What are secondary emotions?

Emotions are a complex topic within psychology due to their interaction with most mental processes. In order to better understand them, some authors propose differentiating between primary and secondary. In this article, we will define, identify, and talk about secondary emotions.

Learning more about these helps improve our accuracy when talking about different moods, including what we may be experiencing in the present. Likewise, it helps us to be more empathetic with what other people around us may be feeling. Therefore, it benefits the dialogue we maintain with ourselves and with others.

Primary and secondary emotions

When we talk about emotions, we are referring to a series of very rapid reactions that occur in the body. -they are associated with an organic/objective correlate and a subjective correlate. For example, the surprise we feel when receiving an unexpected gift. Following this line, emotions are something that humans have in common with other animal species, such as primates.

However, it is often said that the emotions we share with other animals are what we call “primary.” They receive this name because they are reactions that people manifest innately, that is, they are not learned. It is something that we can see in the crying of babies when they laugh at an experience that pleases them.

Generally, it is said that there are six primary emotions: joy, sadness, anger, fear, disgust and surprise. Now, research indicates that within the human emotional experience there are other types of emotions known as secondary. So what are the secondary emotions?

There are six primary emotions, while there are many secondary emotions.

What are secondary emotions?

There is no rule with which it is possible to define emotions as primary or secondary. For that reason, we only have theories that address different aspects of them. Among the most accepted models we find those of Robert Plutchik and Paul Ekman. From his work, it is possible to mention the following secondary emotions.

Pleasure

This is a pleasant feeling that people have when something happens that satisfies their needs. somehow. You could say that it is a deeper and more complex version of joy. Pleasure can appear when we satisfy hunger or do some activity that we like.

Blame

When discussing what secondary emotions are, guilt is one that is frequently mentioned. In this sense, People feel guilt when they do something that is contrary to their morals. Therefore, they believe that they deserve to receive punishment because of such an action.

Shame

Shame is an emotion that It is usually linked to social rules and the fear of not conforming to them. For example, we might feel embarrassed if we attend a formal event wearing sportswear because we would be “out of place.” This emotion is unpleasant and leads people to avoid situations or inhibit their behavior.

Jealousy

The jealous reaction tends to appear in situations in which we believe that someone can take away something that we consider “ours.”

To better illustrate this, we can think about relationships. Who hasn’t felt jealous at some point when their partner talks to someone they find very attractive? It is a natural emotion, although it can become a problem if it turns into jealousy.

Pride

People experience pride when they feel comfortable with who they are or their own achievements. Often, It is described as a pleasant emotion, but it can also take on negative connotations. Excess pride can make someone self-centered and cause them to isolate themselves in society.

Pride is a secondary emotion that, taken to the extreme, can transform into egocentrism.

Do secondary emotions exist in animals?

Regarding what secondary emotions are, researchers usually agree that these are exclusive to humans and some primates. Therefore, other species such as dogs or cats could not experience them, or that is what we tend to believe. However, a study by Morris, Doe and Godsell (2008) suggests that dogs and cats could also have emotions such as jealousy.

For their research, they interviewed caregivers of pets such as dogs and cats who reported these types of reactions in their animals. The conclusion was that their descriptions of the behavior were consistent with feelings such as pleasure and jealousy.

Secondary emotions: why are they different?

Now, what is the main difference between secondary and primary emotions? Well, learning. We could say that primary emotions are already “programmed” in our body through genetic inheritance. Therefore, they are not reactions that we must learn, but rather they only arise when some stimulus appears that activates them.

Contrary to this, secondary emotions do depend on learning. If we take shame as an example, we realize that it is not a universal feeling. There are people who give little importance to dress standards and only dress how they want regardless of social opinion. While others do care a lot about meeting certain standards.

In the case of guilt, it is an emotion that is associated with the moral sense, which is subjective and varies for each person. While someone may feel guilty about stealing, another might do the same without any remorse.

To finish with the topic of what secondary emotions are, we could say that they are varied and subjective reactions. Factors such as culture, morals, ethics and learning can influence how they are manifested and experienced. For this reason, it is difficult to develop a theory that covers and describes them universally.

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