Supports the claim that proponents of basic emotion theory now describe upwards of 20 emotions signalled in multimodal, dynamic patterns and acknowledge contextual influences on recognition. Review by proponents; it does not settle the dispute with constructionist accounts.
Who was studied
Not applicable: a narrative review of studies on emotional expression.
Design
Review
Level of evidence
Cross-sectional, observational, qualitative work and narrative reviews.
Claims that rest on it
Each claim states what the site asserts, at what strength, and with what caveat.
TheoreticalLevel DConfidence HIGH
Basic emotion theory holds that a set of emotions evolved as distinct families with characteristic signals, physiology and antecedent events; recent versions describe more than 20 emotions expressed in multimodal, dynamic patterns and acknowledge contextual influence.
Scope
The position as stated by its proponents.
Caveat
The theory has changed over time, so criticisms of early versions do not always apply to current ones.
Last reviewed · Review due · basic-emotion-theory-position
Supports the claim that basic emotion theory treats emotions as evolved responses, each with distinctive signal, physiology and antecedent events and sharing features such as rapid onset and brief duration. A theoretical argument.
Supports the claim that basic emotion theory describes emotions as families of related states sharing characteristics that are preprogrammed but shaped by experience. A restatement of the theory, not a test.
Keltner, D., Sauter, D., Tracy, J., & Cowen, A. (2019). Emotional expression: Advances in basic emotion theory. doi:10.1007/s10919-019-00293-3
Level DReview
Supports the claim that proponents of basic emotion theory now describe upwards of 20 emotions signalled in multimodal, dynamic patterns and acknowledge contextual influences on recognition. Review by proponents; it does not settle the dispute with constructionist accounts.