Robert Plutchik

Plutchik, R. (2001). Integration, differentiation, and derivatives of emotion. Evolution and Cognition, 7(2).

The nature of each environment “creates certain functional requirements for all organisms if they are to survive.” Different theorists have listed different common adaptive behaviors found in different species. Scott (1958) listed the following: ingestive behavior, shelter-seeking behavior, agonistic (fight or flight) behavior, sexual behavior, care-giving behavior, care-soliciting behavior, eliminative behavior, allelomimetic (imitative) behavior, and in-vestigative behavior. Putnik believes there are eight adaptive behaviors, and he believes that each adaptive behavior has an accompanying emotion:

1. Protection — withdrawal, retreat, contraction — fear, terror
2. Destruction — elimination of barriers to the satisfaction of needs — anger, rage
3. Incorporation — ingesting nourishment — acceptance
4. Rejection — riddance response to harmful material — disgust
5. Reproduction — approach, contact, genetic exchanges — joy, ecstasy
6. Reintegration — reaction to loss of a nutrient object — sadness, grief
7. Exploration — investigation of one’s environment — curiosity, play
8. Orientation — reaction to contact with a strange object — surprise

Regarding this list, he clarifies: “This does not mean that a prokaryote bacterium feels fear as it is about to be engulfed by a larger bacterium, but it does struggle and attempt to flee. Somewhere in the course of evolution, a subjective feeling of fear develops that acts to amplify the struggle to avoid being eaten.”

Plutchik’s theory of emotion “is based on the Darwinian assumption that emotions are modes of adaptation to significant events in an organism’s environment, and that they are complex processes having functional value both for purposes of communication and to increase an individual’s chances of survival. Emotions represent proximate methods to achieve ultimate goals of inclusive fitness. The general theory includes three subsidiary models: a structural model, a sequential model, and a derivatives model.”

Structural Model. Here he makes four points about emotions. First, emotions vary in intensity: 

1. Annoyance, Anger, Rage
2. Boredom, Disgust, Loathing
3. Pensiveness, Sadness, Grief
4. Distraction, Surprise, Amazement
5. Apprehension, Fear, Terror
6. X, Joy, Ecstasy 
7. X, Acceptance, Adoration 
8. X, Anticipation, Vigilance

Second, emotions vary in degree of similarity to one another. The emotions going clockwise around the circle: anger, anticipation, joy, acceptance, fear, surprise, sadness, disgust. Third, emotions have the character of polarity; anger is the opposite of fear, acceptance is the opposite of disgust, joy is the opposite of sadness, and anticipation is the opposite of surprise. Fourth, emotions are either primary or secondary (mixed), just as colors are either primary or secondary (mixed). 

“By mixing two or more emotions at different intensity levels it is possible to create hundreds of terms representing the language of emotions.”

Plutchik, R. (2000). Emotions in the practice of psychotherapy: Clinical implications of affect theories. American Psychological Association.

A group of college students agreed that mixing emotions resulted in the following secondary emotions:

1. Anticipation + Joy = Optimism
2. Joy + Acceptance = Love
3. Acceptance + Fear = Submission
4. Fear + Surprise = Awe
5. Surprise + Sadness = Disappointment
6. Sadness + Disgust = Remorse
7. Disgust + Anger = Contempt
8. Anger + Anticipation = Aggressiveness
9. Anticipation + Fear = Anxiety
10. Fear + Disgust = Shame
11. Anger + Joy = Pride
12. Joy + Fear = Guilt

Sequential Model. Plutchik writes that the stimulus-to-feeling sequence begins with a stimulus that can be either external or internal; the stimulus needs to be interpreted to have an effect on the individual, and the interpretation can be either conscious or unconscious. Consequently, a feeling state results along with a physiological state, and after this there is an impulse to action. “Such impulses may be expressed by tensions in the muscles; by facial expressions; by clenching of the fists; or by preparations for running, attacking, or yelling.” Emotions serve a purpose in our lives.