The concept and function of emotions

What is an emotion? This is a process that reflects the subjective evaluation, experience and attitude of a person to the world around him, to the ongoing or possible external events and situations, to the internal state of his organism, to his own actions and actions. Everything that a person does, experiences, with what he interacts, generates various emotions.

Ancient philosophers treated emotions extremely negatively, believing that emotional outbursts interfere with a person, destroy his reasonable activity. With such an attitude in our day, one can encounter in legal practice, where the state of affect, which leads to loss of control over the action at the time of the crime, is seen as a mitigating factor. However, emotions in the evolutionary development of man as a biological species played a positive role. According to researchers, a person has the richest and most diverse emotional world in comparison with other animals, therefore, emotions play a certain and very important role in his survival, development and improvement.

Functions of emotions

One of the most important functions of emotional experiences is the function of motivation or mobilization, which stimulates or inhibits a person in the performance of a certain activity and manifests itself, first of all, at the physiological level. Depending on the situation, emotions direct or control the activity of a person.

Organizing functions of emotions draw strength and attention to one activity, while preventing the implementation of its other kind and acting in this case as a disorganizing factor. For example, the state of affect in certain cases can be useful, disabling the mind and mobilizing the internal hidden physical resources of the human body in a situation of danger to life.

Evaluation functions of emotions allow, before the mind joins, determine the significance of the current situation, the internal state of the organism or an external stimulus, and direct a further process of conscious processing of the received information into a certain channel.

Regulatory functions of emotions in psychology are also called functions of fixation - inhibition, trace formation, reinforcement. They are one of the mechanisms regulating the internal activity of a person, aimed at meeting certain needs. Any need generates emotional experiences that can have on it and the prediction of its satisfaction has a different impact. For example, fear can interfere with the realization of a specific need, and the excitement and joy of small successes contribute to the achievement of the ultimate goal. Experience of negative and positive emotions, connected with successes and failures in life, leaves in the person's experience significant "notches" that help in similar situations to choose adequate forms of behavioral reactions.

The regular functions of emotions logically flow into an anticipatory function, which is aimed at motivating future actions. Emotions, as a rule, outstrip the development of events and, depending on their characteristics, indicate a favorable or negative result. The emotional experience gained in the past is always used to predict the future.

Communicative functions of emotions are closely related to such a concept as empathy - empathy, "entry" into the emotional world of another person, which promotes communication and mutual understanding of people. The emotional state is often contagious. One has to laugh, and he "infects" the whole group with his laughter. Such properties of emotional states are possible only because a person is able to understand and accept the experiences of another.

The communicative function of emotions is very important in infancy, when children are not yet able to speak, and emotional communication is the only way for them to interact with the environment.

The main functions of emotions are important regulators in the knowledge of the surrounding world. They promote a better understanding of the internal state and external events and phenomena, and set people up for joint activities.