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Annotation

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@. (n.d.). Why Do We Have

Emotions? Retrieved
September 26, 2016, from
https://www.psychologytoday.
com/blog/the-literarymind/200911/why-do-we-haveemotions

As humans we have two systems inside

of us at work, emotion and reason. Our
body needs a balance of both or mental
illness can result as an imbalance of the
two. We developed basic emotions like
fear and joy the same as some animals,
but we further developed reason as well
which is what sets us higher up
intellectually than other animals.
Thousands of years ago the emotional
instincts like fight or flight were
necessary to survive in the world, but in
todays modern society those instincts
dont help as much. They originally were
there for if we were in a situation say
with a dangerous animal, but they arent
as helpful when dealing with something
like a money crisis. Therapy for mental
illness these days often focuses on
keeping these two systems in balance,
balancing emotion with reason is what
creates a wise mind. A wise mind uses
reason to calm down emotion.

The two systems in work

inside of us work to keep us
normal functioning humans,
an imbalance can cause
mental illness. But what part
of the brain deals with
emotions? I want to know
more about where emotions
come from.

The Main Areas Involved with

Emotions. (n.d.). Retrieved
September 26, 2016, from
http://www.cerebromente.org.
br/n05/mente/struct_i.htm

The main part of the brain that deals

with anything to do with our emotions is
the cerebrum. Inside the temporal lobe
there is a little small almond like
structure known as the Amygdala that
plays a huge role inside our brain. It
deals with emotions like friendship, love
and affection; and also fear rage and
aggression. In a dangerous situation the
Amygdala is what triggers our fight or
flight response by raising our fear and
anxiety; these responses are also part of
the limbic system which deals with
primitive, survival based emotions.
Another structure within the brain the
Thalamus is also involved in our
emotions. Stimulation of the medial

There are many different

parts of the brain that aid in
some way with controlling
emotions, or responding to
emotions. Do animals brains
work the same way? Do they
perceive emotion the same
way we do?

dorsal of the thalamus is associated with

changes in emotional reactivity.

(n.d.). Retrieved September 26,

2016, from
http://science.howstuffworks.c
om/life/what-areemotions.htm

Most psychologists agree that a basic

emotion like anger is an evolutionary
trigger; meaning its a response to a
situation. This suggests that no matter
who you are, a situation like say being
hit in the nose, will result in you feeling
anger. The subject of emotions can be
researched medically and
psychologically, in psychology emotions
can be divided into two parts; they are
either the result of a judgment of a
situation, for example if we experience
disgust, it could be the result of a
judgment of how we feel when we see
vomit. The other part says emotion can
be a result of perception of changes
taking place within our body. There are
also some emotions thought to be
higher emotions that only humans can
feel, such as pride, guilt or
embarrassment. Most animals dont feel
emotions like those.

Do people who have mental

illnesses process anger
differently than normal
people? Would they react
the same way to being hit in
the face.

Your Emotional Brain. (n.d.).

Retrieved September 26, 2016,
from
http://www.amnh.org/exhibiti
ons/brain-the-insidestory/your-emotional-brain/

Your brain receives information from

two sources; senses and emotions.
Senses tell your brain what is going on in
the world around you, while your
emotions exist inside your body to tell
you how you feel about what is going
on. Emotions are also controlled by the
levels of different chemicals in your
brain. Your brain sends out chemicals to
alert you, and chemicals to calm you
down. Now, what is love?
Neuroscientists havent found the
answer to that question yet. But they
have learned more about how when
people bond, certain emotions are
produced in the brain. Not only in
humans, but in animals as well. If you

How does having parts of

your brain damaged affect
how you process emotions?
How can we figure out what
love is, what chemical is
released in the body to make
us feel love.

were to study how a mother ape cares

for her young, she provides affection the
same way a human mother does.

Barrett, L. F., Mesquita, B.,

Ochsner, K. N., & Gross, J.
J. (2007). The Experience of
Emotion. Retrieved October
04, 2016, from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.go
v/pmc/articles/PMC1934613
/

Emotions define us as humans. More

precisely, emotions are subjective
internal experiences that involve both a
mental state and a physiological state.
An example of the mental state would
be things like love, anxiety, hate, and
anger. The physiological state consists of
feeling things such as a racing heart, or
feeling pressure building up inside us
when we get angry. So emotions can be
physical and mental. Another example
of the physiological state would be the
fight or flight response, when our body
releases chemicals that raise our
adrenaline. For an emotion to be
experienced both the physiological state
and mental state needs to be present.
You cant feel anger without feeling the
pressure building inside you just like you
cant feel love without feeling the
butterflies in your stomach. Now,
most people label emotions as either
good or bad (happiness vs. sadness), but
psychologists today believe that we
should view all emotions as good, but
just that some are pleasant and some of
unpleasant.

The physiological state of

emotions explains a lot of
what we feel when we get
excited, or scared, or angry.

H. (n.d.). What Is the

Purpose of Our Emotions?
Retrieved October 04, 2016,
from
https://www.verywell.com/t
he-purpose-of-emotions2795181

Emotions can play an important role in

how we think and behave. Our emotions
can be short lived, such as being briefly
annoyed at a co-worker or long term,
like lasting sadness over the loss of a
relationship. The emotions we feel each
day can influence the decisions we make
in our lives. Emotions can motivate us to
take action, for example you have big
test coming up and you are nervous
about getting a good score, therefore
that could motivate you to study harder

This article really shows how

emotions affect our everyday
lives, even if we dont realize
it.

so you can insure you get a good grade.

Emotions can also help us make
decisions, whether it be deciding what
to eat for breakfast or deciding who to
vote for in the election. Researchers
have also found that people with certain
types of brain damage affecting their
ability to feel emotions have a
decreased ability to make good
decisions. Emotions allow other people
to understand us by the way we express
and deal with our emotions.
Johnston, V. S. (1999). Why we
feel: The science of human
emotions. Reading, MA:
Perseus Books.

Walton, S. (2004). A natural

history of human emotions.
New York: Grove Press.

Different social situations evoke

different emotions, for example we
could propose that an emotion like fear
is evoked by the expectation of events
that trigger a negative tone. What is it
about emotions that make them
adaptive? Emotions can be difficult to
study since they cannot be measured
directly and we are forced to rely on
verbal reports. Emotions are also usually
accompanied by certain behaviors, for
example laughing or crying. Facial
expressions like smiling or frowning is
also accompanied with emotions.
Humans are social animals, and the
ability to form social bonds is crucial for
survival. When born, we possess a
number of primary emotions
(happiness, sadness, anger and fear).
The emotion of happiness is expressed
during the first few weeks of life and
seems to be initially evoked by events
that satisfy bodily needs such as feeding.
The number of emotions a baby can
show/ feel increases as they grow. For
example between weeks 6-10 a baby
can begin to smile and show pleasure.
Fear is one of the instinctual
emotions that humans have
possessed from the
beginning of their creation. If
it were possible to decide

The world around us plays a

role in dictating our
emotions. Our everyday lives
can have an influence in the
emotions we feel.

All the emotions we have inside

of us that we feel, we were
born with and humans have had
for thousands of years. The

Miller, F. D., & Attig, T.

(1979). Understanding
human emotions. Bowling
Green, OH: Applied
Philosophy Program, The
University.

which of humanities emotions

is the oldest, then fear would
be the strongest claim. For
example, the crashing of
thunder appeared to be the
rage of elemental powers that
were displeased, but could
be assuaged by rituals.
People would make offerings
and sacrifices out of fear. If it
is fear though that motivates
the turn towards a primitive
theology, what exactly was
our Paleolithic ancestor
frightened of, other than
unpredictable elements. One
thing we have in common
with our ancestors from
centuries ago is this: the fear
of death or that of his family.
Its a primal terror that
humans felt that motivated all
of their devotional and
cultural practices. Fear of
course, during the Paleolithic
era, was much more
important to survival than it is
these days. Fear is what
motivates humans to fight out
in the wild, versus now we
fear things like failing a test
or receiving a job. Not exactly
life threatening but still fear
motivates us to do good and
to succeed.
When we know another
person's emotions, we know
a great deal about how he or
she is likely to behave, and
can take measures to prevent
the anticipated results. A
motivation to act in certain
definite ways is an essential
feature of emotions. For
example, when we are angry,
we are angry at someone or
something for having done
something. When we are
afraid, we are afraid of
someone or something that
they might do something or

emotions that we feel and deal

with, or ancestors had to deal
with as well.

Studying the emotions of those

close to us and understanding
how each person handles their
emotions can help us to avoid
confrontations.

bring about certain

consequences. When we say
we are angry at our sister or
we are afraid of the dog we
are not giving the full subject
matter of the emotions. To
have a subject matter with
your emotion you have to
have a characteristic or
description with it, for
example, I am angry at my
sister for hitting me, That
includes a subject matter.
Being motivated to act in
certain ways follows from the
evaluation of the subject
matter. Also, many emotional
episodes have the
characteristics of being selfperpetuating, meaning we
dwell upon certain thoughts
that we cant get out of our
mind. Sort of like a temporary
obsession, we are so ruled
by our emotions that we let it
affect us all the way to the
point of depression.
Human emotions and
technology. (n.d.).
Retrieved from
www.quora.com

Human emotions and the

ability to connect with
others' is highly
questionable. There will be
a point where technology
goes so far that humans will
become disconnected and
live a virtual life.
Technology, in the future
may suppress human
emotions, as humans will
have lost touch with the
ability to connect with
people, all due to
technological
advancements. Right now,
couples in coffee shops will
be playing with their smart
phone, versus if their phone
wasnt there, they would be
engaging more in
conversation. Technology

We may not realize it but

technology is changing the way
we communicate, which in turn
changes the way we feel
emotions. It is like a domino
effect, technology is having
major impacts on us.

does influence emotions, we

can connect better digitally,
but face-to-face connections
will diminish with each new
technological breakthrough
that occurs in the future.
People need to learn how to
put their phones down and
unplug, literally. Everyone
and everything is wanting to
make the world more
technologically advanced,
but I think there are some
things that need to be left
alone, or before we know it
technology will control our
lives.