Learn about the components and competency of emotions, including basic & complex emotions, physiological and behavioral responses, and theories of emotion.

1. The Mindpower Of Emotions :
Components & Competency
The Components and Competency of Emotions can be understood as a subjective state of our mind,
characterized by powerful responses or reactions to internal stimuli or events in our surroundings.
A positive or negative emotional response is therefore found to be directly linked with the
circumstances that triggers that specific basic emotion. For instance, when a person gets selected
for a job, they may experience joy, or when they receive news of losing a job, they may feel sad or
disgusted. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), emotions involve a complex
reaction pattern that includes experiential, behavioral, and physiological elements. Emotions assist
individuals in dealing with personal matters or significant situations in their lives. People
accumulate emotions through experiences, shaping “our feelings,” often impacted by memories and
beliefs. On the other hand, the APA sees mood as “any short-lived emotional state, usually of low
intensity, lacking stimuli with no clear starting point”.
According to psychology, we divide emotions into two groups: Basic Emotions and Complex
Emotions.
Basic Emotions
Basic emotions are the ones that are recognizable facial expressions & occur spontaneously. Darwin
said emotions are adaptive, played a role in human survival. Psychologist Paul Ekman identified six
basic emotions interpreted through facial expressions viz; happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise
and disgust. People are born with unmixed and innate basic emotions.
Complex Emotions
The APA defines complex emotions as “aggregates of two or more emotions. The classic example is
‘hate’ being a fusion of fear, anger, and disgust. Other examples are love, embarrassment, envy,

2. gratitude, guilt, pride, and worry, among many others. These emotions vary in facial appearances&
are not easy to recognize.
Any kind of emotional experience consists of three components:
 Subjective Experience
Subjective experience includes simple stimuli like color and significant events like marriage or loss.
 Physiological Response
The autonomic nervous system causes physiological responses to subjective experiences, such as
rapid heartbeat or tears. These responses are active, rather than passive.
 Behavioral or Expressive Response
People express emotions through behaviors like smiles, laughs, or sighs, and other reactions based
on personality traits.
To explain the phenomenon of emotions & emotional experiences, many psychologists &
neuroscientists proposed various theories since the early 19th century. For example, James-Lange
Theory of Emotion hypothesizes that physiological stimuli (arousal) cause the autonomic nervous
system to react in ways like fast heartbeat, tensed muscles, sweating & eventually one experiences
emotion implicating that the physiological response comes before emotional behavior. Later,
Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion refuted the James-Lange theory affirming that bodily changes and

3. emotions occur simultaneously instead of one by one. Neurobiology backs this theory, which
emphasizes that stimulating information relays to both the amygdala and cortex at the same time,
making arousal and emotion concurrent events. Further Cognitive appraisal theory by Lazarus,
came into picture stating that thinking ought to occur before an emotional experience. So,
sequentially, one will experience a stimulus first, then think over it, and later parallelly experience a
physiological response & emotion.
The Components and Competency of Emotions play a crucial role in understanding and managing
our daily lives. Realizing that our emotions, such as happiness, anger, sadness, boredom, or
frustration, strongly influence our decisions, activities, and overall behavior is imperative. By
analyzing the cognitive aspects of emotions before responding, we can have a long-lasting
emotional experience and manage and control various mood disorders and anxiety with greater
ease and stability. Understanding the components and competency of emotions can provide us with
the necessary tools to regulate our emotional responses and ultimately improve our overall well-
being.
Thank you