The power of emotions (9 scientific keys)

Emotions should not be underestimated: they are as or more important than reason.

An emotion is a process by which cognitive and sensory information about an external stimulus is transmitted from the body's pathways to the spinal cord, forming synapses and stimulating both hormonal secretion and the activity of glands, muscles and tissues.

If we take into account only the above definition we may think that it is a completely individual process or experience; however, emotions are also relational phenomena, in that they are loaded with cultural meanings that allow us to act and interact in certain ways.

In relation to this and elaborating a path that goes from facial expressivity to social functions, passing through cognitive functions; in this article we will see 10 scientific clues about the power of emotions..

The power of emotions in 10 scientific keys.

These are some of the key ideas that help to understand the importance of emotions.

1. Body postures and facial recognition

Emotions shape our body postures, they are reflected in our gestures, in the way we speak, sit, walk and address others. We can easily distinguish whether someone is feeling nervous, sad, angry, happy, and so on.

One of the most influential and recent theories about emotions in relation to the expression of emotions. about emotions in relation to facial expressivity is the most influential and recent theoryPaul Ekman, who in addition to making several contributions on basic emotions, perfected the facial coding system developed in Sweden, which allowed the recognition of different emotions through involuntary movements of the facial, eye and head muscles.

2. Adaptive and evolutionary character

Among other things, the theory of basic emotions has suggested that there is a certain number of emotions that we experience in order to be able to respond appropriately or adaptively to certain stimuli. From this perspective, emotions are understood as neuropsychological phenomena as neuropsychological phenomena that motivate or facilitate adaptive behaviors..

3. Behavior and decision making

From the above, we also derive a behaviorist perspective of emotions, from which we understand that emotion itself functions as a consequence, positive or negative, that allows us to discriminate between which behaviors to reproduce and under what circumstances.

In other words, experiencing certain emotions at certain times allows us to modify our behaviors in the medium term. enables us to modify our behaviors in the medium and long termdepending on whether the emotion experienced was pleasant or unpleasant.

4. Reasoning and thinking schemes

Emotions also allow us to elaborate processing and thinking schemes, which in turn unfold a set of possibilities for action. In other words, emotions predispose us to action and allow us to generate attitudes, conclusions, projects, plans and decisions. They also facilitate the process of memory consolidation and attention, so they play an important role in cognition.

5. Conduct teaching-learning processes

In relation to the above, one of the central functions of emotions, which has been especially studied and disseminated in recent years, is the possibility of facilitating teaching-learning processes through experiences with an affective charge.

For example, the neuroscientist Francisco Mora states that the brain learns through emotion. In other words, without the presence of emotions, the basic elements of the learning process, such as curiosity, attention and memory, do not exist. The same researcher has invited to explore and stimulate the above from the early school stages.

6. Cognitive-emotional processes and somatization

One thing that the study of emotions has made evident is that the relationship between mood and somatic activity. In this sense, the issue of somatization (how emotions can generate significant organic discomfort) has been extensively studied. Among other things, neurophysiology has proposed that clinical somatization is directly related to a specific activity of the central nervous system; specifically the amygdala, cingulate cortex and prefrontal areas.

7. Regulators of social relationships

A part of sociology has proposed for several decades that emotions also function as social regulators. For example, it has been studied how annoyance, guilt, shame, and sympathy make certain interactions possible.

They allow us, among other things, negotiate and reflect on the behaviors that we may or may not repeat in each social situation. in each social situation. In the same sense, through emotions we generate cognitive and affective identification frameworks that allow us to interact with others,

8. Social norms and subjectivities

In the psychosocial field we can see that emotions mark agency (possibilities of action in given contexts), as well as modes of desires and subjectivities.

Through emotions we deploy mechanisms of control and surveillance of ourselves and others, which allow us to feel and behave as we do. and others, allowing us to feel and behave in a way that is socially recognized as appropriate.. Societies in our time define individuals according to the emotions they experience or manifest.

9. Reproduction and social change

Generally, emotions correspond to the dominant values of a society at a given time. For example, we can recognize more or less emotional subjects, and certain emotions are permitted in depending on whether they are women, men, boys or girls..

However, although through emotions we reproduce social norms and power relations, emotional appropriation does not occur passively but reflexively: it helps to resolve contradictions and act in correspondence with what is expected of each person. Therefore, emotions have the potential to be both social re-producers and processes of change.