An emotion is a process through 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 previous definition we can think that it is a completely individual process or experience; However, emotions are also relational phenomena, as they are loaded with cultural meanings that allow us to act and interact in certain ways.
In relation to this and developing a route that goes from facial expressiveness to social functions, passing through cognitive functions; in this article We will see 10 scientific keys about the power of emotions.
These are some of the key ideas that help understand the importance of emotions.
1. Body postures and facial recognition
Emotions shape our body postures, they are reflected in our gestures in our way of speaking, sitting, walking and addressing others. We can easily distinguish if someone feels nervous, sad, angry, happy, etc.
One of the most influential and recent theories on emotions in relation to facial expressiveness has been that of Paul Ekman, who, in addition to making different contributions on basic emotions, perfected the facial coding system developed in Sweden, which allowed different emotions to be recognized through involuntary movements of the facial, eye and head muscles.
Among other things, the theory of basic emotions has suggested that there is a certain number of emotions that we experience in order to respond appropriately or adaptively to certain stimuli. From this perspective, emotions are understood as neuropsychological phenomena that motivate or facilitate adaptive behaviors.
3. Behavior and decision making
From the above, a behaviorist perspective of emotions also emerges, from which we understand that the 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 and long term ; depending on whether the emotion experienced was pleasant or unpleasant.
4. Reasoning and thought patterns
Emotions also allow us to develop processing and thinking schemes, which in turn display 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 and attention consolidation, which is why 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 emotionally charged experiences.
For example, neuroscientist Francisco Mora says that the brain learns through emotion. In other words, without the presence of emotions, the basic elements of the learning process do not exist, such as curiosity, attention and memory. The same researcher has invited us to explore and stimulate the above from the first school stages.
Something that the study of emotions has made evident is the relationship between mood and somatic activity. In this sense, the topic of somatization (how emotions can generate important organic discomfort) has been widely 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 relations
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 a certain interaction possible.
They allow us, among other things, negotiate and reflect on behaviors that we may or may not repeat in every 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 certain contexts), as well as desires and subjectivities.
Through emotions we deploy mechanisms of control and surveillance of ourselves and others, which allow 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 and of a given moment. For example, we can recognize more or less emotional subjects, and certain emotions are allowed in depending on whether they are women, men, boys, girls.
However, although through emotions we reproduce social norms and power relations, emotional appropriation does not occur passively but rather reflexively: it helps to resolve contradictions and act in accordance with what is expected of each person. For this reason, emotions have the potential to be both social re-producers and processes of change.
