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The Experience of Emotion in the Body

Explanations > Emotions > The Experience of Emotion in the Body

How do you know you are happy, sad or feeling any other emotion? A particular way we know is how we feel, physically, within the body. So what are those feelings and where do we experience them?

Nummenmaa et al (2012) produced an innovative 'heat map', showing where emotions are experienced and the intensity of the feeling. This was done by offering subjects (from both Europe and Asia) emotional words, stories, movies and facial expressions and then asking them to identify the emotion and bodily sensations they experienced. This included feelings of both 'heat' and of 'cold'. In the table below, the first eight emotions are considered basic, while the second eight are non-basic.

Emotion	Location and intensity
Anger	Fairly evenly across upper torso, head and arms. Hottest in heart, hands, face. A little sensation in lower legs.
Fear	Warm across upper torso with some in lower torso. A little in arms and less in legs. Some in head, but not lower face.
Disgust	Lightly warm upper body, head and hands. Hottest in lower face and lower abdomen.
Happiness	Warm all over body. Hottest in heart and head and some down the arms.
Sadness	Cold arms and legs, especially lower legs. A little heat in heart, neck and eyes.
Surprise	Slightly cool legs. Warm chest and head. Warmest around eyes.
Neutral	Just a little coolness around armpits.
Anxiety	Hot torso with hottest around heart. Some warmth in head. Some coolness in legs.
Love	Hot upper body, especially around heart, face and groin. Warm arms with a little warmth running down legs.
Depression	Cold legs and arms, with some coolness in head and lower abdomen.
Contempt	Heat only in central upper torso, hot only in face. Some coolness around groin.
Pride	Hot upper body with most heat around whole upper torso and face. Some warmth in arms
Shame	Some warmth through torso. Warm head and hot cheeks. Coolness in arms and legs.
Envy	Some warmth in upper torso. Greatest warmth in head. A little coolness in legs.

So what?

Watch people. How they experience emotions will show in their body language.

See also

Nummenmaa, L., Glerean, E., Hari, R. and Hietanen, J. (2012). Bodily maps of emotions, PNAS, 111, 2, 646-651

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Site Menu

| Home | Top | Quick Links | Settings |

Main sections: | Disciplines | Techniques | Principles | Explanations | Theories |

Other sections: | Blog! | Quotes | Guest articles | Analysis | Books | Help |

More pages: | Contact | Caveat | About | Students | Webmasters | Awards | Guestbook | Feedback | Sitemap | Changes |

Settings: | Computer layout | Mobile layout | Small font | Medium font | Large font | Translate |

Please help and share:

Quick links

Disciplines

* Argument
* Brand management
* Change Management
* Coaching
* Communication
* Counseling
* Game Design
* Human Resources
* Job-finding
* Leadership
* Marketing
* Politics
* Propaganda
* Rhetoric
* Negotiation
* Psychoanalysis
* Sales
* Sociology
* Storytelling
* Teaching
* Warfare
* Workplace design

Techniques

* Assertiveness
* Body language
* Change techniques
* Closing techniques
* Conversation
* Confidence tricks
* Conversion
* Creative techniques
* General techniques
* Happiness
* Hypnotism
* Interrogation
* Language
* Listening
* Negotiation tactics
* Objection handling
* Propaganda
* Problem-solving
* Public speaking
* Questioning
* Using repetition
* Resisting persuasion
* Self-development
* Sequential requests
* Storytelling
* Stress Management
* Tipping
* Using humor
* Willpower

Principles

Explanations

* Behaviors
* Beliefs
* Brain stuff
* Conditioning
* Coping Mechanisms
* Critical Theory
* Culture
* Decisions
* Emotions
* Evolution
* Gender
* Games
* Groups
* Habit
* Identity
* Learning
* Meaning
* Memory
* Motivation
* Models
* Needs
* Personality
* Power
* Preferences
* Research
* Relationships
* SIFT Model
* Social Research
* Stress
* Trust
* Values

Theories

* Alphabetic list
* Theory types

And

– About
– Guest Articles
– Blog!
– Books
– Changes
– Contact
– Guestbook
– Quotes
– Students
– Webmasters

| Home | Top | Menu | Quick Links |

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