Six basic human emotions are universally recognized but other positive emotions are culturally specific. Humen use a wide range of different cues, both verbal and non-verbal, to share important information and particularly to warn others of danger.
As ever, theorists disagree. Ortony and Turner (1990) collated a wide range of research on identification of basic emotions.
| Theorist | Basic Emotions |
| Plutchik | Acceptance, anger, anticipation, disgust, joy, fear, sadness, surprise |
| Arnold | Anger, aversion, courage, dejection, desire, despair, fear, hate, hope, love, sadness |
| Ekman, Friesen, and Ellsworth | Anger, disgust, fear, joy, sadness, surprise |
| Frijda | Desire, happiness, interest, surprise, wonder, sorrow |
| Gray | Rage and terror, anxiety, joy |
| Izard | Anger, contempt, disgust, distress, fear, guilt, interest, joy, shame, surprise |
| James | Fear, grief, love, rage |
| McDougall | Anger, disgust, elation, fear, subjection, tender-emotion, wonder |
| Mowrer | Pain, pleasure |
| Oatley and Johnson-Laird | Anger, disgust, anxiety, happiness, sadness |
| Panksepp | Expectancy, fear, rage, panic |
| Tomkins | Anger, interest, contempt, disgust, distress, fear, joy, shame, surprise |
| Watson | Fear, love, rage |
| Weiner and Graham | Happiness, sadness |
Here is more detailed list of emotions as described in Shaver et al. (2001), where emotions were categorized into a short tree structure.
| Primary emotion | Secondary emotion | Tertiary emotions |
| Love | Affection | Adoration, affection, love, fondness, liking, attraction, caring, tenderness, compassion, sentimentality |
| Lust | Arousal, desire, lust, passion, infatuation | |
| Longing | Longing | |
| Joy | Cheerfulness | Amusement, bliss, cheerfulness, gaiety, glee, jolliness, joviality, joy, delight, enjoyment, gladness, happiness, jubilation, elation, satisfaction, ecstasy, euphoria |
| Zest | Enthusiasm, zeal, zest, excitement, thrill, exhilaration | |
| Contentment | Contentment, pleasure | |
| Pride | Pride, triumph | |
| Optimism | Eagerness, hope, optimism | |
| Enthrallment | Enthrallment, rapture | |
| Relief | Relief | |
| Surprise | Surprise | Amazement, surprise, astonishment |
| Anger | Irritation | Aggravation, irritation, agitation, annoyance, grouchiness, grumpiness |
| Exasperation | Exasperation, frustration | |
| Rage | Anger, rage, outrage, fury, wrath, hostility, ferocity, bitterness, hate, loathing, scorn, spite, vengefulness, dislike, resentment | |
| Disgust | Disgust, revulsion, contempt | |
| Envy | Envy, jealousy | |
| Torment | Torment | |
| Sadness | Suffering | Agony, suffering, hurt, anguish |
| Sadness | Depression, despair, hopelessness, gloom, glumness, sadness, unhappiness, grief, sorrow, woe, misery, melancholy | |
| Disappointment | Dismay, disappointment, displeasure | |
| Shame | Guilt, shame, regret, remorse | |
| Neglect | Alienation, isolation, neglect, loneliness, rejection, homesickness, defeat, dejection, insecurity, embarrassment, humiliation, insult | |
| Sympathy | Pity, sympathy | |
| Fear | Horror | Alarm, shock, fear, fright, horror, terror, panic, hysteria, mortification |
| Nervousness | Anxiety, nervousness, tenseness, uneasiness, apprehension, worry, distress, dread |
Learn to recognize emotions at increasing levels of detail. If you can see the emotion, then you can respond appropriately to it.
