Feelings in psychology are ... Types, characteristics of feelings

Feelings in psychology - this is one of the central themes that is of great interest to scientists, as well as ordinary people. This phenomenon accompanies a person constantly. As soon as we wake up in the morning, immediately we experience certain feelings, which can vary depending on various phenomena. What seems to us simple and ordinary, in fact is a complex system, which has been studied by specialists for several centuries.

What are feelings?

Feelings in psychology are a kind of reaction to various events or phenomena. Human life is impossible without them. And even if it becomes routine, without any vivid experiences, then people themselves begin to look for sharper sensations, listening to music, watching movies or doing sports, creativity. Particularly interesting is that a person needs not only positive, but also negative feelings associated with anger, resentment or mental suffering for a full-fledged existence.

Kinds of feelings in psychology

Because a person's feelings can not be the same in all circumstances, it is quite logical that they have their own classification. This implies a subdivision in accordance with the circumstances or conditions in which they arise. So, the kinds of feelings in psychology can be as follows:

• Higher feelings are everything that is connected with the society. Here we have in mind the attitude towards the surrounding people, the collective, as well as the state and society as a whole. We can say that these manifestations are the most stable, since during life they practically do not change. This category should also include those feelings that are associated with falling in love, sympathy and antipathy towards other people.
• Moral feelings, synonymous with conscience, also regulate the relationship between people. Guided by them, a person determines his behavior towards others. Morality and morality in many ways affect the actions and life position of a person.
• An integral part of a person's life can be considered practical feelings. They are related to work activity, which accompanies people throughout their life. Here we mean not only the attitude to work, but also the reaction to its positive or negative results. The sense of duty is one of the basic concepts in this category, which can be considered the main stimulus to work activity.
• Intellectual feelings are manifested in man from the very moment of his birth. They are associated with a continuous desire to learn something new, to analyze, to compare and draw conclusions. With the passage of time, due to the maturation of man, they acquire higher forms and manifestations.
• Aesthetic feelings are a person's ability to form correct ideas about the beautiful, reacting to nature or works of art. With this phenomenon, we meet every day, evaluating our appearance and others, facing something beautiful and ugly, elegant and tasteless and so on.

Emotions in Psychology

Speaking about such a phenomenon as emotions, many people, because of lack of knowledge, compare them with feelings. But this is not entirely fair. Emotion in psychology is a reaction (namely, an external manifestation) on certain phenomena, events or actions of stimuli. This is a kind of one of the components of such a thing as feelings. Emotions express externally what a person experiences deep within himself.

Emotional process is accompanied by such manifestations as:

• Interest in any phenomena or facts.
• Joy from positive events.
• Surprise, which can not be attributed to either positive or negative emotions, since it does not give a clear definition of the relationship to these or other facts.
• Suffering reflects the internal state caused by negative events.
• Anger can arise both in relation to a particular person, and to a group of individuals (in some cases, it can grow into contempt).
• Disgust is a negative emotion that can arise both in animate or inanimate objects, and in some circumstances.
• Fear occurs in a person in the event that there is a threat to his safety (also this may be due to the violation of the habitual way of life, the transition to new, unusual circumstances).
• Shame arises when a person is afraid of the reaction of others around his behavior.

If we express the correlation between the concepts studied more accurately, then we can say that the feelings are an emotional process.

Characteristic of feelings

Feelings in psychology are phenomena that imply the presence of a number of characteristics:

• Valence is one of the main characteristics that determine feelings. In accordance with this, a person can experience positive or negative emotions. Also, in some cases, they can be neutral (or, scientifically speaking, ambivalent).
• Intensity is the power with which these or other feelings arise. It can be insignificant when practically does not affect a person's mood. If the intensity is high, then the external emotional manifestation is appropriate.
• The intensity of feelings is a concept that determines their influence on human activity. So, in some cases, they can induce a person to be active, and sometimes - lead him into a relaxed, melancholic state.

How feelings affect the mood

The mood of a person is largely determined by the feelings that he experiences. Depending on what shade they have, people can behave one way or another, feeling themselves depressed or, on the contrary, - winged. So, we can distinguish the following positive feelings that contribute to the formation of a good mood:

• Gratitude associated with a positive attitude towards a person who has done a good deed;
• Love - affection for the person of the opposite sex;
• Admiration - is a manifestation of aesthetic pleasure ;
• Tenderness is a positive emotion caused by a person or an animal;
• Sympathy - predisposition to another person, associated with his appearance or positive actions;
• Passion - a strong attraction to a person or an object.

Negative feelings

Feelings in psychology are phenomena that can also be negative, influencing the mood accordingly. To them it is possible to carry:

• Jealousy - arises in the case of insufficient attention from close people;
• Antipathy - causeless or justified dislike for a person;
• Wine is a negative feeling that comes after a deliberately wrong act;
• Hatred - a feeling of hostility and anger, addressed to a particular person;
• Fear - negative feelings associated with a threat to human security.

How are feelings formed?

The formation of feelings occurs through a number of organs that transmit information about the environment to the central nervous system. Thanks to them, a person can see, hear, feel, smell or taste, making an impression about the environment, people around him or certain circumstances. For example, some feelings may arise in connection with watching an interesting film, listening to beautiful music, touching a particular surface, and also realizing the nature of taste or smell.

Another sense organ, which is often undeservedly forgotten to mention, is the vestibular apparatus. He performs such an important function as a sense of space and an understanding of his position in it. Another point that causes a lot of controversy in the scientific environment is intuition, or foresight. Thanks to this mechanism, a person can foresee the onset of a particular situation, pre-adjusting himself to a certain wave of positive or negative feelings.

Feelings and morals

Moral feelings - this is one of the highest emotional manifestations of a person, which is expressed in his attitude towards himself, the environment and society. The formation of these manifestations occurs throughout life. In the course of growing up, a person begins to get closer to the foundations and rules of the society in which he lives, as a result of which certain moral values arise. Despite the fact that this category of feelings is considered relatively constant, it can still undergo changes related to certain events in society or in personal life.

One of the most important manifestations of moral sensations is the sense of duty. This phenomenon is also formed with age, in the process of education and education, as well as self-knowledge. A sense of duty can have several levels and manifestations:

• To yourself - the commitment to achieve certain goals and so on;
• To others - family, friends, society;
• To labor collective - conscientious and responsible performance of work;
• To the state - a sense of patriotism and national dignity.

Types of emotional processes

Emotional process is a system of factors that regulate a person's physical or emotional activity, which arises as a reaction to environmental phenomena and irritants. It should be noted that at the moment there is no generally accepted theory that would give an accurate definition of this concept.

Speaking about the emotional process, it is worth noting the existence of several of its varieties:

• Affects - these are short-term, but quite strong emotional manifestations, which can be expressed by intense psychological or physical activity;
• Emotions give a person a subjective understanding of the situation, which in no way is connected with any specific objects;
• Feelings, unlike the previous category, express the attitude and reaction of a person associated with any specific objects;
• Moods are continuous emotional processes that are related to the general environment, which includes both phenomena and objects.

What are desires

The lack of any objects or sensations can also cause a certain feeling. Desire is one of the most common forms of manifestation of needs. This is not just an awareness of the lack of any objects or sensations, but also the ability to clearly answer a number of questions posed:

• What exactly do I want? The ability to clearly identify an object in which there is a need or an urgent need.
• Why do I want to? The ability to determine the motive that gave birth to the need for something.
• How to reach the goal? Knowing or searching for certain ways or ways that allow you to get the desired object or achieve a certain state.

Human feelings associated with desires can arise for a variety of reasons. They can be caused by both internal and external factors. Speaking of the former, it is worth mentioning a personal need or a lack of any benefits. Another reason for the emergence of desires can be the following of fashion, as well as the desire to imitate the stronger personalities or leaders of a social group.

A feeling like desire can last a long time, and can be quite permanent. In the first case, you can often talk about emotional needs that can not be filled with material goods. But the desires associated with any specific objects or objects, can change or even disappear because of a change in trends.

How to express feelings

The expression of feelings should be viewed not only as a definite phenomenon or process, but also as an objective need that is characteristic of each person. You can identify a number of specific functions that carry an expression of emotion:

• The communication function is that any person constantly needs communication. Feelings allow you to express and communicate to others your attitude to this or that phenomenon, and also to receive similar information from your interlocutor or opponent. People also express their attitude towards each other. It is worth noting that communication occurs not only through verbal communication, but also through gestures, views, movements and other manifestations.
• The manipulation function (influence or influence) allows a person to channel the actions and behaviors of other people in a certain direction. This process can occur due to a change in intonation and loudness of the voice, active gestures, as well as a certain facial expression. In addition, you can manipulate others by using certain statements that reflect your emotional state.
• The emotional function is to release the senses. The essence of this phenomenon is that psychological stress has the property to accumulate no matter what events or phenomena it was caused (positive or negative). Expressing his emotions, a person seeks to get rid of them. Having expressed his feelings to the interlocutor (verbally or with the help of gestures), a person can feel emotional relief, as well as relieve nervous tension. Psychologists are aware of cases when the inability to perform an emotional function led to serious mental or behavioral disorders.