Secondary emotions: what are they, types and characteristics?

A summary of what are the types of secondary emotions.

Emotions have been a fundamental aspect for our survival. It is through mood changes that animals adapt to the phenomena of their environment. For example, when faced with a threat, it is normal to be afraid and flee, or when something serious has happened, such as the death of a family member, it is normal to feel sad and show it to others.

However, in the human species, the most basic emotions, shared with other mammalian species, have become more sophisticated, allowing us to have a broader emotional spectrum.

From this greater sophistication arise the secondary emotions, the emotions we are going to talk about.We are going to talk about these emotions below, in addition to mentioning some models that have tried to discover exactly how many human beings possess.

What are secondary emotions?

The human emotional spectrum is broad compared to that of other species, especially other mammals.especially the rest of the mammals. In addition to presenting the most basic emotions, such as anger, disgust, sadness, joy and fear, human beings have developed emotions that, in order to present themselves, it is very necessary to have a specific social context. These emotions are the secondary ones and, behind them, there is an important factor of learning and socialization.

It must be said that the study of secondary emotions is complicated because, to begin with, the study of primary emotions has also been complicated.

Although great figures such as Robert Plutchik and Paul Ekman have proposed models of primary emotions and, later, of secondary emotions, the scientific community has not clarified the scientific community, the scientific community has not been clear about what exactly these emotions are..

Brief introduction to primary emotions

Before going deeper into the idea of secondary emotions, it is necessary to make a brief review of the primary emotions proposed by both Plutchik and Paul Ekman.

For Robert Plutchik, American psychologist, primary emotions are those that we possess by nature, in an innate way.He postulated that these emotions, also known as "primary emotions", are the ones that we have by nature, innately, already manifesting at an early age, when we are still babies. He postulated that these emotions, also called basic, were the following:

• Joy: state of well-being and satisfaction with oneself and one's circumstances.
• Confidence: certainty that no harm will come to us in the situation we are in.
• Fear: uncertainty, associated with expectations that we may be harmed.
• Surprise: reaction to an unforeseen action around us.
• Sadness: mood decay, which has to need social support.
• Aversion: avoidance or rejection of someone or something.
• Anger: response to an offense or act that we did not like.
• Anticipation: expectation that we create based on information and previous experience of previous circumstances.

On the other hand, Paul Ekman considers that there are fewer primary emotions, considering them as universal aspects.that is to say, manifested in all people regardless of their culture. His studies took into account both Western and Eastern populations, including those with a reduced degree of globalization and literacy.

According to Ekman the primary emotions would be: anger, disgust, fear, joy, sadness and surprise. He indicated that the emotion of contempt could be universal, although research could not confirm it.

Models of secondary emotions

Plutchik considers that secondary emotions are nothing more than the combination of primary or basic emotions, giving emotions in which a higher level of thought and socialization is required behind them. In other words, if primary emotions are the instinctive response to the demands of the environment, secondary emotions are the sophisticated response with a clear social purpose.The secondary emotions are the sophisticated response, with a clear social purpose, to an environment with social stimulation, both positive and negative. It is for this reason that these emotions have also received the name of social, because for them to occur it is necessary to have established links with the social environment.

Secondary emotions are manifested on the basis of what has been learned throughout life, nurtured by experiences and enhanced by the social environment.They are nurtured by experiences and enhanced by expectations in different situations. Because they are learned and require a certain cognitive capacity, these emotions begin to develop around the age of 2 or 3 years, when the infant already has a strong bond with his or her caregivers and has had the opportunity to acquire certain linguistic proficiency.

What are the types of secondary emotions?

Given that models of emotions disagree about what are the primary emotions, it is to be expected that they will disagree even more about what are the secondary emotions. What can be said for sure is that most models, including Ekman's and Plutchik's, consider that Among the "universal" secondary emotions would be the following five.

1. Shame

Shame is the fear of not being considered valid or socially accepted by others.We may feel that we are in a status perceived as inferior to the one we would like to be in. This emotion causes us discomfort, causing us to try to avoid many situations, hide or try to adapt to the expectations of others at the expense of our own personality.

2. Guilt

Guilt arises from the feeling of having done something that we believe we should not have done.. It is an exhausting feeling and is a very heavy burden, making the person can not even move forward and even think that he/she deserves to be punished for it.

3. Pride

Pride means to be very satisfied with what you have done or how you are.. In its right measure, it is an adaptive and beneficial emotion, as it fosters the growth of self-esteem and security. However, in excess it can have negative repercussions in our social relationships.

4. Pleasure

Pleasure is a positive and pleasant sensation that is experienced when our needs are satisfied..

It is a very important aspect as a motivator for learning fundamental behaviors for our survival, such as eating, sleeping or reproducing, but it can also be extrapolated to other areas that do not have a Biological basis, such as hobbies, more complex social relationships or work.

The problem with pleasure is that, if it is given excessively, it could cover up fears and suppress responsible decision making, leading to dangerous consequences such as drug use or other risky behaviors.

5. Jealousy

Jealousy is felt when we perceive a threat to something that we consider our own, that either can hurt us or can be taken away from us.. In due measure, it can help us get what we want, however, in most cases jealousy arises from a lack of self-esteem and mistrust.

Ekman's model

During the 1990's Ekman expanded his model, incorporating new emotions. The classification of these emotions is somewhat controversial within the model because, although he maintains that they are still basic emotions, many of them could be considered secondary emotions, which is why Ekman himself would end up making his own distinction between those he originally considered universal (anger, disgust, fear, joy, sadness and surprise) and the following secondary ones:

• Guilt
• Embarrassment
• Contempt
• Complacency
• Enthusiasm
• Pride
• Pleasure
• Satisfaction
• Shame

There is no doubt that Ekman sees in the secondary emotions more complex states of mind than the primary emotions.They are the result of our growth and interaction with others. They are not as easily identifiable as the basic ones and, on many occasions, these are expressed simply by means of gestures such as a smile, the arching of the eyebrows or simply a small grimace, as may be the case of joy, anger or disappointment.

The wheel of emotions

Although he predates Ekman, Robert Plutchik, has a rather more complex model.. This model, known as the wheel of emotions, represents the basic emotions and how they combine to generate secondary emotions in the form of a graph.

For him, and more or less along the same lines as Ekman, the secondary emotions would be more sophisticated versions of the primary emotions. more sophisticated versions of the primary ones, highly dependent on the social context and arising from the combination of the basic emotions..

The secondary emotions proposed by Plutchik and the basic emotions from which he starts are the following.

• Aggression (Anger and Anticipation)
• Alarm (Fear and Surprise)
• Love (Joy and Confidence)
• Anxiety (Fear and Anticipation)
• Cynicism (Aversion and Anticipation)
• Guilt (Joy and Fear)
• Curiosity (Confidence and Surprise)
• Disappointment (Surprise and Sadness)
• Delight (Joy and Surprise)
• Despair (Fear and Sadness)
• Contempt (Aversion and Anger)
• Domination (Confidence and Anger)
• Envy (Sadness and Anger)
• Fatalism (Confidence and Anticipation)
• Disbelief (Surprise and Aversion)
• Indignation (Surprise and Anger)
• Morbidity (Joy and Aversion)
• Optimism (Joy and Anticipation)
• Pride (Joy and Anger)
• Pessimism (Sadness and Anticipation)
• Remorse (Sadness and Aversion)
• Sentimentality (Confidence and Sadness)
• Submission (Confidence and Fear)
• Shame (Fear and Disgust)

Final Reflection

As we have seen throughout the article, research on emotions is somewhat controversial. If from the beginning it has not been established with certainty which are the universal emotions, although it is more or less accepted that they are those proposed by Ekman, the secondary emotions that derive from them are a matter of lesser certainty.. What is known is that secondary emotions appear in contexts that are highly dependent on social stimuli, since they are acquired socially.

For example, fear is a primary emotion that appears in the presence of a threat that can harm us, whereas shame can arise because we have spilled a coffee on ourselves, soiled our pants and feel as if we have urinated. In this second case, our life does not depend on it, but our social integrity does: we care about what others think.

There is still a lot of research to be done and, although Paul Ekman's model is accepted as the most scientific and up-to-date, the subject of secondary emotions in particular and emotions in general will never cease to raise questions in the scientific community.

Bibliographical references:

• Ekman, P. (2008). Emotional Awareness: Overcoming the Obstacles to Psychological Balance and Compassion.
• Plutchik, Robert (1980), Emotion: Theory, research, and experience: Vol. 1. Theories of emotion, 1, New York: Academic
• Plutchik, Robert (2002), Emotions and Life: Perspectives from Psychology, Biology, and Evolution, Washington, DC: American Psychological Association
• Plutchik, Robert; R. Conte, Hope (1997), Circumplex Models of Personality and Emotions, Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.