If you don’t deal with an emotion it can become more intense.

This is also indicated by the color (the darker the shade, the more intense the emotion).įor example, when joy is more intense it becomes ecstasy.

Anticipation and anger form aggressiveness.Įmotions intensify as they move from the exterior sections of the wheel of emotions to the center.

Disgust and anger combine to form contempt.

Disgust and sadness combine to form remorse.

Sadness and disgust combine to form remorse.

Surprise and sadness combine to form disapproval.

Trust and fear combine to form submission.

Serenity and interest combine to form optimism.

It isn’t always easy to recognize when a feeling is a combination of different emotions. For example, Joy and trust combine to be love. Emotions with softer colors are a mix of two primary emotions. CombinationsĬombinations are a mix of two primary emotions. You can see these relationships on the emotion color wheel. For example: Joy (emotion) causes you to connect (reaction) is the opposite of sadness (emotion) that causes you to withdraw (reaction). Polar opposites are based on the physiological reaction each emotion creates.

surprise is the opposite of anticipation.

Polar OppositesĮach primary emotion has a polar opposite in the first circle of emotions. Plutchik suggested 8 primary bipolar emotions: joy versus sadness anger versus fear trust versus disgust and surprise versus anticipation. Primary emotions are located in the second circle (from the center). These primary emotions are organized based on the physiological purpose of each emotion. The eight sectors of Robert Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions are the 8 primary emotions: anger, anticipation, joy, trust, fear, surprise, sadness, and disgust. Therefore, it is often referred to as the emotion color wheel. Just like you can mix colors to form different colors so can you mix emotions to form different emotions. There is a connection between the emotion wheel and a color wheel as primary emotions, like colors, can be expressed at different intensities. Plutchik created a wheel of emotions to illustrate the combinations of emotions and to describe how emotions are related. The 8 primary emotions are arranged by colors that establish a set of similar emotions. An emotion is a conscious mental reaction (such as anger or fear) subjectively experienced as a strong feeling usually directed toward a specific object and typically accompanied by physiological and behavioral changes in the body. 4 How does the emotion wheel help us? What is an emotion?Īccording to the Merriam Webster dictionary an emotion is a strong feeling (such as love, anger, joy, hate, or fear).

Plutchik's color wheel emotion