Robert Plutchik's

PSYCHOEVOLUTIONARY THEORY OF BASIC EMOTIONS

Postulates

1 ANIMALS AND HUMANS

The concept of emotion is applicable to all evolutionary levels and applies to all animals as well as humans.

Basic Emotions, Similarity, Intensity

2 EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY 3 SURVIVAL ISSUES

Emotions serve an adaptive role in helping organisms deal with key survival issues posed by the environment.

Emotions have an evolutionary history and have evolved various forms of expression in different species.

acceptance

4 PROTOTYPE PATTERNS 5 BASIC EMOTIONS 6 COMBINATIONS

delight serenity cheerfulness

tolerance

timidity apprehension

trust
admiration elation fright terror

Dispite different forms of expression of emotions in different species, there are certain common elements, or prototype patterns, that can be identified.

joy
attentiveness expectancy extasy

fear

dismay

panic uncertainty

There is a small number of basic, primary or prototype emotions.

amazement vigilance astonishment

All other emotions are mixed or derivative states; that is, they occur as combinations, mixtures, or compounds of the primary emotions.

anticipation
curiosity

surprise
distraction

7 HYPOTHETICAL CONSTRUCTS
Primary emotions are hypothetical constructs or idealized states whose properties and characteristics can only be inferred from various kinds of evidence.

interest

fury rage

grief loathing revulsion sorrow

Primary emotions can be conceptualized in terms of polar opposites.

OPPOSITES

anger
hostility

sadness
dejection gloominess pensiveness

9 SIMILARITY 10 INTENSITY

disgust
annoyance aversion dislike boredom

All emotions vary in their degree of similarity to one another.

Each emotion can exist in varying degrees of intensity or levels of arousal.

Combinations & Opposites

A mixture of any two primary emotions may be called a dyad.
[often felt] [sometimes felt] [seldom felt]

Survival Issues
Organisms at all evolutionary levels face certain common functional survival problems .

PRIMARY DYADS
joy trust

SECONDARY DYADS TERTIARY DYADS

joy fear joy surprise

OPPOSITES
joy sadness

STIMULUS EVENT gain of valued object

COGNITE APPRAISAL possess friend danger what is it? abandonment poison enemy examine

SUBJECTIVE REACTION
joy

BEHAVIORAL REACTION retain or repeat

FUNCTION gain resources

love
trust fear trust

guilt
surprise

delight
trust sadness

conflict
trust disgust

member of ones group threat unexpected event loss of valued object unpalatable object obstacle new territory

trust

groom escape stop cry vomit attack map

mutual support safety gain time to orient reattach to lost object eject poison destroy obstacle knowledge of territory

submission
fear surprise

curiosity
fear sadness

sentimentality
fear disgust

conflict
fear anger

fear

alarm
surprise sadness

despair
surprise disgust

shame
surprise anger

conflict
surprise
anticipation

surprise

disappointment
sadness disgust sadness

?
anger

outrage
sadness
anticipation

conflict

sadness

remorse
disgust anger

envy
disgust
anticipation

pessimism
disgust joy

disgust

contempt
anger
anticipation

cynism
anger joy

morbidness
anger trust

anger

aggression
anticipation

pride
anticipation

dominance
trust
anticipation

joy

fear

anticipation

optimism

fatalism

anxiety

Scientific Basis
Theories of Emotions: Psychoanalytic Theories Brain Function Theories Current Cognitive and Evolutionary Theories Early Behavioristic and Arousal Theories Major Traditions in the Study of Emotions
Sandor Rado Paul D. MacLean Karl H. Pribram

Paul Ekman
Charles Brenner Joseph De Rivera Paul T. Young Edward C. Tolman George Mandler

J. A. R. A. M. van Hooff

Stanley S. Schachter
J. R. Millenson Robert Leeper

Richard S. Lazarus
Marion A. Wenger

John Bowlby Magda B. Arnold

H. R. Conte
J. W. Papez

M. Sherman
Carrol E. Izard

Jos M. R. Delgado Manfred Clynes

Harold Schlosberg

Sylvan S. Tomkins

Charles Darwin

John B. Watson

Burrhus F. Skinner

William James

Walter B. Cannon

Siegmund Freud
Supervised by Prof. Matthias Krohn

Based on the Book EMOTION: A Psychoevolutionary Synthesis by Robert Plutchik; Harper & Row, Publishers (1980)

Visualization by Markus Drews, University of Applied Sciences Potsdam, Germany, February 2007