""Michael McGinnis (Volt Technical)"" <a-micham at microsoft.com> wrote in
message
news:012E4D835491A2489BB3B9AD7F086FF25D0800 at red-msg-05.redmond.corp.microsof
t.com...
> How many emotions are there?
>> Is there a well-established discrete number? Maybe 7?
>> Is it thought that emotions are like colors; A full, multi-dimensional
> spectrum defined by mixing of a fixed number of component
> emotions?
>> It seems like there would be discrete brain structures associated with
each
> emotion... structures that would come into play when we emotionally
> categorize situations and experiences.
>Just found this and thought it pertinant to your question (from LeDoux "The
Emotional Brain")
Plutchik's 8 basic emotions:
Fear
Acceptance
Joy
Anticipation
Anger
Disgust
Sadness
Suprise
Psychosocially derived emotions:
joy + acceptance = friendliness
Fear + suprise = alarm
joy + fear = guilt
sadness + anger = sullenness
joy + suprise = delight
anticipation + fear = anxiety
This is obviously not the only taxonomy. I suggest you have a look at the
LeDoux book - it has quite a lengthy discussion about this (I couldn't be
bothered to read it though...)
