Neutral emotions: what they are, what they are for and how they affect us

Emotions are a very important phenomenon within the field of psychology because they influence notably in thought and behavior, so they also have an impact on health mental; In addition, they are composed of expressive behavior, conscious experience and arousal at the physiological level.

Neutral or ambiguous emotions are those that are neither pleasant nor unpleasant; that is, they are those emotions that are neither negative nor positive, although they share some characteristics of both classes, since they are They resemble the positive ones in terms of their brevity at a temporary level and the negative ones in terms of the great mobilization of resources that generate.

In this article we will see what neutral emotions consist of; however, first it is convenient to briefly see what the concept of emotion means and what the different existing types are, among which are neutral emotions.

• Related article: "Emotional psychology: main theories of emotion"

What do we mean by emotion in general?

The concept of emotion, etymologically, comes from the Latin word "emotio", whose meaning is "that which moves us towards", "impulse or movement", being a capacity of human beings that brings us closer or can also distance us from certain situations, circumstances and/or other persons.

Thus, emotions are usually impulses that are directed towards an action, so they incline people towards a specific behavior.

In the field of psychology, emotion is a certain state of an organism that survives in a series of very defined conditions (emotional situation) being accompanied by an experience that is subjective and also of a series of somatic and visceral manifestations; Emotions can be studied from different theoretical perspectives, such as cognitive, behavioral, physiological, evolutionary and neurological theories.

We can also find within the field of psychology the following definition of emotion: it is known as that intense state of mind, strong feeling, restlessness, or urge that is directed toward an object concrete and evidenced through behavior and changes at the psychological level, as well as through facial expressions or the gestures of communication, in addition to the modulation of feelings; all accompanied by manifestations through the autonomic nervous system (ANS).

There are different types of emotions: neutral or ambiguous emotions, positive (pleasant emotions) or negative (unpleasant emotions). Emotions can also be classified into the following categories: primary or basic, secondary, aesthetic, social or instrumental.

Now that we have seen what the concept of emotion means, from different perspectives, and what the different types are, we will explain what neutral emotions consist of.

• You may be interested: "The 8 types of emotions (classification and description)"

What are neutral emotions?

Neutral emotions, also known as ambiguous emotions, are those that are neither pleasant nor unpleasant. In other words, are those emotions that are neither negative nor positive, although they share some characteristics of both classes, since they resemble the positive ones in terms of their brevity at a temporary level and the negative ones in terms of the great mobilization of resources they generate. Within the neutral emotions, it is worth highlighting the emotion of surprise.

It could be said that neutral emotions are the shortest of all, since they usually occur suddenly in a strange and/or novel situation, disappearing as quickly as they had appeared. Likewise, this type of emotion often quickly turns into another emotion that is consistent with the context and the specific situation that triggered the neutral emotion (p. surprise at an unexpected visit from a friend you haven't seen for years, which quickly turns into an expression of joy at seeing his friend).

On the other hand, Together with the reaction at an emotional level, there is a general increase in cognitive activity., which enables the subject to identify and also analyze and assess the factors and conditions that have triggered said emotion.

It should be noted that there are authors who consider that there are no neutral emotions, since they question whether surprise is really an emotion as it has no valence (either positive or negative); On the other hand, there are others who consider that in addition to surprise there are other neutral emotions, these being the following: compassion and hope; although these are less recognized as neutral emotions than surprise.

1. Triggers of neutral emotions

Neutral emotions normally they are triggered by a series of novel stimuli, these being of an intensity that can be weak or moderate; Neutral emotions can also be triggered by abrupt increases in intensity at the stimulating level, the interruption of a task that was being carried out at the time or the occurrence of events out of place or that the person did not I expected.

• Related article: "Limbic System: The Emotional Part of the Brain"

2. Cognitive processing of neutral emotions

At a cognitive level, neutral emotions are processed with a low level of control and prediction, since normally the triggers of this type of emotions tend to appear abruptly or with quite quickly, so the person must process cognitively and face this situation urgently.

• You may be interested: "The 8 Higher Psychological Processes"

The surprise

Among the neutral emotions, it is worth highlighting the surprise, produced when something unexpected happens; that is, that the surprise is triggered by something new, strange or unexpected, being a basic emotion with a fairly short duration that should not be classified as positive or pleasant, nor as negative or unpleasant.

Because of that novel, strange, or unanticipated trigger, working memory, attention and in general most of the psychological processes occupy their energies in processing that simulation that caused the emotion of surprise, then giving way to it becoming another emotion that is consistent with that stimulating situation that triggers this neutral emotion.

On the other hand, surprise fulfills an important function for people, since it is responsible for cleaning the nervous system. (CNS) of all that activity that could interfere with the adjustment to an unforeseen change caused to our around.

It is worth mentioning that surprise, for some authors, is the only emotion that is hedonically indeterminate, and that hedonic neutrality has come to be highlighted through various theories of emotion (for example, the expression model Schlosberg's emotional model, Watson and Tellegen's two-dimensional mood map, or the circular or circumplex model of emotions by Russell.

In addition, surprise is the only one, within the basic emotions, that is elicited due to a single dimension of evaluation of the stimulus that triggered it, this being unexpected.

• Related article: "History of Psychology: authors and main theories"

Do neutral emotions really exist?

There are some authors who consider that it is difficult for there to be neutral emotions, arguing that surprise is more related to negative or unpleasant emotions than to negative ones. positive or pleasant, since the easy expression of this emotion is more similar, in terms of the way it is easily expressed, to negative emotions, especially the emotion from fear.

Other studies on neutral emotions have concluded that surprise has more in common with positive or pleasant emotions, because when the subjects participating in the research were asked to think or remember surprises that had experienced throughout their lives tended to remember more pleasant moments that caused them the emotion of surprise.

However, it should also be said that some authors considered that the dominance of positive memories in relation to surprises could be largely attributed to selective memory that we usually have as people to better remember positive or pleasant events before negative ones that caused discomfort.

In any of the cases, we are going to conclude by saying that in the field of psychology there is a broad consensus on the acceptance of surprise as a neutral emotion, being so far the only emotion that has been classified in this category.