Complex emotions: what are they, types and list

Human beings have the ability to have a wide range of emotions that we feel throughout life according to different situations that we live. Sometimes, we can detect a certain type of emotion that appears in an isolated way that we can recognize but at other times we perceive a series of unified feelings. Are you interested in knowing more about this topic? In this Psychology-Online article we will provide you with information about what are complex emotions, their types and the list of them.

Index

1. What are complex emotions
2. Types of complex emotions
3. What are complex emotions

Has it happened to you that you have felt a mixture of anger and sadness at the same time? Have you perceived in your body that an exaltation of joy but fear arises simultaneously for a new job? Unlike animals, which are only guided by instinct that determines a single emotion, people can have two or more emotions at the same time that vary depending on the moment we are going through.

To begin with, we must make an attempt to differentiate between basic emotions and complex emotions. When we talk about basic emotions, we refer to bodily sensations that occur naturally. In other words, they are responses determined by the genes of each person that will give rise to survival mechanisms. Specifically, joy, fear, disgust, anger, surprise and sadness correspond to the basic emotions that are part of the life of a human being. These emotions may be accompanied by some related behaviors and the presence of words or sounds, while in other cases this does not happen since words and actions do not always go hand in hand with emotions basic. We must know that these reactions are not exclusive to human beings since animals can also experience these sensations during their life. In this article, we explain The 6 basic emotions according to psychology.

On the other hand, we have at complex emotions. These types of emotions are the result of a combination of basic emotions and they manifest themselves in situations that involve contact with some stimulus that produces them. How do complex emotions arise? What is the origin of complex emotions? There is the possibility that they arise in a certain social context since they are typical of the human being and are not present in animals.

Here you can see the Classification of emotions and The difference between primary and secondary emotions.

Returning to the previous point, there are several complex emotions that it is necessary to distinguish since their meaning is changing. We will divide this section into three types of complex emotions:

• Social emotions: they correspond to reactions that belong to individuals who are part of a society in specific situations. This means that the meaning of these emotions will be given as long as there are other people who can make sense of and understand these types of responses. For example, someone at a party may regret yelling at a guest. Here, regret is a complex emotion.
• Aesthetic emotions: consists of the way each person finds to respond to stimuli that are linked to aesthetics. This can include art, love, literature, music, among others. A person may feel great admiration for a portrait made by an artist. In this case, the complex emotion lies in admiration.
• Moral emotions: When we refer to this type of complex emotion, we will say that it is about physical reactions that people manifest in the face of certain guidelines imposed by a society. As an example, we can think of the violation of a traffic rule. Faced with this event, one of the complex emotions that could arise consists of regret, guilt, indignation.

Finally, we can make a list of complex emotions that allows us to recapitulate the information we already have. As a result, the list may be as follows:

• Shame
• Fault
• Pleasure
• Pride
• Satisfaction
• Enthusiasm
• Irony
• Repentance
• Admiration
• Infignation
• Frustration
• Boredom
• Compassion
• Tranquility
• Disappointment
• Abandonment
• Loneliness
• Enthusiasm
• Astonishment
• Confusion
• Shock
• Burden
• Worry
• Rejection
• Ridiculous
• Jealousy
• Resentment
• Pain
• Hate
• Disappointment
• Despair
• Melancholia
• Empty
• Indifference

As we can notice, these emotions result from a mixture of basic emotions that are found from the birth of the human being. Unlike this class of emotions, complex emotions develop throughout a person's life through the experiences they have at a social level with their environment. However, sometimes these reactions can lead to a variety of problems that may be difficult to cope with. Given this, there are some alternatives that provide solutions such as psychological therapy, medication, mindfulness, among others. This type of approach takes into account the characteristics of each person such as age, sex, medical history family members, pre-existing diseases, family history and sociocultural context to suggest a treatment suitable.

In this article, you can see 30 types of emotions and their meaning.

If you want to know how to work with complex emotions, we recommend the following articles on How to manage emotions and How to keep an emotion diary.

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 Complex emotions: what are they, types and list, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.

• Cossini, F. C., Yanina, W., Politis, D. G. (2017). How many are the basic emotions? Preliminary study in a sample of healthy older adults. Research Yearbook, 14 (1), 253-257.
• Gil, M. (2016). The Complexity of Human Emotional Experience: Animal Emotion, Biology, and Culture in Martha Nussbaum's Theory of Emotions. University of Valencia, Faculty of Psychology.
• Pinedo Cantillo, I. A., Yáñez-Canal, J. (2020). Basic emotions and complex moral emotions: understanding keys and classification criteria from a cognitive perspective. National University of Colombia, Faculty of Psychology.