology Gestalt Demand character Lewin Autism Theory of mind |
本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录! |
|