New
Ideas in Psychology
| Chapter 1 |
The Nature of Emotion
|
Page 8
|
[ Feelings ] [ Model
of Emotion ] [ Influence of Value ]
[ Compound
Emotions ] [ Unconscious Ideas ]
Emotions have
two origins : feelings and unconscious ideas. So now I turn
to unconscious ideas.
Deriving them was not easy. Some
emotions occur three times ; for example, self-pity occurs on its
own, as a mode of jealousy, and as a mode of guilt, and each one
produces a different response. To work out the underlying idea,
the overall theme or motif of the emotion needs to be considered,
that is, what the emotion is trying to express. Also, in a
compound emotion, one unconscious idea needs to be harmonious
with the other one. Below are the results that I derived.
I use the word ‘implies’
to indicate the central idea that determines a particular emotion.
These ideas are focused on relationships. When a relationship is
not the issue, then different responses may occur. For example,
the vanity mode of pride, when applied to crafts, produces the
satisfaction of doing good work.
| |
Table ... 2
|
Unconscious
. Ideas |
|
| |
| The motif of guilt and pride is punishment /
humiliation |
| Guilt is self-punishment |
| |
self-pity
mode implies life is punishment. |
| |
self-hate
mode implies I deserve punishment. |
| |
| Pride is punishment /
humiliation of other people. |
| |
vanity mode
implies you are inferior to me. |
| |
hate mode
implies I despise you / I will punish you. |
| |
| The motif of jealousy and narcissism is
responsibility |
| Jealousy is social
responsibility. |
| |
self-pity
mode implies I need a reward (from other people). |
| |
love mode
implies I reward other people. |
| |
| Narcissism is self-responsibility. |
| |
vanity mode
implies I will do it my way. |
| |
love mode
implies I do not depend on anyone. |
| |
| The motif of self-pity and vanity
is help |
| |
Self-pity
implies I need help. |
| |
Vanity
implies I do not need any help. |
| |
| The motif of anger and fear is
domination |
| |
Anger
implies I need to dominate other people |
| |
Fear
implies the world is dominating me. |
| |
| The motif of love and hate is
identity |
| |
Love
implies I am the same as everyone else. |
| |
Hate
implies I am different from everyone else. |
| |
| The motif of envy and greed is the need to
acquire importance |
| |
Envy
implies I become important if I can get what you have. |
| |
Greed
implies I become important if I possess things. |
| |
| The motif of resentment and
bitterness is disgust |
| |
Resentment
implies people are repulsive. |
| |
Bitterness
implies life is repulsive. |
| |
| The motif of paranoia is the
betrayal of trust |
| |
Paranoia
implies I trust no one. |
| |
| The motif of anxiety is a sense of
oppression by one’s conscience or by other people |
| |
fear
mode implies do as you are told / control yourself. |
| |
vanity mode
implies I am uneasy in the presence of other people. |
Depression
arises from self-pity ; there are three forms of the latter, so
there are three forms of the former.
The most common type arises from jealousy (mode of self-pity) and
is the depressive stage of manic depression. Guilt-based
depression (or ‘endogenous’ depression) has its
source in the infant’s traumatic experience of parental
relationships and represents a response to the feeling of being
rejected. Depression that arises from self-pity may be seen in
political refugees denied asylum, and in anyone who is a victim
of injustice.
| The motif of manic depression is
victimisation |
| |
depression
mode implies I am a victim. |
| |
mania mode
implies I help victims. |
| |
| The motif of guilt-based depression
is self-denigration |
| |
Depression
implies I am a sinner. |
| |
| The motif of depression based on
self-pity is the absence of equity or fairness |
| |
Depression
implies there is no equity, no fairness in life. |
These ideas enable me to state
how motivation is usually handled by the subconscious mind.
Subconscious
motivation usually means the influence of the current
subconscious mood and its associated ideas.
By dwelling on an associated
idea, an emotion becomes prolonged into a mood. Since moods
change frequently, this form of motivation is short-term. Long-term
subconscious motivation requires a subconscious desire, but
unless this desire is powered by idealism it is likely to be much
weaker as an influence on the ego than any mood.
The specific mental
attitudes and ideas that have become characteristic of each
emotion are the subject of the next chapter, E2 : Characteristics of Emotions,
beginning with the article Jealousy & Narcissism.
[ E1 [ ] E2 ] [ E3 ] . [ Table of
Contents ] . [ A1 ] [ A2 ] [ A3 ] [ A4 ] [ A5 ]
[ Glossary ] [ Links ] [ References 1 & 2. ] [ Appendix 1 & 2. ]
[ Profile ] [ Acknowledgements ] [ Index ] [ Home ]
Copyright
© 2002 Ian Heath
All Rights Reserved
The copyright
is mine, and this book is free to use. It can be reproduced
anywhere, so long as the source is acknowledged.
If you want to write to me,
go to the Table of Contents page
and use the address at the bottom.
www.emotion.discover-your-mind.co.uk/index.htm.