Emotional states: affects, moods, feelings. Classification of feelings

Which occurs in a person as a result of a reaction to some object or situation. They are not static and have different strengths of expression. Such states are determined and depend on the data of his character and psychotype.

Basic emotional states: characteristics

Emotions are characterized by three parameters:

1. Valence. This is the so-called tone of emotions: they can be negative and positive. An interesting fact is that there are much more negative emotions than positive ones.
2. Intensity. Here the strength of the emotional experience is assessed. External physiological manifestations are more pronounced the stronger the emotion. This parameter is closely related to the central nervous system.
3. the parameter affects the activity of human behavior. It is presented in two variants: sthenic and emotions contribute to the paralysis of actions: the person is lethargic and apathetic. Stenic ones, on the contrary, encourage action.

Kinds

Human emotional states are divided into 5 categories, which are identified by strength, quality and duration of manifestation:

1. Mood. One of the longest lasting emotional states. It affects human activity and can occur either gradually or suddenly. Moods can be positive, negative, temporary and permanent.
2. Affective emotional states. This is a group of short-term emotions that suddenly grip a person and are characterized by a vivid manifestation in behavior. Despite the short duration, the influence of affects on the psyche is very great and is destructive, reducing its ability to organize and adequately assess reality. This state can only be controlled by individuals with developed will.
3. Stressful emotional states. They arise when a person falls into a subjective point of view. Severe stress can be accompanied by affect if great emotional damage has been suffered. On the one hand, stress is a negative phenomenon that has a detrimental effect on the nervous system, and on the other hand, it mobilizes a person, which sometimes allows him to save his life.
4. Frustration. It is characterized by a feeling of difficulties and obstacles, putting the person in a depressed state. The behavior is characterized by anger, sometimes aggressiveness, as well as a negative reaction to ongoing events, regardless of their nature.
5. Emotional states of passion. This category of emotions is caused by a person’s reaction to material and spiritual needs: for example, a strong desire for something causes in him a desire for an object, which is difficult to overcome. Activity is observed in behavior, the person feels an increase in strength and most often becomes more impulsive and proactive.

Along with this classification, there is also a more detailed one, which divides all emotions into 2 categories.

Psychologists identify 7 main emotions:

• joy;
• anger;
• contempt;
• astonishment;
• fear;
• disgust;
• sadness.

The essence of basic emotions is that they are experienced by all people who have had a harmonious development without pathologies from the nervous system. They manifest themselves equally (albeit in varying degrees and quantities) in representatives of different cultures and social environments.

This is due to the presence of certain brain structures that are responsible for a particular emotion. Thus, a certain set of probable emotional experiences is inherent in a person from the very beginning.

Emotions- this is a special type of mental processes and states formed by natural selection, associated with instincts, needs and motives. Emotions reflect in the form of direct experience (satisfaction, joy, fear) the significance of the phenomena and situations affecting the individual for the implementation of his life activities.

Everything we encounter in life evokes a certain attitude in us. Various phenomena and objects evoke in us sympathy or antipathy, pleasure or disgust, interest or indifference. Thus, emotions warn us about the favorable or, conversely, destructive nature of any external factors. Forcing us to strive for the pleasant and avoid the unpleasant, frightening or disgusting, highlighting information that is potentially important to us (we experience interest) from unimportant, emotions are one of the main mechanisms for regulating the functional state of the body and human activity.

Types of emotional experiences: affects, actual emotions, feelings, moods.

1.Affect – a strong and short-term emotional experience that develops in critical situations and has a pronounced motor accompaniment. These are, for example, rage, horror, intense joy, deep grief, despair. Affect completely takes over the human psyche, suppressing the control of consciousness, and affects the motor centers of the cerebral cortex, which leads to opposite reactions: a person either makes violent, often chaotic movements, or, on the contrary, becomes numb, motionless and silent. Even with the strongest affect, a person is aware of what is happening to him, but some people are able to master their thoughts and actions, while others are not. This depends on the level of emotional-volitional stability of a person.

2.Emotions - differ from affects by a longer duration, and represent a reaction not only to current, but also to remembered or probable events. Emotional processes are characterized by manifestations of: I. pleasure and displeasure. II. tension and relief. III. excitement and calm. From the point of view of influence on activity, emotions are divided into sthenic(stimulate activity, increase human energy and tension) and asthenic(cause loss of strength, stiffness, passivity).

Despite the widest range of emotions, there are fundamental, or basic emotions; all others are variants of their combinations or variants of the intensity of their manifestation (for example, the emotion of anger manifests itself from weak anger - irritation, to the strongest - rage.). A basic emotion is an emotion that arises as a result of evolutionary biological processes, has a special way of reacting to the nervous system, manifests itself through facial expressions, and has an organizing and motivating effect on a person. The following emotions are basic:

Joy– a positive emotional state associated with the ability to sufficiently fully satisfy an actual need.

Astonishment– an emotional reaction to sudden circumstances that does not have a clearly defined positive or negative sign.

Suffering– a negative emotional state associated with received reliable or apparent information about the impossibility of satisfying the most important needs of life.

Anger- an emotional state, negative in sign, usually occurring in the form of affect and caused by the sudden emergence of a serious obstacle to the satisfaction of a need that is extremely important for the subject.

Disgust– a negative emotional state caused by objects (people, circumstances, objects, etc.), contact with which comes into sharp conflict with the ideological, moral or aesthetic principles and attitudes of the subject.

Contempt– a negative emotional state that arises in interpersonal relationships and is generated by a mismatch in the life positions, views and behavior of the subject with the life positions, views and behavior of the object of feeling.

Fear– a negative emotional state that appears when the subject receives information and real or imagined danger.

Shame– a negative state, expressed in the awareness of the inconsistency of one’s own thoughts, actions and appearance not only with the expectations of others, but also with one’s own ideas about appropriate behavior and appearance.

The difficult question is criterion for assessing emotions. Emotions that are pleasant (or, respectively, unpleasant) to experience are considered positive or negative. However, “positive” emotions can lead to undesirable consequences (drug use brings pleasure), and vice versa (fear motivates one to avoid dangers). Therefore, the best criterion is considered to be the following: an emotion is considered positive or negative depending on whether it facilitates constructive behavior or leads to unjustified expenditure of mental energy.

3.Feelings – long-term mental states that have a clearly defined objective character. They reflect a stable attitude towards any specific objects (real or imaginary). Feelings are always individual and determined by the system of values ​​and orientations of a particular person.

Higher feelings are a special form of experience; they contain all the richness of human relationships. Higher feelings are divided into moral(moral) – experienced when perceiving the phenomena of reality and comparing these phenomena with the norms developed by society; intellectual– experienced in the process of human cognitive activity. These feelings - surprise, curiosity, inquisitiveness, joy from a discovery, doubt about the correctness of a decision - indicate the relationship between intellectual and emotional processes; aesthetic feelings - a person’s emotional attitude to beauty in nature, in people’s lives and in art. The aesthetic attitude manifests itself through different feelings - delight, joy, disgust, melancholy, suffering, etc.

4.Mood - the longest, or “chronic” emotional state that colors all behavior. Mood reflects an unconscious, generalized assessment of how circumstances are currently shaping up. Moods can vary in duration; their stability depends on the person’s age, individual characteristics of character and temperament, willpower and other factors.

When a person experiences a strong emotion, all neurophysiological and somatic systems of the body are involved. Weak, indistinct emotions do not reach the threshold of consciousness and are not realized, but physiological changes nevertheless occur. The emotion may be weak, but the subthreshold reaction is long-lasting. It is under the influence of such emotions that moods are formed. A prolonged negative emotion, even a weak one, can be extremely dangerous and ultimately lead to neuropsychic and somatic disorders. Therefore, it is so important to be aware of your mood and state and analyze its causes.

Functions of emotions: thanks to emotions we:

distinguish useful from harmful ( reflective-evaluative function);

select the appropriate behavior ( regulatory);

find mutual understanding with other people ( communicative);

show our status ( signal);

improving in a certain type of activity ( motivational).

Yerkes-Dodson Law : excessive motivation reduces performance efficiency . This means that if a person takes something too seriously, if, in the opinion of a person, his whole life depends on a certain event (exam, interview, declaration of love, public speaking), most likely he will fail in this matter , since fear and awareness of the enormous responsibility and significance of each of his actions disorganize activity, provoke indecision and inhibition of thinking, and weaken attention. Therefore, it is recommended to have several significant areas of activity, not to make your self-esteem dependent on your achievements, and to carefully think through your further actions after the event, both in the case of a successful and unsuccessful outcome.

James–Lange theory of emotions : the perception of a fact reflexively causes bodily changes (breathing, facial expressions, blood circulation), and our perception of these changes is an emotion. James: “We are sad because we cry, we are afraid because we tremble.” That is, what is traditionally considered a consequence of emotions (physiological changes), according to James and Lange, is their root cause. This theory is supported by some facts, but raises a number of objections.

Mental states.

Mental condition– this is a person’s reflection of the situation in the form of a stable holistic syndrome in the dynamics of mental activity, expressed in the unity of behavior and experience. A mental state is a way of organizing mental processes in a certain period of time. A living organism, striving to achieve the most favorable state for it - internal balance (homeostasis), must adapt to the conditions of the environment in which it is located. This phenomenon is defined by the concept of “adaptation”. Adaptation- this is 1) a property of the organism, 2) the process of adaptation to changing environmental conditions, 3) the result of interaction in the “man-environment” system, 4) the goal towards which the organism strives. So, adaptation is a multi-level phenomenon; a dynamic combination of levels is denoted by the concept of “functional state of the body.” Considering it first of all, based on the characteristics of the course of mental processes, we define it as a mental state. Main classes of mental states :

personal(individual properties of a person are revealed) and situational(features of the situation appear).

deep and superficial(according to the degree of influence on experiences and behavior).

positive And negative(facilitating or complicating activities).

long-term and short-term.

more or less aware.

Mental states can be divided into two large groups according to the defining sphere of the psyche: 1). Characterizing the affective-volitional sphere (the affective sphere is characterized by the concepts of “pleasure-displeasure”, the volitional sphere – “tension-resolution”) and 2). Characterizing the cognitive sphere (determined by the states of consciousness and attention “sleep-wakefulness”.

Mental state depends on three components of the situation. This:

1) the needs, desires and aspirations of a person and the degree of their awareness.

2) human capabilities (abilities, physical tone, resources),

3) environmental conditions (objective impact and subjective perception and understanding of the current situation).

The ratio of these determinants determines the main characteristics of the state.

Negative mental states

(negatively affecting human life):

Stress – a nonspecific response of the body to changes in environmental conditions (author of the theory of stress Hans Selye, 1936). This answer lies in biochemical changes - an increase in the adrenal cortex, a decrease in the thymus gland and lymph glands, and pinpoint hemorrhages in the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines. The purpose of these changes is to generate the necessary energy for adaptation. Selye postulated that there are two types of energy: 1). Superficial– available on demand, replenished using energy No. 2 – deep: its depletion is irreversible and leads to aging and death of the body.

Stages of stress: anxiety– mobilization of all adaptive capabilities of the body, resistant(aka resistance stage) – balanced consumption of adaptation reserves, exhaustion– without eliminating the stress factor and/or outside support, the individual dies.

Types of stress by duration:

short-term– rapid consumption of surface energy, the beginning of the mobilization of deep energy. If the rate of mobilization is insufficient, the individual dies.

long– consumption of both surface and deep energy, development of mental and somatic painful conditions.

Types of stress by impact:

physiological(lack of water, oxygen, food, wound, unsuitable environmental temperature, etc.) and

mental, which is divisible by emotional(associated with situations of threat, danger, resentment) and informational(as a result of an excessive flow of information, a person cannot make a decision at the right pace, especially with high responsibility).

Symptoms of mental stress: a feeling of loss of control over oneself, disorganization of activities, apathy, lethargy, increased fatigue, sleep and sexual function disorders, increased consumption of alcohol, high-calorie foods, psychoactive substances (coffee, strong tea, tobacco), irritability, decreased mood, pain in muscles, heartburn, headache.

Anxiety– an individual mental feature, manifested in a tendency to frequent and intense experiences of anxiety. Anxiety– emotional discomfort, a feeling of trouble, impending danger.

Manifestations of anxiety : physiological- increased heart rate and breathing, increased blood pressure, decreased sensitivity threshold; psychological– tension, anxiety, nervousness, a feeling of impending failure, inability to make a decision. Anxiety is a sign of personal distress and insufficient adaptation to the environment. Personal and situational anxiety is measured by the Spielberger-Hanin test.

Frustration– (Latin “frustratio” - deception, vain expectations) - a mental state caused by failure to satisfy a need or desire. With prolonged frustration of significant needs, frustration behavior. Its signs are: motor agitation - aimless and disordered reactions, apathy, aggression and destruction, stereotypy - blind repetition of behavior, regression - a return to more primitive forms of behavior (for an adult - to teenage or childish, sometimes even infant). With prolonged experience of negative mental states, such as frustration or anxiety, it is possible to develop psychological protection is a system of regulatory mechanisms in the psyche aimed at eliminating or reducing traumatic experiences in situations that threaten self-esteem (The concept was introduced by S. Freud). Main types of psychological defenses:

crowding out– elimination of unacceptable drives and experiences from consciousness.

identification– unconscious assimilation to a threatening object.

rationalization- a rational explanation by a person of his actions or desires, the true reasons for which are irrational or unacceptable.

sublimation– transformation of sexual energy into socially acceptable forms.

projection– attributing to others one’s own repressed motives, desires and character traits.

Depression - a painful condition characterized by a negative emotional background and general passivity of behavior. Subjectively, a person in this state experiences difficult, painful experiences and emotions - depression, melancholy, despair. Drives, volitional activity, and self-esteem are sharply reduced. Characteristic is a feeling of guilt for the events of the past and a feeling of helplessness, hopelessness in the face of life's difficulties. Also, with depression, behavioral changes are observed, such as: slowness, lack of initiative, fatigue, which leads to a sharp drop in productivity. Often in a state of depression, a person has thoughts of suicide. Depression does not go away on its own, and it is quite difficult to define. The main thing is to seek help from a specialist (psychotherpist) in time.

Over the course of centuries of history, studies of emotional states have received the closest attention; they have been assigned one of the central roles among the forces that determine a person’s inner life and actions.

The development of approaches to the study of emotional states was carried out by such psychologists as W. Wundt, V. K. Viliunas, W. James, W. McDougall, F. Kruger.

W.Wundt

V.K.Vilyunas

W. McDougall

The doctrine of feelings or emotions is the most undeveloped chapter in psychology. This is the side of human behavior that is more difficult to describe and classify, and also to explain by some laws.

In modern psychological science, the following types and forms of experiencing feelings are distinguished:

• Moral.
• Intelligent.
• Aesthetic.
• Subject.

Moral feelings- these are feelings in which a person’s attitude to people’s behavior and to his own is manifested. Moral feelings are alienation and affection, love and hatred, gratitude and ingratitude, respect and contempt, sympathy and antipathy, a sense of respect and contempt, a sense of camaraderie and friendship, patriotism and collectivism, a sense of duty and conscience. These feelings are generated by the system of human relations and the aesthetic norms that regulate these relations.

Intellectual feelings arise in the process of mental activity and are associated with cognitive processes. This is the joy of searching when solving a problem or a heavy feeling of dissatisfaction when it is not possible to solve it. Intellectual feelings also include the following: curiosity, inquisitiveness, surprise, confidence in the correctness of the solution to the problem and doubt in case of failure, a sense of the new.

Aesthetic feelings- this is a feeling of beauty or, on the contrary, ugly, rough; a feeling of greatness or, conversely, baseness, vulgarity.

Object feelings- feelings of irony, humor, a sense of the sublime, the tragic.

Many scientists have made attempts to give more universal classifications of emotions, but each of them put forward their own basis for this. Thus, T. Brown based the classification on the sign of time, dividing emotions into immediate, that is, manifested “here and now,” retrospective and prospective. Reed built a classification based on the relationship to the source of action. I. Dodonov notes in 1978 that it is generally impossible to create a universal classification, therefore a classification suitable for solving one range of problems turns out to be ineffective for solving another range of problems

Emotions - (French emotion, from Latin emoveo - shocking, exciting) - a class of mental states and processes that express, in the form of direct biased experience, the meaning of reflected objects and situations to satisfy the needs of a living being.

Emotion is a general, generalized reaction of the body to vital influences.

The class of emotions includes moods, feelings, affects, passions, and stress. These are the so-called “pure” emotions. They are included in all mental processes and human states. Any manifestations of his activity are accompanied by emotional experiences.

The division of emotions into higher and lower is of greatest importance.

Higher (complex) emotions arise in connection with the satisfaction of social needs. They appeared as a result of social relations and labor activity. Lower emotions are associated with unconditional reflex activity, based on instincts and being their expression (emotions of hunger, thirst, fear, selfishness).

Of course, since a person is an inextricable whole, the state of the emotional body directly affects all other bodies, including the physical.

In addition, emotional states (more precisely, states of the emotional body) can be caused not only by emotions. Emotions are quite fleeting. There is an impulse - there is a reaction. There is no impulse - and the reaction disappears.

Emotional states are much more permanent. The cause of the current state may disappear long ago, but the emotional state remains and sometimes lingers for a long time. Of course, emotions and emotional states are inextricably linked: emotions change emotional states. But emotional states also influence emotional reactions, and also influence thinking (i.e., the mind). In addition, feelings contribute: they also change the emotional state. And since people often confuse where are feelings and where are emotions, a generally simple process turns into something difficult to understand. Or rather, this: it’s not difficult to understand - it’s difficult to put it into practice without preparation, and therefore (including why) people sometimes have difficulties managing their emotions and emotional states.

You can suppress an emotional state with a strong-willed effort - this is the same suppression that, according to psychologists, is harmful, especially harmful both for a person and as a parent. You can switch yourself: artificially evoke in yourself (or attract from the outside) some other impulse - react to it in some previously known way - the new emotion will add its current and lead to a different emotional state. You can do nothing at all, but focus on experiencing the current emotional state (this approach is mentioned in Buddhism and Tantra). This is nothing new, and we learn to suppress emotional states from childhood, considering this process to be control of emotions... but this is wrong. Still, this is control of emotional states, and with its help it is impossible to control emotions themselves.

And this is where the confusion appears: a person thinks that he is trying to control emotions - but he is not working with emotions. In reality, a person is trying to work with the consequences of emotions; but since he does not touch upon the reasons for his emotional state, his attempts will certainly be ineffective (of course, if he does not work with himself and in terms of choosing emotions) - in terms of emotional states, the difficulty is that our current state is the result of several different reasons at once , various reasons. Therefore, it is difficult to choose an intelligent method of self-regulation (especially if you take into account only emotions and do not take into account other areas of the psyche). However, it seems that if you have a sufficiently developed will, it is easier to work with your own emotional states. Well, you shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that reasons from the sphere of feelings are weakly amenable to control and observation, at least at first.

Thus, there are a great many approaches to the classification and definition of emotions; emotions accompany all manifestations of the body’s vital activity and perform important functions in the regulation of human behavior and activity:

· signaling function(signal about a possible development of events, a positive or negative outcome)

· evaluative(assess the degree of usefulness or harmfulness for the body)

· regulating(based on received signals and emotional assessments, he selects and implements methods of behavior and action)

· mobilizing And disorganizing

adaptive the function of emotions is their participation in the process of learning and accumulation of experience.

The main emotional states identified in psychology:

1) Joy (satisfaction, fun)

2) Sadness (apathy, sadness, depression)

3) Fear (anxiety, fright)

4) Anger (aggression, bitterness)

5) Surprise (curiosity)

6) Disgust (contempt, disgust).

Positive emotions arising as a result of the body’s interaction with the environment contribute to the consolidation of useful skills and actions, while negative ones force one to evade harmful factors.

What emotions and emotional states have you been experiencing lately?

Depending on the depth, intensity, duration and degree of differentiation, the following types of emotional states can be distinguished: sensual tone, actual emotions, affect, passion, mood.

1. Sensual or emotional tone- this is the simplest form of emotion, an elementary manifestation of organic sensitivity, accompanying individual vital influences and prompting the subject to eliminate or preserve them. A sensual tone is recognized as an emotional coloring.

2. Actually emotions- mental reflection in the form of direct biased experience of the life meaning of phenomena and situations, conditioned by the relationship of their objective properties to the needs of the subject. Emotions arise when there is excessive motivation in relation to the real adaptive capabilities of the individual.

It is traditional to divide emotions into positive and negative. A popular classification of emotions in relation to activity and, accordingly, their division into sthenic(prompting to action, causing tension) and asthenic(inhibiting action, depressing). Classifications of emotions are also known: by origin from need groups - biological, social and ideal emotions; by the nature of the actions, on which the likelihood of satisfying a need depends - contact and distance.

3. Affect- a rapidly and violently occurring emotional process of an explosive nature, which can provide a release in action that is not subject to conscious volitional control. The main thing in affect is an unexpected shock, sharply experienced by a person, characterized by a change in consciousness, a violation of volitional control over actions. Affect has a disorganizing effect on activity, consistency and quality of performance, with maximum disintegration - stupor or chaotic, unfocused motor reactions. There are normal and pathological affects. The main signs of pathological affect: altered consciousness (disorientation in time and space); inadequacy of the intensity of the response to the intensity of the stimulus that caused the reaction; the presence of post-affective amnesia.

4. Passion- an intense, generalized and prolonged experience that dominates other human impulses and leads to concentration on the subject of passion. The reasons that cause passion can be different - ranging from bodily attractions and
to conscious ideological convictions.

5. Mood- a relatively long-lasting, stable mental state of moderate or weak intensity. The reasons that cause mood are numerous - from organic well-being (vital tone) to the nuances of relationships
with others. Mood has a subjective orientation; in comparison with a sensual tone, it is recognized not as a property of an object, but as a property of the subject (for example, regarding a piece of music, emotional accompaniment in the form of a sensual background will sound like “beautiful music”, and in the form of a mood - “I have
great mood" (from music). Individual personality characteristics play a certain role (for example, hyperthymia - a tendency to high mood, dysthymia - a tendency to low mood).

With positive emotions, muscle innervation increases, small arteries dilate, and blood flow to the skin increases. She turns red and warms up. Accelerated blood circulation begins, which improves tissue nutrition. All physiological functions are performed better. A happy person is in a good mood and has optimal conditions for the functioning of the whole organism. Joy “colors a person” (T.N. Lange), makes him more beautiful, more confident, more cheerful.

In grief and sadness, muscle action is paralyzed. They become weaker. There is a feeling of fatigue and overstrain. A person becomes more sensitive to cold, feels a lack of air, sighs, “withdraws into himself,” and willingly remains in the same position. The person seems older.

The following basic emotional states can be distinguished ( according to K. Izard - "fundamental emotions"), each of which has its own range of psychological characteristics and external manifestations.

Interest(as an emotion) - a positive emotional state that promotes the development of skills and abilities, the acquisition of knowledge and motivating learning.

Joy- a positive emotional state associated with the ability to sufficiently fully satisfy an actual need, the likelihood of which until this moment was small or, in any case, uncertain.

Astonishment - an emotional reaction to sudden circumstances that does not have a clearly defined positive or negative sign. Surprise inhibits all previous emotions, directing attention to the object that caused it, and can turn into interest.

Suffering - a negative emotional state associated with received reliable or apparent information about the impossibility of satisfying the most important needs of life, which until that moment seemed more or less probable, most often occurs in the form of emotional stress. Suffering has the character of an asthenic (weakening) emotion.

Anger - an emotional state, negative in sign, usually occurring in the form of affect and caused by the sudden emergence of a serious obstacle to the satisfaction of a need that is extremely important for the subject. Unlike suffering, anger is sthenic in nature (that is, it causes an increase, albeit short-term, in vitality).

Disgust- a negative emotional state caused by objects (objects, people, circumstances, etc.), contact with which (physical interaction, communication in communication, etc.) comes into sharp conflict with the ideological, moral or aesthetic principles and attitudes of the subject. Disgust, when combined with anger, can motivate aggressive behavior in interpersonal relationships, where attack is motivated by anger and disgust by the desire to “get rid of someone or something.”

Contempt - a negative emotional state that arises in interpersonal relationships and is generated by a mismatch in the life positions, views and behavior of the subject with the life positions, views and behavior of the object of feeling. The latter are presented to the subject as base, not corresponding to accepted moral standards and aesthetic criteria.

One of the consequences of contempt is depersonalization of the individual or group to which it belongs.

Fear - a negative emotional state that appears when the subject receives information about possible damage to his well-being in life, about a real or imagined danger that threatens him. In contrast to the emotion of suffering, caused by direct blocking of the most important needs, a person, experiencing the emotion of fear, has only a probabilistic forecast of possible troubles and acts on the basis of this (often insufficiently reliable or exaggerated) forecast. You can recall the popular saying: “Fear has big eyes.”

Shame- a negative state, expressed in the awareness of the inconsistency of one’s own thoughts, actions and appearance not only with the expectations of others, but also with one’s own ideas about appropriate behavior and appearance.

According to the tradition of Russian psychology, it is customary to distinguish feelings as a special subclass of emotional processes. A feeling is experienced and revealed in specific emotions. However, in contrast to the actual emotions and affects associated with specific situations, feelings highlight phenomena in the surrounding reality that have a stable need-motivational significance. The content of a person’s dominant feelings expresses his attitudes, ideals, interests, etc.

So, feelings - These are stable emotional relationships, acting as a kind of “attachment” to a certain range of phenomena of reality, as a persistent focus on them, as a certain “capture” by them. In the process of regulating behavior, feelings are assigned the role of leading emotional and semantic formations of the individual.

One of the human conditions is stress. Stress- a state of emotional and behavioral disorder that is associated with a person’s inability to act expediently in non-standard situations. It is a state of excessively strong and prolonged psychological stress that occurs in a person when his nervous system receives emotional overload (G. Selye, 1963).

Stress occurs in three phases:

Anxiety phase (feeling of danger, difficulty);

Resistance phase (when all the body’s defenses are mobilized);

The phase of exhaustion (when a person feels that his strength is running out).

Stress, if it is frequent and prolonged, has a negative impact not only on the psychological state, but also on the physical health of a person. Stress is compared to a serious illness. Frequent stressful situations “repress” a person’s emotional apparatus, and specific “diseases of social adaptation” develop. These include a number of so-called psychosomatic diseases - primarily hypertension, gastric ulcer, etc. Overexertion in one area and underutilization
in another they lead to distortions in the self-regulation system, which, in turn, leads to
diseases, early aging. “Stress is not what happened to you, but how you perceive it,” says Hans Selye - father of stress theory. Many people create their own stress by allowing their work to become extremely disorganized (and usually blaming others for it). They are constantly nervous, not finding the things they need, panic, suddenly remembering what they haven’t done, waste their energy, grasping at one thing or another, and are chronically late.

Prevention of stress among employees should take an important place in activities
manager at any level. Each of us has our own “first aid kit for the soul.” Experts believe that an effective anti-stress factor is a strong social environment. However, as a rule, when people find themselves in a difficult situation, they avoid those who can help them and withdraw, preferring to cope with difficulties themselves. Prevention of distress includes the ability to shift, exercise, rest and exercise. The stress of dashed hope is worse than the stress of heavy muscular work. Positive communication with people we love and trust and who have a sense of empathy (emotional response to other people's experiences) is especially important.

In addition to all this, you need to learn to manage your emotions. After all, I am able
emotional excitement, a person sometimes loses his main property - to be
communication partner. It’s best to start with the little things: cultivate the ability to wait,
endurance and patience. It is also worth learning not to get into situations that make us angry, lead to irritation and rage.

Thus, improving the emotional sphere gives you the opportunity to better manage your behavior and effectively influence other people.

T. Holmes and R. Raz (T. Note, K. Kape, 1967) developed list of typical life situations that cause stress. The most stressful situation was the death of a spouse (100 points), but such obviously negative situations as imprisonment (63 points) and trauma (53 points) are followed by positive and even desirable situations, such as marriage (50 points) or birth of a child (40 points).

The most important factor prosperous overcoming stress is confidence is that the situation remains under control. In one experiment, two rats received painful electric shocks at the same time. One of them could not influence the situation in any way, while the other, by pulling the ring, “controlled” the painful effect. In fact, the strength and duration of the electric shock were identical for both participants in the experiment. However, the passive rat developed a stomach ulcer and decreased immunity, while the active rat remained resistant to the stressor. Similar data have been obtained for humans. For example, employees who were allowed to organize their office environment as they saw fit were less likely to be disrupted by distress than those who worked in a permanently created environment.

21. Emotional states In psychology, there are a number of basic emotional states

1. Joy. This is an emotional state that has a bright positive connotation. It is associated with the ability to fully satisfy the current current need in conditions where the likelihood of this until this moment was small or, at least, uncertain. Joy is a sthenic emotion.

2. Suffering. A negative emotional state that is the antipode of joy. Suffering occurs when it is impossible to satisfy an actual need or when receiving information about this, provided that until now the satisfaction of this need seemed quite probable. Emotional stress often takes the form of suffering. Suffering is an asthenic emotion.

3. Anger. Negative emotional state. Most often it occurs in the form of affect. It is usually caused by the emergence of an unexpected serious obstacle to the satisfaction of a need that is extremely important for the subject. Unlike suffering, anger is sthenic in nature - it allows you to mobilize all your strength to overcome an obstacle.

4. Fear. Negative emotional state. It occurs when there is a real, perceived or imaginary threat to the life, health, or well-being of the subject. Unlike the emotion of suffering, caused by the real lack of opportunity to satisfy a need, the experience of fear is associated only with a probabilistic forecast of possible damage. Has an asthenic character.

5. Interest. A positive emotional state that promotes cognitive activity: the development of skills and abilities, the acquisition of knowledge. Interest motivates learning. This is a sthenic emotion.

6. Surprise. This emotion is neutral in sign. It is a reaction to a suddenly arising situation or object in the absence of information about the nature of this object or situation.

7. Disgust. Negative emotional state. Occurs in case of contact with objects that cause a sharply negative attitude of the subject at any level - physical, moral, aesthetic, spiritual.

8. Contempt. Negative emotional state. It arises in interpersonal relationships, i.e. the object of contempt can only be another person or a group of people. This emotional state is a consequence of views, attitudes, and forms of behavior of the object that are unacceptable to the subject, regarded by the subject as unworthy, base, and not consistent with his ideas about moral norms and aesthetic criteria.

9. Shame. Negative emotional state. It arises when the subject realizes his own inconsistency with the situation, the expectations of others, as well as the inconsistency of his thoughts, actions, and forms of behavior with his own moral and aesthetic standards.