Thinking of emotions

a socio-cognitive view

A. H. Fischer

pp. 229-236

in: Michael E. Hyland, William J. Baker, René van Hezewijk, Terwee (eds), Recent trends in theoretical psychology, Berlin, Springer, 1990

Abstract

Cognitive theories of emotion reject the classical polarity between rationality and emotionality and stress the cognitive underpinnings of emotions. The cognitive processes preceding the emotion, the so-called appraisals, have been studied extensively. In this paper the view is defended that not merely these cognitive antecedents, but the emotional experience as a whole is soaked through with cognitions. This does not imply that emotions can be reduced to cognitions. It is argued that emotions are structured, regulated and understood in a social meaning system. We possess a great deal of (often implicit) knowledge about emotions, for example, how they are caused, how they feel, what effects they have upon oneself or others, how they can be coped with. Thus, we know our emotions and they mean something to us. Two different views on emotion knowledge are discussed.