The power of emotions (9 scientific keys)

An emotion is a process by which cognitive and sensory information about an external stimulus is transmitted from the body's pathways to the spinal cord, forming synapse 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, insofar as they are loaded with cultural meanings that allow us to act and interact in certain ways.

In relation to this and developing a journey that goes from facial expressiveness to social functions, passing through cognitive functions; in this article We will see 10 scientific keys on the power of emotions.

• Related article: "The 8 types of emotions (classification and description)"

The power of emotions in 10 scientific keys

These are some of the key ideas that help to 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 tell if someone is feeling 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 would allow different emotions to be recognized through involuntary movements of the facial, eye and head muscles. head.

• You may be interested in: "Paul Ekman and the study of microexpressions"

2. Adaptive and evolutionary character

Among other things, the theory of basic emotions has suggested that there is a certain number of emotions 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. Conduct and decision making

From the above, a behaviorist perspective of emotions also emerges, from which we understand that the very Emotion works as a consequence, positive or negative, that allows us to discriminate between which behaviors to reproduce and in which 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 schemes

Emotions also allow us to develop processing and thought 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 consolidating memory and attention, which is why they play an important role in cognition.

5. Lead teaching-learning processes

In relation to the above, one of the central functions of emotions, which has been specially studied and disseminated in in recent years, is the possibility of facilitating teaching-learning processes through experiences with load affective

For example, the 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, such as curiosity, attention and memory, do not exist. The same researcher has invited to explore and stimulate the above since the early school stages.

6. Cognitive-emotional processes and somatization

Something that the study of emotions has made evident is the relationship between mood and somatic activity. In this sense, the subject of somatization (how emotions can generate important organic discomforts) 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, the cingulate cortex, and the 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, sympathy make a certain interaction possible.

They allow us, among other things, negotiate and reflect on the behaviors that we can repeat or not 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. The societies in our time define individuals according to the emotions that they experience or manifest.

9. Reproduction and social change

Emotions generally 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 occurs passively but reflectively: it helps to resolve contradictions and act in accordance with what is expected of each who. For this reason, emotions have the potential to be both social reproducers and processes of change.