Joy definition in psychology. Channeling

Let us give a description of the external manifestations of some experiences, especially emotions and feelings.

1.Confusion (confusion):

the head turns away from the observer;
the gaze is directed downward, while it moves to the side;
smile pursed lips- “restrained smile”;
touching your face with your hand.

2.Joy:

eyebrows and forehead are calm;
the lower eyelids and cheeks are raised, the eyes are squinted, there are wrinkles under the lower eyelids;
“crow’s feet” - light wrinkles radiating from the internal corners eye;
the mouth is closed, the corners of the lips are pulled to the sides and raised.

Expressions of joy are already visible in infants. They react to their mother with a smile, which involves the zygomaticus major muscle and the orbicularis oculi muscle - Dagen's smile. In a smile to a stranger Only the zygomaticus major muscle is activated. Generally speaking, smiles different types enough. I.E. Repin presented the following types of laughter: a subtle smile, a vulgar smile, a simple-minded laughter, a cheerful laughter, a mocking laughter, a healthy laughter (of a fat man), a hefty laughter (ready to result in a hefty brawl), a stupid laughter (of a degenerate with a small head and protruding ears), rustic laughter (of a narrow-minded, plump subject), good-natured laughter, sarcastic smile, subtly ironic smile, malicious smile (a person has “on his own mind”), a gaping smile (14 in total).

L.N. Tolstoy, as you know, described 97 shades of a smile, expressing not only joy, but also other feelings (he also knew about the existence of 85 different eye expressions). At the height of manifestation, joy reaches the level of jubilation, and motor and speech revival occurs, sometimes with verbal iterations of joy. Like, for example, A.S. Pushkin, who, extremely delighted with his creative success, suddenly quickly walked back and forth, every now and then saying: “Oh yes Pushkin, oh yes son of a bitch!”

3. Attention to something sudden, unexpected:

horizontal folds across the entire width of the forehead;
raising eyebrows;
raising the eyelids - “making big eyes.”

4.Mental stress:

two vertical folds on the nose bridge. Pythagoras, knowing this from his own experience, said: “Do not consult with those whose foreheads are smooth - they do not think”;
eyebrows hang over the eyes;
eyebrows are turned from arched to horizontal.

tightly compressed lips;
tension in the muscles of the body, hence the vivacity of movements.

6.Sadness:

the eyebrows are drawn out into a straight line, their inner corners are raised, their outer corners are lowered;
several transverse wrinkles form on the middle third of the forehead;
several vertical folds appear on the bridge of the nose (a sign of concentration on problems);
the eyes are slightly narrowed and become dull (“dull gaze”);
the corners of the mouth are lowered;
the pace of movements and speech is slowed (a sign of “weak will”).

7. Malice:

eyebrows are elongated horizontal line, their inner corners are lowered, their outer corners - in contrast to sadness, are raised - the face of Mephistopheles;
Transverse folds form on the nose bridge.

8.Fear:

transverse wrinkles on the forehead, in the center of the forehead they are deeper than at the edges;
wide eyes (“look with all eyes” so as not to miss anything);
raising the eyelids so that the white of the eyes is exposed between the upper eyelid and the iris;
the eyebrows rise, become arched and are brought down to the bridge of the nose (an expression of helplessness);
the mouth is open (“jaw dropped”);
the corners of the mouth are sharply drawn back (an expression of a delayed cry for help);
transverse wrinkles in the anterior region of the neck (a rudiment of shrinking - “would curl up into a ball”);
freezing in place or randomly throwing (paralysis of will or flight movements);
dry mouth, pale face (the first is a sign that was taken into account by ancient lie detectors; the second has long been known to commanders - A. Macedonian, according to legend, did not take into his army people who turned pale in moments of danger). Bowlby adds to external signs fear, a wary and tense gaze directed towards the source of the threat, as well as trembling in the legs, arms and body.

External manifestations of fear are close to those of surprise, this confirms the related nature of fear and surprise. The difference between them, it is believed, is that fear is focused on consequences. threatening situation, and surprise - at its reasons. In manifestations of bewilderment and confusion, such a characteristic gesture as spreading the arms to the sides is often added - a sign of the inability to act or understand something.

9.Anger or “attack to fight” (Darwin):

the head is thrown back and half-turned towards the object of anger;
the palpebral fissures are narrowed, angular, or, on the contrary, exophthalmos appears;
eyebrows are lowered, they accept horizontal position and are brought down to the bridge of the nose so that vertical folds appear between the eyebrows;
an unwavering gaze at the object of anger (L.N. Tolstoy);
noisy breathing;
clenched fists;
exposure of fangs;
scleral hyperemia (“eyes are bloodshot”);
teeth clenched, teeth grinding, lips tightly compressed.

Anger is one element of the triad of hostility, which also includes disgust and contempt. This affect is much more often than others transformed into pathological.

10. Suspiciousness:

a fixed gaze fixed on the object of suspicion;
a sidelong glance (an expression of the desire to distance oneself from the object of the threat);
weak closure of lips (expression of uncertainty);
the body is oriented away from the object of threat (an expression of the desire to leave, to move away from danger);
signs of anger.

I.A. Sikorsky points to a completely realistic artistic image suspicion - a portrait of the Bavarian king Ludwig XI, who suffered from paranoia. The king committed suicide - he drowned himself, drowning at the same time, as happens in cases of extended suicide, and Professor V.A. Gudden (who described the eye syndrome with his name in alcoholic encephalopathy and severe alcoholic delirium: miosis, anisocoria, absence and weakening of photoreaction, convergence disorder). Realist artists generally pay a lot of attention to depicting acts of expression, thereby penetrating inner world prototypes of characters in paintings, in contrast to artists of the formalist movement in art. In the paintings of the latter, it is not always possible to determine even the gender or age of the character, not to mention his psychology.

11.Envy (from Ovid’s description):

slow gait;
pale face;
a sidelong glance (hidden from the object of envy, which is why M.Yu. Lermontov calls the latter a secret feeling);
lack of a smile, except in cases where the envious person sees the suffering of other people.

Envy combines elements of hostility and sadness. The Bible already talks about the bodily disorders that envy causes. William Shakespeare calls her green-eyed, perhaps because envy can also lead to disorders of pigment metabolism;

12.Doubt(based on the painting by A.A. Ivanov “The Appearance of Christ to the People”, an image of a group of six people who doubt the appearance of Christ):

weak tension in the muscles of the body and the orbicularis oris muscle;
lowered head;
downcast gaze;
hands are pressed to the body, they are folded, tucked into the sleeves (an expression of the lack of motivation to action);
raised shoulders (this is like a question mark: why be surprised here).

13.Indignation:

the eyebrows are lowered and positioned horizontally (a sign of tension in thought, which is not the case with anger, when the individual seems to have nothing to think about);
hands are raised and palms facing upward (“scales of justice”; in this case, only the creator of the world himself is accepted as the highest arbiter of justice);
there is an expression of dispassion on the face (in any case, there are no signs of malice or anger). Indignation, as confirmed by its external manifestations, is a noble, righteous anger, it is impersonal and extends only to actions, but not to a person, it is not caused by a personal insult or a threat to one’s well-being, but by the reasons that give rise to injustice.

14.Shame:

the face hides, it covers itself with the hands, moves to the side, falls down, as happens in someone’s presence, albeit in an imaginary one;
the gaze is turned to the side, lowered down or moves restlessly (a sign indicating that the person who is ashamed does not want to meet the gaze of those to whom he has caused trouble - C. Darwin); - the eyelids cover the eyes, the eyes are sometimes closed (something appears here childish: I don’t see it, so it doesn’t exist);
silencing of speech (a sign of understanding that excuses are inappropriate, they can only increase the anger or indignation of the victim. The Bible directly says: “So that in the future you will not be able to open your mouth in shame”);
actions are stealthy, they are quiet, noiseless, unnoticed as much as possible (indicating that the person who is ashamed is trying to remain unnoticed, he behaves as if like a thief. This is quite consistent with the accuracy of the biblical observation: “People who are ashamed steal”);
the body shrinks, shrinks into something like a lump (so that they don’t see, notice and feel ashamed);
shallow breathing with deep sighs (as if rudiments of crying);
sudden stops in breathing (probably associated with memories of what was done and a rush of anticipation of something terribly terrible);
stuttering (in in this case as a sign of excitement or evidence of timidity of character);
paint of shame. There is an expression “to be covered with shame, dishonor,” it clearly indicates this sign of shame, which, fortunately, leaves hope for the correction of the culprit. C. Darwin considered the “bashful blush” the most human of all manifestations of emotion.

15.Self-confidence:

lack of facial gestures (covering the mouth, scratching the nose, head, etc., which says: “I’m not hiding anything, I’m sure I’m right”);
a proud, straight pose (thus as if saying: “I know exactly what I’m doing and saying”);
the fingers are connected, sometimes in a dome - “my opinion of myself is above petty suspicions.” The higher the hands are located, the greater the superiority over others the individual feels. The boss can emphasize it by looking at the subordinate through the joined fingers of his hands);
hands can be joined behind the back (this seems to emphasize the readiness to command not physical strength, and the right is on its side);
chin raised high (“look down”). The last two signs form an authoritarian posture, which can often be seen in high authorities, sergeants in front of recruits, a novice teacher in front of students, in other patients with excessive self-importance, etc.;
leisurely movements, spare gestures and movements of the head and eyes. This creates the impression of their significance, as well as confidence in their infallibility and power;
choosing a location somewhere on an eminence, as if on a throne or on a pedestal;
the position of the legs on objects (table, back of a chair), as well as the posture, casually leaning on something (she says: “This is my territory, here I am the master of the situation”).

16.Boredom:

eyes are half-closed (“I wouldn’t look at all this, I’m so tired”);
the head lies in the palm of your hand (“oh, I wish I had a pillow, I really want to fall asleep”);
mechanical drawing on paper (“this is much more interesting than what I hear and see now”);
an empty, expressionless and unattached gaze, a “day dream” (“there’s nothing to see here, I’ve seen it thousands of times” or “I look, but I don’t want to see or hear anything”).

17. Disposition towards someone:

tilting the head and body towards the interlocutor (“I’m interested, I don’t want to lose your attention”)
hand on the chest or “on the heart” (a gesture of honesty and openness). The gesture of a Roman legionary is one hand “on the heart”, the other is extended towards the partner. This is considered to be a masculine gesture;
eye contact (“I’m pleased to see you”);
shaking your head as a sign of agreement with what is being said (“talk, say more, I’m ready to listen to you as much as you like”);
touching a partner - “tactile contact” (a gesture expressing trust, sympathy, warmth);
approaching the partner to the limits of the intimate zone or even closer (indicates special character attitude towards him and at the same time shows other people that “the place is occupied, the third one is superfluous”);
closed position of the partners: they look into each other’s eyes, their feet are parallel.

18. Courtship (for women):

smoothing, straightening clothes, hair (“I’m still going somewhere, just look”);
looking at yourself in the mirror (“how can it be that someone doesn’t like me, you can’t take your eyes off me”);
swaying hips (“no, just look at me, where else have you seen this”);
slowly crossing and straightening your legs (a sign likely resembling a hug);
stroking yourself on your calves, knees, thighs (“look, admire, there’s something to look at” or “I wouldn’t mind being stroked like that”);
balancing shoes on the tips of your toes (“I would gladly stay without it” or “don’t be shy, you have absolutely nothing left to achieve what you want”);
sitting, tucking your legs under you (“I’m not going to leave” or “I’ll wait for my time”);
direct, continuous eye contact. Psychologists say: if a person looks into his partner’s eyes more than 60% of the time of a conversation, he is interested not only in talking with him.

19. Courtship (for men):

preening: adjusting a tie, jacket, cufflinks (“I, of course, am already good, but these are such trifles”);
pulling up socks (“if something doesn’t suit me, I can leave” or “I’m a person of taste and decency, I know my worth, but I’m fine without socks”);
straightening the body (“I’m as slim as a cypress” or “I have plenty of energy”);
the chin rises and falls (“I’m proud, but I allow myself to be weak” or “I’m not that inaccessible”).

20.Openness:

open arms turned towards the partner (“here I am, all in your sight”);
frequent raising of shoulders (“doubts about my position are unnecessary”);
an unbuttoned jacket (“I’m not hiding anything, see for yourself that my intentions are the best”). The comparative psychologist Smith performed this experiment more than once: he, while lying down, exposed his unprotected stomach to the wolf. The wolf scared Smith "to death" but did not bite him even once;
tilt towards your partner.

21. Closedness:

crossing arms with clenched fists or so that one hand squeezes the other (“I’m not expecting anything good, I’m on the defensive”);
sitting on a chair turned backwards (demonstration of strength and readiness for retaliatory aggression);
legs are placed on top of a table, armchair, chair (a pose of arrogance, swagger; she seems to be saying: “I have nothing to be afraid of here, even a mongrel is brave in my house”);
crossing your legs or crossing your legs over your knee (“I’m ready for confrontation and understand that I can’t expect anything else”). If at the same time the arms are crossed, then this is a clear sign to the interlocutor: “There is an enemy in front of you.”

22.Attention (to the interlocutor):

the hand is located at the cheek, the head rests on the hand, and forefinger it may be stretched along the temple (“I’m all about attention”);
the head is tilted to the side (“I listen to you with interest” - Charles Darwin). When interest in the interlocutor wanes, the shoulders first rise, then fall (doubt whether the interlocutor is as interesting as he was at the beginning, or the request “enough is enough, I can’t wait to finish this conversation”), the gaze begins to wander around (“I’ll look for something more interesting”), and the body takes a pose facing away from the partner (“I want to leave, I’m tired, how much more is possible”).

23.Disgust:

turning away the head (“disgusting to look at”). In the psalms of the biblical David, there is often a request addressed to God not to turn away his face, not to turn away his gaze;
frowning eyebrows (“eyes would not look at this abomination”);
wrinkled nose, as happens with an unpleasant odor;
raised upper lip and lowered lower lip (“I would spit it out if I had something like that in my mouth”);
angular shape of the mouth (“like some kind of nasty thing in the mouth”);
the tongue is slightly protruded, as if it is pushing something unpleasant out of the mouth or preventing it from entering the mouth;
the body takes a position with a lapel, as if it is moving away from something;
fingers are “spread” (“I won’t take anything out of a feeling of disgust”). In Leonardo da Vinci's painting "The Last Supper" at Christ's while pronouncing the words "one of you will betray me" right hand straightened, which expresses disgust at the act of betrayal. The apostles in the picture are depicted in such a way that it skillfully conveys the complex range of feelings that each of them experiences at this time. A person who causes disgust with his vile behavior is therefore called an outcast, an outcast, whom it is impossible to approach, much less touch.

24.Annoyance:

expression of anger;
expression of intense thought;
lack of general muscle tension.

Klodt’s painting “The Beginning of the Reforms of Peter I” depicts a boyar whose beard has just been cut. The boyar is annoyed, he is absorbed in an evil thought, but at the same time it is clear that he is not inclined to respond in kind to this violence against himself.

25.Prudence:

exaggerated, deliberately slow, and at times delayed movements. For example, a lady eagerly looks at her counterpart, then, sharply squinting her eyes, remains in this position for a long time. She thereby seems to be giving a sign: “I would look again, but, really, I’m very ashamed, because I’m so chaste”;
slowing down, accelerating and exaggerating expressive acts, as well as their diversity, which should attract the attention of someone present.

Pretense (from “zhmeni”, that is, a handful of something) is breaking, mannerism, lack of simplicity and naturalness. It is a particular version of coquetry - behavior in which they want to please, flaunting their attractive qualities. Coquettes, and these are often women, intensively demonstrate the charms of their body, “make eyes” (the eyes are turned in one direction, and the head and body in the other direction), show their cheerfulness, sniff a scarf, a flower (depict a penchant for sensual joys) and at the same time they try to hide all this, which shows that they are flirting involuntarily, being unable to restrain the impulses of passion. Gay men with effeminate tendencies also show signs of coquetry.

26.Repentance:

expression of sadness, a depressed look (even to the point of disfigurement of one’s appearance - the rudiment of tearing clothes and sprinkling ashes on one’s head);

expression of a prayer to higher powers in the form of hands raised to the sky (requests for forgiveness, pardon). Repentance may take the form of prayerful ecstasy;

clenching of fists (annoyance, anger towards oneself and one’s unworthy behavior);

crying with your hands covering your eyes, moving away from other people (feelings of shame). Various forms of repentance (with a predominance of one of its characteristics) are presented with high accuracy in A.A. Ivanov’s painting “The Appearance of Christ to the People,” which depicts a group of people repenting of their sin.

27. Subservience- deception by imitation pleasant manners in order to make a favorable impression. It is carried out by an exaggerated depiction of external manifestations of respect and affection for someone, which sometimes achieves the effect of servility, groveling and sycophancy. At the same time, the body of the singer is tilted forward to the limit, the face copies the facial expressions of the object of service or depicts tenderness, the ingratiating gaze does not leave the important person, expressing readiness to guess and fulfill any of her wishes. At the same time, in the guise of a lackey there are no noticeable signs of tension of mind and will, which makes it clear that under other circumstances he would not even think about a person who is in this moment he needs it only for reasons of self-interest. An excellent depiction of servility is represented by V.E. Makovsky’s painting “Business Visit”.

28.Surprise:

high eyebrow raising;
mouth opening;
raising hands;
strong attention tension;
strong tension of thought.

The artistic representation of surprise was especially well achieved by Leonardo da Vinci in his painting “The Last Supper.” Almost all the apostles, each in their own way, demonstrate surprise in response to completely unexpected words Christ about betrayal. Only Christ's favorite Judas is not amazed.

29.Tenderness:

signs of joy;
signs of sadness;
tears.

To be touched, to be touched to the depths of the soul, to tears - the state of mind at the end of sadness A.A. Ivanov captured in an old man leaning on a stick and a man standing next to a boy. Poetic image We find tenderness in M.Yu. Lermontov:

From the soul, like a burden, will roll away, Doubt is far away -

And you believe it, and you cry, And it’s so easy, easy!

I.A. Sikorsky points out that tenderness can become a character trait and a natural outcome of depressing moods. This relationship, he concludes, is natural feature Russian, and perhaps even Slavic folk genius.

30. Confusion:

freezing in one place and in one position;
signs of thought stopping;
spreading your hands is a sign of inability to act due to stopping thought;
half-open mouth, stop vocalization.

An example of an image of bewilderment is the painting by I.B.Greus “ Broken jug", which depicts a girl struck down by some misfortune. Bewilderment, points out A.I. Sikorsky, is close to surprise, but differs from it in that it is more consistent with a mental state, while surprise is more in the realm of feelings and emotions.

31. Anxiety (fear, apprehension, anticipation of disaster):

worried look:
fussiness, that is, stupid, aimless and hasty activity, a manifestation of increasing anxiety (rubbing hands, restlessness, walking from place to place, throwing, rearranging and rearranging objects, fiddling with clothes, etc.);
alarming verbigerations;
trembling of the voice, hands, whole body (accompanied by a feeling of growing internal tension);
screams, crying;
pale skin.

32. Simulation of acts of expression is manifested by concealment of genuine and artificial depiction of other experiences. At the same time, external manifestations of the mind, will or emotions are deliberately depicted.

Simulation of the mind (more precisely, its dissimulation) is usually an image of indifference, inattention to what the individual actually cares about. He pretends not to notice, listen or understand what is happening. Sometimes it happens that the malingerer portrays the likeness of a person of deep thought and high intelligence. Here at his disposal are many different not very clear words, books read, general reasoning. For real clever man always very simple in words, manners and understandable even to a child. The simulation of will reveals itself in the pose of Zeus. This is a pose leaning back and holding your head high. But at the same time, the mouth is half open or the lips are squeezing a cigarette, and the hands are holding onto something (signs of self-doubt). This is well shown in V.N. Baksheev’s film “Losers.”

The simulation of higher feelings is found, in particular, in such manifestations as the pose of the Pharisee. In the painting “Christ and the Sinner” (H. Hoffmann), the hypocrite is depicted with his head held high and at the same time with his hands folded in prayer; humility clearly does not fit in with an arrogant pose. To whom does the Pharisee look towards the main participants in the scene, clearly expecting approval of his piety. The well-fed body and elegant clothes of the performer also contradict humility; they are in no way associated with the expectation of asceticism of a person for whom spiritual values are above all. V.E. Makovsky’s painting “Party” depicts a simulation of pathos. The girl stands with her head proudly thrown back and her body straightened and tilted back.

This should mean inspiration, a high impulse of spirit. But at the same time, arched eyebrows are noticeable (no tension of thought), and most importantly, there is no movement of the hands, they passively lie on the back of the chair and even tilt it away from themselves (a sign of uncertainty, lack of will). It is also clear that those around her are not moved by what she wants to convince them of, they are bored, and some of them even feel sleepy. This is because the heroine of the picture definitely says with her pose: “I can very well talk about something sublime, but to do something like that - no, excuse me.”

33.Gait can also say something important about its owner. There are several typical types of gait.

Stealthy gait: hands resting firmly in pockets while walking, this shows secrecy, excessive criticism of others and a tendency to suppress them. Determined gait: fast, with sweeping arm movements; she seems to be saying that the goal is clear and now the only thing is to go towards it without stopping. Depressed gait: head down, legs dragging, hands in pockets; she reports: everything is lost, there is no point in talking or doing anything.

Impulsive gait (Churchill gait): energetic walking with hands on hips, followed by lethargy, “lethargy,” and then another burst of vigor; it reflects the imbalance of character, and perhaps a successful combination of self-will, deceit and cynicism of an alcoholic, every now and then plotting something treacherous. Dictator's gait (Mussolini's gait): with his head raised up, legs rigid and emphatically energetic movements of the arms; This is a clear play on the viewer, who should see Duce as a self-confident leader. The gait of a thinker: ritually leisurely, as if self-soothing and suppressing emotions, often with his hands behind his back or busy with something long familiar, so that they do not interfere with thinking. There are other types of gait: top model, sailor, military man, etc.

34. Some features of speech should also be included among the manifestations of expressiveness, since it expresses not only thoughts, but also personal and characterological qualities. Thus, measured speech is characteristic of sanguine people, accelerated - of choleric people, slow - of phlegmatic people, uncertain and uneven - of melancholic people. Speech often reveals certain emotional states. In confirmation, we present here only a fragment of A.I. Polezhaev’s poem “Chains”:

I have matured: the farewell ray of hope darkened and went out in the skies,

And the funeral torch of death has been burning in my eyes ever since! Love of beauty, nature, Young maidens and friends,

And you, sacred freedom - Everything, everything died for me!

Without a sense of life, without desires, Like a disgusting shadow, I drag along the chain of my suffering - And I die night and day!

In these lines there is obvious evidence of an almost painful sadness, an oppressive and paralyzing melancholy of the will to live. In any case, we can definitely talk about the poet’s readiness for real depression.

35. The quality of expression acts has some significance tattoos. For example, the Serun tattoo indicates that the individual once identified himself with a certain ideology. The tattoo stands for: “Stalinism is the emancipation of oppressed peoples.” Another - “IzaIda” - sounds like this: “Follow Ilyich, baby.” But these are just examples of fanaticism that can discredit even the brightest idea. Much more often, tattoos express more prosaic, base and vulgar identifications.

36. Facial signs of deception (Izard, 1999):

microexpressions are expressive acts that mask true manifestations of feelings. For example, the expression of sadness is hidden behind an artificial smile, an ironic shrug of the shoulders;
“blurred expressions” - attempts to “remove” or erase the true facial expression;
“an honest look” straight into your partner’s eyes;
frequent blinking, as well as tears;
asymmetry of the face, the expression of which is associated with a certain emotion, - when deceiving, one half of the face is more distorted than the other;
duration of facial expression - maintaining a facial expression for more than 10 seconds usually indicates a lie;
facial expression lags behind other acts of expression - hitting the table with a fist, for example, occurs before the image of anger on the face.

In conclusion, it should be said that recognizing emotions and human experiences in general is often fraught with considerable difficulties. This is due to the fact that, firstly, information about experiences arrives to the observer through many channels at the same time (words, voice, facial expression, gestures, postures, etc.), to perceive and evaluate such a flow of heterogeneous impressions It's hard enough. Secondly, it rarely happens that a person experiences only one experience, even just one emotion. Usually several emotions arise at once. For example, an individual not only feels fear, he reacts to this fear in one way or another, at this time he may be ashamed, he is dissatisfied with himself or feels guilty, anxious, etc.

Thirdly, in external manifestations There are a lot of experiences that are individual and culturally conditioned, but probably even more are insincere or feigned, since a person’s reactions are very often designed for others. People react completely differently when they are alone than when they are in someone else's presence. Nevertheless, everything said here about acts of expression can, we believe, be useful to the clinician in terms of identifying the patient’s mental states, as well as for a more accurate and specific description of his observations.

It is not always possible to use lie detectors in clinical practice; with their help you can only learn about relatively simple things(“whether the individual is lying at the moment or not”). Many people have difficulty differentiating their emotions, since this can be quite difficult, or are not even fully aware of them, as is typical for alexithymia and especially mental anesthesia. Therefore, observation of acts of expression is often the main or even the only source of information about mental states patients.

In psychology there are various classifications emotions, but whatever the differences between them, there are emotions that all researchers highlight, classifying them as basic. These are anger, joy, fear, surprise, etc. These are a kind of “colors of the spectrum”, when mixed in different proportions, all other shades are formed. We will look at two of them in detail - anger and joy.

Anger

The main cause of anger is frustration(Latin frustratio - “deception, frustration, collapse of plans”) - mental condition, caused by objectively insurmountable (or subjectively perceived) difficulties that arose on the way to achieving the goal. The main feature of a frustrating situation is that it is beyond our control. Circumstances force majeure, destroying our hopes, depriving us of the opportunity to satisfy our needs, can be both real and imaginary, but the feelings that we experience are equally real in both cases.

A baby who has not received the maternal affection he needs, a teenager who is deprived of the approval of significant peers, a manager who was counting on a promotion, but at the last moment was passed over by a more zealous colleague - they all experience frustration, that is, a feeling of powerlessness, the inability to achieve what they want. And one of the most common emotional reactions in such situations there is anger.

Situations in which a person cannot achieve the desired goal are very different. There may be objective external obstacles; There are cases when a person himself does not have some necessary properties or opportunities to achieve the desired goal (for example, he really wants to drive a car, but he has poor vision, poor coordination and very high anxiety); frontiers and situations when a person simply cannot choose one among several goals in order to direct all efforts to achieve it. All such situations are frustrating, and each of them can cause the emotion of anger.

Psychologist K. Levin described three main types of intrapersonal conflicts, which are based on the problem of achieving a goal, and the consequence is frustration. Depending on the type of conflict, frustration can be more or less severe.

Conflict of positive equal opportunities. The most graphic (and one of the most famous) descriptions of this conflict were given by the French philosopher Jean Buridan: you are probably familiar with the expression “Buridan’s donkey”, this unfortunate animal is doomed to starvation, since in the presence of two identical armfuls of hay located on equal distance from it, it is unable to choose which of them is preferable to eat.

Unfortunately, even for such a highly developed creature as a person, the need to choose only one of equally attractive goals (despite the fact that it is impossible to achieve both at the same time) often leads to frustration, although (compared to other conflicts) not very strong.

A typical example of this situation is deciding how to spend the amount of money at your disposal. You may spend some time making a choice, worrying about the fact that you do not have the opportunity to fulfill all your desires at once, but in the end, having made up your mind and getting something you want, you will still experience satisfaction.

Conflict of equals negative possibilities . In contrast to the “Buridan’s donkey” situation discussed above, the need to choose the lesser of two evils is fraught with very strong frustration. Suppose your boss at work gives you a choice: you must take on additional responsibilities or your salary will be cut. You are not satisfied with either one or the other; In addition to the choice of two evils, a third option is also possible - flight, i.e. in this case - dismissal. But no matter what you ultimately choose, you will feel powerless from the fact that you were forced, put in a hopeless position, and one of the most bright emotions there will probably be anger directed at the boss (and maybe at yourself - if you are inclined to blame yourself for finding yourself in this situation, unable to defend your interests).

Conflict of positive-negative possibilities. This is the most common type of internal conflict - the problem of choice that arises before each of us every day. In most cases, our goals are both positive and negative sides. If you agree to work overtime, you will receive a good bonus - but in the coming weeks you will be very tired and will not be able to spend evenings with your family. If you take out a mortgage loan, you will become the happy owner of a separate apartment, but at the same time you will be paying significant amounts of money every month for many years.

Examples can be given endlessly, since it is precisely these choices that our whole life consists of. We have to weigh the pros and cons even when we choose clothes in the morning or go to the supermarket. But if daily household decisions usually do not cause strong feelings, then the need to make a serious choice that will largely determine your immediate or distant future can lead to equally serious frustration.

Anger is a strong emotion, but although it may seem paradoxical, it is not always conscious. Due to the fact that, in general, anger is a disapproved emotion, most of us do not know how to handle it at all: from childhood we are accustomed to suppress this “bad” feeling, and therefore various transformations occur all the time with the anger we experience. Anger is “masked”, or rather, we take its signs for the expression of some other experiences: we think that we are worried, worried, ashamed - but in fact we are angry, unconsciously.

Another option is that it is not the anger itself that is “masked,” but the reason that caused it. After all, the situation of frustration that caused anger is hopeless, we cannot change anything about it and we get angry precisely from powerlessness and despair. One of the options psychological protection in this case, emotions may be transferred to something else: we will be angry not at the boss at work (throwing out our anger at him is an unacceptable option), but at our own child, who scattered toys around the room: he is to blame, he behaves badly, needs education and correction - in a word, here you can allow yourself to rage and find a supposedly acceptable basis for your anger. Finally, another option is to drive anger inside, turn it on oneself: this is the path to the development of neurosis or psychosomatic diseases(such as hypertension or stomach ulcers).

Anger is such a condemned emotion in society, since one of its main external manifestations in behavior is this. Aggressive behavior can have the most different shapes: extreme, extreme option- physical violence, but verbal aggression is much more common, and here the variety is also great - from screaming and loud swearing to irritated arguments and petty quibbles. The variety of forms of self-aggression, that is, self-destructive behavior, is also great. What unites all these forms of behavior, often completely different in appearance, is the goal - to cause harm (moral or physical, to ourselves or to another), to destroy what we consider the cause of anger, an obstacle to achieving a goal, or the culprit for violating our plans.

Certainly, different people They show anger and aggression very differently. Researchers cannot yet unambiguously answer the question of whether the tendency to aggression is a hereditary property or acquired in the process of personality development. More precisely, as always, both factors are important, but how exactly they are combined, which components of aggressiveness are determined genetically, how aggressive behavior is formed during development - all this represents an almost limitless field for psychological research.

For example, psychologists study the mechanisms of learning aggressive behavior. Research has shown that one way is to learn from experience. Let’s imagine what exactly once helped a person get rid of the experience of anger and frustration. If this path turns out to be effective several more times, then the likelihood that the person will continue to behave aggressively in the future increases - since this turned out to be an effective means of resolving his internal conflict.

In addition, people learn aggressive behavior from the example of other people - this primarily applies, of course, to children. It has been proven that children raised by aggressive adults are more likely to be aggressive than those raised in a peaceful environment.

It is generally accepted that children are greatly influenced by numerous television shows, films and computer games with scenes of aggression: they say, having seen enough of such pictures, children themselves begin to behave aggressively. Meanwhile, science cannot yet clearly confirm this belief. Psychologists conduct many studies and experiments devoted to this problem (studying both children’s and adult behavior), but the results are ambiguous: not all of them confirm the negative impact of watched action films on the behavior of viewers. Some scientists believe that such films, on the contrary, allow viewers to get rid of internal tension and free them from the need to express aggression in real actions. In any case, it has been reliably proven: if a child grows up in a conflict-ridden family, where the parents communicate aggressively with him and with each other, but at the same time forbid him to watch aggressive films and play appropriate computer games, then such a child will still behave more aggressive than one who has the opportunity to watch “evil” films, but at the same time is brought up in an atmosphere of cooperation and goodwill.

How to deal with anger

We can express emotions directly and indirectly. Direct expression of anger releases tension and can bring immediate gratification.

We often hear that anger should not be suppressed, that to maintain mental health, emotions must be expressed freely and openly. But everyone understands that in practice this is impossible: if you are angry because your car won’t start, you may well allow yourself to kick the tire and swear floridly - in this case, the free expression of emotions is truly acceptable. But if the cause of anger was the inappropriate behavior of another participant traffic, and you take up the crowbar to give vent to your feelings - this, you see, is far from the best course of action.

In this case, we usually express our anger indirectly. You can simply stomp your feet and swear, but very often people transfer anger from the object that caused it to another, safer one: we mentioned this above, citing the example of a person who does not allow himself to shout at the boss who angered him, but splashes out his emotions at home allegedly guilty child.

But there is another way: as you know, prevention is always more effective than treatment, and in many cases it is in our power to simply prevent the emotion of anger from developing.

Having realized the cause of anger, it is sometimes possible to eliminate it. If you are annoyed by a crowd of laughing teenagers in a subway car, you don’t have to swallow angry remarks ready to roll off your tongue, but simply move to the next car and read a detective story for your own pleasure, instead of stressing yourself out by thinking about the morals of modern youth.

Unfortunately, much more often the cause of anger cannot be eliminated. However, there are methods that help you take control of your own irritation, hostility and anger: do not suppress already developed emotions, but try to change your attitude towards the situation in such a way that feelings of frustration and anger do not arise.

Here is one possible method for controlling anger:

Become aware of whether you are truly angry. Perhaps it is actually fear, stress, shame or fatigue.
Try to take the place of the person who caused your anger, see the situation through his eyes.
Think about the current situation, try to talk to yourself in a positive tone. Perhaps you will see something funny in this situation. A sense of humor is a very effective remedy even against strong anger.
Listen to your opponent.
When it's your turn to speak, try to feel respected and positive interest to the enemy: strive to attract him to your side, and not to “win” by humiliating and subjugating him by force.
Try not to be distracted from the topic you are discussing: as soon as you immerse yourself in memories of previous grievances and claims, how to control your emotional condition will become much more difficult. Follow the principle: one problem at a time.

Pay attention to your physical state, learn to identify changes in your well-being that are signs of anger. When you feel these “symptoms,” stop, count to ten, controlling the evenness and deep breathing to calm down. If possible, give vent to anger through physical exercise. During intense experiences, the body produces additional energy, which it is advisable to use - and best of all in the form of healthy physical activity.

Master a simple set of relaxation exercises: these can be breathing techniques or muscle relaxation exercises, based on alternating tension and relaxation of various muscles of the body.

Joy

This emotion is, fortunately, no less familiar to us than anger, but, oddly enough, it is much more difficult to give it a scientific definition. It can be roughly described as an active positive emotion, expressed in a good mood and a feeling of pleasure.

Like others basic emotions, joy is a passing, temporary experience. A longer-lasting feeling of joy is usually called happiness, although it is clear to a non-specialist that happiness is much more than just “a good mood and a feeling of pleasure.”

Sometimes it may seem that psychologists pay all their attention only to problems - they study all kinds of deviations and disorders, and look for ways to correct them. This is wrong. After all, if the goal practical psychology- to help a person become happier, then you need to not only imagine all the obstacles on the way to this goal, but also, so to speak, the destination. In other words, you need to know what it is - a happy person. So the study of happiness, the characteristics of the mentally prosperous, harmonious people- this is very significant part psychological science.

For example, the American psychologist Friedman studied the connection between the feeling of happiness and a person’s lifestyle. He proceeded from the premise that joy is a short-term emotion, but throughout long period it can only be experienced by a person who feels overall satisfaction with life and peace of mind.

So, if you win a million in the lottery, this does not guarantee that from now on you will happy man: the feeling of joy at the moment of winning and for some time after it will, of course, be indescribably strong, but your further reactions and mood will depend on your personal characteristics and on what lifestyle you were already accustomed to at the time of winning. If you are an anxious person, constantly experiencing stress, then sudden wealth after the first euphoria will probably only increase your anxiety - because the conflicts associated with choosing and achieving goals will remain with you.

Friedman used in his research huge number respondents - about one hundred thousand people! If you believe that such large-scale research allowed him to discover the formula for happiness, alas, we have to disappoint you. The results of the study may even seem quite banal. For example, Friedman found that money is not a guarantee of happiness, although it does matter: after a certain level of wealth is reached, further increases in income no longer make people happier. There was no relationship between the feeling of happiness and age or belonging to a particular religion, but in general it turned out that people with active religious beliefs are more satisfied with life. Friedman's study also showed the fact that, for the most part, married couples feel happier than bachelors and people living in a “civil marriage.”

So, the emotion of joy is less than happiness, but more than just a feeling of pleasure. The latter brings us simple sensory sensations - for example, taste or touch. Pleasure is not necessarily accompanied by the experience of joy. Agree, a delicious dinner brings great pleasure, but we rarely say that we enjoy it.

As a rule, people have a pretty good idea of what exactly can bring them pleasure (and, accordingly, what does not give it). The emotion of joy differs from the feeling of pleasure, in particular, in that it is much more elusive: it is not always possible to determine what exactly will bring joy to a person, to somehow “plan” a joyful experience. When we want to have fun, we buy ourselves a chocolate bar or go out of town to lie on the beach under the gentle sun, but, you see, “organizing” joy is a much more difficult task.

As some psychologists suggest, joy is, as a rule, not direct consequence our actions, but rather a by-product of the pursuit of a goal.

It is much easier to evoke an emotion of joy in a small child than in an adult. An infant's first smile is the smile of joy that a child experiences when he sees the face of his mother (or other adults). Psychologists call this smile “social” because it appears when communicating with people, and not in response to some internal stimuli. And the fact that the first joy in any person’s life is connected with other people confirms that the most reliable source of joy for us is relationships with others.

A little later, as the child develops, another source of joy appears: he experiences this emotion when he manages to achieve something - reach for a toy, build a high tower made of blocks, riding a bicycle for the first time without falling, getting the most important role in a play at a children's matinee... In a word, one of the main sources of joy is the joy of achievement. By the way, research shows that a person experiences joy more acutely and brightly if it was preceded by failures. Overcoming obstacles, both real and even imaginary, brings great joy.

So, positive interaction with people, good luck in achieving a goal, in overcoming obstacles- these are the main sources of joy. This emotion is closely related to the feeling of self-satisfaction, self-esteem, and self-confidence. On the other hand, experiencing joy, a person spreads good attitude to himself and to the world around him.

As we have already noted, joy cannot be planned and achieved intentionally, i.e. You cannot set a goal for yourself - to experience joy - and achieve this goal through conscious effort. But we can set goals for ourselves, the achievement of which will be accompanied by an experience of joy. This distinction is quite important, although perhaps not obvious. But we need to realize it, because if we simply strive for joy, disappointment awaits us.

People work, achieve something, make efforts and overcome obstacles, study, acquire new skills, establish relationships with other people... All this is not to “enjoy”, but because they are interested in the work they are doing, or because they consider it necessary to finish the work they have started, they strive to increase the level of skill, acquire knowledge, achieve material well-being, etc.

Achieving your goals is rewarded with a feeling of success, fulfillment, embodiment of your capabilities and abilities - and a very valuable by-product of this feeling is joy. Thus, without being able to intentionally evoke the emotion of joy, a person still has the power to structure his life in such a way as to experience it more often.

Signs of joy (smile), notes K. Izard (2000), are already observed in a three-week-old baby. From the fourth or fifth week to the fourth or fifth month of life, the child smiles at everyone human face, if it is close to him and if the person nods to him. It has great importance in establishing psychological contact between the child and the matter. The mother, leaning towards the child, makes him smile; in turn, the child’s smile makes the mother smile and makes her talk affectionately to the baby. This is for

the child with reinforcing stimulation that is important for his health and well-being.

In subsequent years, the range of circumstances about which the child rejoices expands: the child experiences joy from playing, from learning, from communicating with peers, etc.

The concept of “frustration” (from Latin frustratio - frustration (of plans), collapse (of plans, hopes)) is used in two meanings: 1) the act of blocking or interrupting behavior aimed at achieving meaningful goal(i.e. frustration situation); 2) the emotional state of a person that arises after failure, dissatisfaction with any strong need, reproaches from the outside. The latter is accompanied by the emergence strong emotions: hostility, anger, guilt, frustration, anxiety.

A frustrator is an obstacle that is insurmountable for a person, blocking the achievement of his goal. Internal conflicts also cause frustration. Kurt Lewin (Levin, 1935) identified three types:

1) a conflict of equal positive opportunities, or the “Buridan’s donkey” situation: a person has two or more attractive goals, but they cannot be achieved at the same time; the peculiarity of this type of conflict is that no matter what choice a person makes, he will still win, so this conflict causes mild frustration;

2) a conflict of equivalent negative possibilities, or a “two evils” situation: a person has to choose from two unattractive prospects; with any choice he will be a loser, therefore frustration with this type of conflict is the strongest, and a frequent reaction to it is an attempt to escape from it, and if this is impossible, then anger arises;

3) conflict of positive-negative possibilities or “problem of choice”: the goal has both positive and negative side(I want to eat a bun or cake, but I don’t want to gain weight, etc.)

P.); This type of conflict occurs most often in life. When resolving these conflicts, a positive tendency first prevails - the person gives in to the desire, but then fear appears in connection with possible troubles, and as one approaches the goal, this negative tendency intensifies and can lead to refusal to achieve the goal. With this type of conflict, frustration is of medium strength.

From the point of view of S. Rosenzweig (Rosenzweig, 1960), any reaction to a frustrator is aimed at maintaining balance within the body. Domestic psychologists rightly believe that the state of frustration is a personal reaction.

The state of frustration does not arise immediately. For it to appear, you need to overcome the so-called frustration threshold. It is determined by a number of points:

— repetition of dissatisfaction: with repeated dissatisfaction (failure), it is summed up with the emotional trace of the previous failure;

164 Chapter 6, Characteristics of various emotions

— the depth of dissatisfaction: the stronger the need, the lower the threshold of frustration;

— emotional excitability: the higher it is, the lower the frustration threshold;

- the level of a person’s aspirations, his habit of success: what longer person did not fail, the lower the threshold;

- stage of activity: if an obstacle arises at the beginning of an activity, aggression is less pronounced than when failure befalls a person at the very end.

Frustration can have different effects on a person's functioning. In some cases, it mobilizes it to achieve a distant goal and increases the strength of the motive. However, the forms of behavior can be impulsive and irrational character. In other cases, frustration demobilizes a person who either seeks to escape from conflict situation(a prohibited or unattainable goal is fulfilled mentally or only partially, or a similar task is solved), or abandons the activity altogether.

Frequent frustrations in children make them neurotic, develop aggressiveness as a personal trait, feelings of guilt, uncertainty, and lead to isolation, self-centeredness, and embitterment.

The older we get, the less often we experience joy. We have forgotten how to experience this feeling due to the rush and bustle, the problems of the adult world, the race for success and the wrong conclusions. But there are many more reasons for joy than we think.

Sometimes in the adult world, joy has to be the solution. Long and short journeys, changing seasons, happy endings in interesting films, unexpected meetings, beautiful photos, a favorite activity, the upcoming weekend... I am happy when I understand that I have brought benefit, when I learn something new and unexpectedly interesting, when there isthoughts about pleasant happy events and plans for the future.

Psychological profile of joy

Joy - active positive emotion, expressed in a good mood and a feeling of pleasure.
Formedin childhood, when the child sees familiar faces, later - whenmanages to achieve something (reach a toy, build a tower of blocks, ride a bicycle for the first time).
Bodily reactions- smile, laughter, a surge of energy throughout the body, you want to jump and make energetic movements.
Fueled , positive outlook for life.
Related concepts- , pleasure, satisfaction.
Opposite feelings- sadness, grief, sadness.
Psychosomatic diseases from lack of joy- possibly anemia, alcoholism, problems with arteries, veins, lymph nodes, cataracts.

Joy and happiness

We often put an equal sign between happiness and joy, but joy is rather a positive emotion, and happiness is a state of mind.

It is difficult to describe, because each person has his own concept and his own emotional state that is associated with it. Psychologists' studies have shown that money, prestigious education and big house do not really affect the level of happiness. Those who won the lottery were no happier than those who were unlucky. If we do not apply any techniques to become happier (meditation, ), we will constantly return to our level of happiness, which, among other things, depends on heredity.

Happiness is the starting point within us. To experience it means to feel a connection with other people, with nature, with art, and to accept life and the world around as they are.

Joy can be experienced by both happy and unhappy people. She will make the happy even happier, and she will first cheer up the unhappy, and then make her unhappy again. We can't feel this way forever. Constant joy Tires and dulls the severity of positive emotions. It is possible to experience intense joy from both success and material things.When we experience it, processes occur that exclude negative feelings in any situation.

10 Random Facts About Joy

Anhedonia- a disorder in which a person cannot experience joy. Scientists believe that anhedonia occurs when a person's mental self-esteem system is blocked. This may be a consequence of post-traumatic syndrome. For example, war participants become less sensitive to pleasure. Their psyche, protecting from negative emotions, blocks and positive ones. Post-traumatic stress is caused not only by such terrible events as war, but also by divorce and bullying at school.
A person with a stable joyful background is called optimist. Such people actively take on new things and usually have many friends around them.
The more joy we give to others, the more we receive in return.
The emotion of joy is less than happiness, but more than just a feeling of pleasure.
Parents cannot teach a child joy, but they can encourage children to experience joy by demonstrating this emotion.
It is much easier to evoke an emotion of joy in a small child than in an adult.
The first joy experienced in infancy is associated with other people, so the most reliable source of this feeling for us is relationships with others.
Joy is experienced more vividly if there have been failures before it. Overcoming real and imagined obstacles brings great joy.
Gloat- a combination of joy and contempt.
Joy is often defined as the reaction to unexpectedly receiving something pleasant. The more unexpected and long-awaited the success, the greater the joy.

8 reasons to experience more joy

The main sources of joy for us are pleasant interactions with people, achieving goals, or overcoming difficulties. This emotion is closely related to self-esteem and self-confidence. When we experience joy, we are happy to share it with others.

Relaxing effect of joy protects us from the effects of stress associated with a constant desire for success.
Joy makes us bolder. We feel able to overcome difficulties and enjoy life.
Feeling joyful, we we feel loved and needed.
Joy helps to admire and Enjoying life. The desire to analyze and think critically disappears. We we perceive everything as it is, without trying to improve or change.
One of the most important functions of joy is the formation of feelings of affection and mutual trust between people. If communicating with someone brings joy, we are likely to trust and rely on that person.
When we experience this feeling, all body systems function easily and freely, the mind and body are in a relaxed state, and this peace allows you to restore energy.
Positive experiences speed up recovery and improve health.
Joy tends to grow. The more we enjoy life, the more reasons for joy we have.

Too much is not good

I used to think that positive emotions bring pure benefit and we must strive for them with all our might. But when I began to learn more, I realized that sometimes feeling too good is bad.

Excessive joy can make us less creative. According to research by Mark Alan Davis, when we experience intense, overwhelming joy, our creativity declines.
We tend to take more risks. When we are in a state of overjoy, we are more likely to take unnecessary risks because this emotion makes us feel completely secure and comfortable.
Not all joy is useful. We are used to calling many positive states joy, but it can be different. Sometimes this feeling gives us energy, sometimes it slows us down, sometimes it brings us closer to other people or makes us more noble. Sometimes the joy of winning over someone makes the loser overly proud or humiliates. Pride makes us focus on ourselves, causing discomfort to others and alienating us from people.
Excessive positive emotions make us callous. When we're on a high, it's harder for us to express empathy to someone who's struggling. We are more inclined to encourage, to assure that the world is beautiful and everything will be fine. But this will not help a person survive the situation.

Negative emotions are also important, it is better to experience joy in moderation - not too little, but not too much.

How to bring joy back to life

Our joy is our responsibility, it will not come simply because we wait and get upset when we lose it.

IN last time I was happy that the class was cancelled. Not because I’m too lazy to work or I don’t like what I do, but because a lot of unresolved issues have accumulated and the freed up time gave me a chance to do everything in a relaxed manner.

Next time we'll analyze anger.