7 DIFFERENCES between EMOTION and FEELING in psychology

The concepts of emotion and feeling are often confused because they seem to have a great similarity, so much so that even in psychology they can often be used as if they were synonyms. However, we are talking about two different experiences. We have used the words emotion and feeling all our lives to try to describe what we we experience internally and that it is a subjective event, since each person experiences the situations of different way.

It is important to learn the meaning of both concepts and know how to differentiate them, since this can help us to know and understand ourselves better. This is why in this Psychology-Online article, we are going to explain in detail what is the difference between emotion and feeling in psychology.

Index

1. What are emotions in psychology
2. What are feelings
3. Differences between emotion and feeling according to psychology

As we have commented previously, to discover the difference between emotion and

In neuroscience it is said that emotion is the chemical reaction that occurs in our brain as a response to a new external stimulus and that results in an alteration in our body.

The area of ​​our brain that causes an emotion to occur is the limbic system and it is here where the experiences that we are having are memorized or recorded, that is why in the Most of the time we are predisposed to react in a specific way to certain stimuli.

For example, when when we were little we burned our hands by touching a very hot object or approaching the fire, we learn that the fact of doing so will produce pain and being close to a situation where we run the risk of burning ourselves to a greater or lesser extent, this will generate a feeling of afraid. That is, we learn that to certain stimuli in particular we are going to have a certain physical reaction.

These reactions can be different. To know the types of emotions, in this article you will find a list of positive and negative emotions.

Examples of emotions

Some examples of what emotions are are the following:

• When you've been promoted at your job, you feel very happy at that time And surely in the days or weeks that come but there comes a time when you stabilize again and you no longer feel the great emotion of happiness that you experienced a few days before.
• When you are in love, you feel with an unequaled energy, you are in a state of alert at all hours thinking about the next meeting with that person, you feel the famous butterflies in your stomach, among others emotions associated with falling in loveHowever, after a time of relationship with that person, even years, you no longer feel so many emotional ups and downs and you stabilize again.
• You arranged to see your best friend to go out for a drink, you have been planning that outing in advance since you have a lot of work, you cancel several activities to meet him (her) and at the time of the hour she tells you that she will not be able to go. In the beginning you will feel upset And even sad, however, after a few hours or days, that emotion will pass.

After seeing what the emotions, in order to understand the difference between emotion and feelings, we will see what are feelings.

The definition of feeling is as follows: a feeling it's a affective state that is generated from an emotion, however, it occurs in a more conscious way since people can choose to maintain that mood for a long period of time as opposed to emotion that has a short duration.

This means that a feeling goes from being something more instinctive, such as emotion, and for it to be generated there must be a reasoning caused by a thought that makes the person nourish it and become something lasting.

Examples of feelings

Some examples from everyday life where you can appreciate what a feeling is are the following:

• A person who has been in a relationship for some time in a way (at first she was in love and felt all kinds of strong emotions when be with that person), however, when the infatuation stage is finally over and the person has stopped feeling all those emotional ups and downs, you decide less instinctively and more rationally to continue the relationship because you really love her, that is, feel love as feeling. So despite him he no longer feels all those emotions that he caused him the act of falling in love Like butterflies in your stomach, you choose to stick with it because you experience something more lasting like the feeling of unconditional love.
• When our father or mother asks us to do something and we react at that moment in an irritable and angry way so anger takes over us and we talk to them wrong, later, when we are calmer and can think and act less impulsively, we realize that we are exaggerating and we should not have answered So. We remain thinking objectively about our actions and a guilty feeling As a result of the objective analysis of what we did, that is, it was no longer something that we instinctively began to feel as the emotion of anger and rage. Discover what is guilt in psychology.
• The love we feel towards our parents It is a feeling that can last a lifetime or when we consciously decide to continue loving our partner for a lifetime or a long period of time.

If we talk about the difference between emotions and feelings, it is also necessary to mention that they can be experienced from different levels of intensity and both can be quite intense or quite the opposite, depending on how they are lived and the specific situations they are going through person. But,what are the differences between emotion and feeling? Are they really very different concepts?

After having explained the concept of emotion and feeling, as well as having given you some examples of what means experiencing each of them, we are going to know what are the main differences between emotions and feelings in psychology.

1. The origin

A difference between emotion and feeling is the origin of the same. We see it below:

• Emotions are something more instinctive and automatic that are generated without being aware of the situation, they simply appear and we come to experience more intensely the reactions they provoke in our body.
• Unlike feelings that cease to be instinctive and go through a kind of mental filter where we can think more rationally, so we value and evaluate the experience.

2. The order

• Emotion is an immediate, unconscious reaction that always comes first.
• The feeling arises slowly after the information received from the emotions and thoughts and the interpretation of them.

3. The duration

• Emotions have a short duration.
• However, feelings can be prolonged as long as we want, they can even last a lifetime.

4. Involvement of thoughts

• Emotions are immediate reactions not mediated by reason, first the emotion is felt and then it is aware that it is felt.
• The way of interpreting emotions is what will determine feelings, which are mediated by thoughts.

5. Universality

• Emotions are universal and everyone experiences them.
• Not all people have to experience all feelings.

6. The intensity

• Although both can be felt in different degrees of intensity, by nature, emotions erupt abruptly and are felt more strongly.
• On the other hand, feelings are stable and can be rationally felt deeper, but their physical sensations are not as strong or intense as in the case of emotions.

7. The consequences

• Emotions move us and motivate us to action. So that these intense but ephemeral states do not dominate you, you can learn techniques for managing emotions.
• While feelings, being more durable and stable, influence our decisions and our lifestyle.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Difference between emotion and feeling in psychology, we recommend that you enter our category of Emotions.

• Aguiló, A. (2013). Educate feelings (Vol. 63). Word.
• Marina, J. A., & Penas, M. L. (2000). Dictionary of feelings. Anagram.
• Vivas, M., Gallego, D. J., & González, B. (2007). Educate the emotions. Dikinson.