Comment: Can We Model What an Emotion Is? Comment on Suri & Gross (2022)

Abstract

The question “what is emotion?” has long been at the core of theoretical debates. The IAC-E is a useful framework for understanding relationships among responses in emotional situations. However, this approach cannot address the nature of emotion. Researchers determine what counts as emotion in the IAC-E, and this decision impacts the relationships detected and inferences made. The assumptions of researchers about emotion change the output. Further, the model is not theoretically agnostic and is best suited to examine emotion perception/knowledge, as in the simulations presented. According to some theories, experienced emotion is qualitatively different than situations that involve perceiving others' emotion or semantic knowledge. Addressing the nature of emotion requires empirical examination of the assumptions made in each theory.

Keywords

basic emotion constructionist emotion theory modeling

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Keltner

Gross

J. J.

(1999). Functional accounts of emotions. Cognition & Emotion, 13(5), 467–480. https://doi.org/10.1080/026999399379140

Lazarus

R. S.

Lazarus

R. S.

(1991). Emotion and adaptation. Oxford University Press.

Lench

H. C.

Bench

S. W.

Darbor

K. E.

Moore

(2015). A functionalist manifesto: Goal-related emotions from an evolutionary perspective. Emotion Review, 7(1), 90–98. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073914553001

Lench

H. C.

Bench

S. W.

Flores

S. A.

(2013). Searching for evidence, not a war: Reply to Lindquist, Siegel, Quigley, and Barrett (2013). Psychological Bulletin, 139(1), 264–268. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029296

Öhman

Mineka

(2001). Fears, phobias, and preparedness: Toward an evolved module of fear and fear learning. Psychological Review, 108(3), 483–522. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.108.3.483

Parkinson

(2001). Putting appraisal in context. In Scherer

K. R.

Schorr

A. S.

Johnstone

(Eds.), Appraisal processes in emotion: Theory, methods, research (pp. 173–186). Oxford University Press.

Robinson

M. D.

Clore

G. L.

(2002). Episodic and semantic knowledge in emotional self-report: Evidence for two judgment processes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(1), 198–215. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.83.1.198

Suri

Gross

(2002). Authors' Reply: Why a connectionist perspective on emotion is helpful. Emotion Review, 83(1), 198–215. https://doi.org/10.1177/17540739221089693.