I decided to present a holistic theory of emotions, which I now use. Otherwise, we constantly talk about this, but we imagine the subject in a somewhat vague and abstract way. So, emotion is... Yes, in fact, it’s even difficult to give a definition. William James also encountered this problem, and immediately categorically refused to even try (see his work “Psychology”, 1893). However, James (and partly his colleague Carl Lange from Denmark) “gave” us one of the most important “insights” into the nature of emotions. Namely, the James-Lange theory is that emotions are a holistic package of sensorimotor, bodily sensations and experiences. If you remove this bodily component from an emotion, then practically nothing will remain of it; just a dry opinion. This is justified by the fact that, for example, it is impossible to experience fear or anxiety if they are not accompanied by characteristic somatic “underlays” - rapid pulse, shallow breathing, relaxation of the limbs/tension of the “insides”, and so on. In its original form, the theory belongs to history, but recent research by neuropsychologists and physiologists confirms its basic premise and offers various “modified” versions of the “somatic theory of emotions.” Many “tricks” for quick psychological help are based on this principle - for example, the famous “if you want to be happy, smile!” It’s not that simple, of course, but sometimes it works :)* * *Another influential theory originally belongs to Richard Lazarus, and has become widespread, especially in line with the “cognitive revolution”. We can conditionally call it the “Theory of Cognitive Mediation of Emotions.” You can read in detail, for example, in “Stress, Appraisal and Coping”, 1984. Freud?! - NO! :)According to her, emotion is “an alliance between feelings and cognition.” In general, the process of generating emotion looks like this (the terms are not Lazarus, this is a modern presentation): 1) The subject, being in a certain situation, experiences various environmental influences - stimuli, conditionally. What is not very important now, but at the same time it is worth remembering - stimuli reach only those that are in the range of the sensory organs. 2) All stimuli automatically undergo a “primary appraisal” - i.e. divided into important and irrelevant; and important ones, in turn, are divided into “promising” (positive) and “dangerous” (negative). Accordingly, the former lead to positive emotions, the latter - to negative. 3) Then, if we talk in the context of stress, dangerous stimuli go through a “secondary assessment” - which determines whether there are enough resources to cope with this danger (challenge, threat, loss, etc.). “Evaluation” is carried out by specific cognitive schemes - what in REBT is usually called “Beliefs/Beliefs”, in the Soviet school “Attitudes” are common; in general, these are pre-conscious “matrices” that contain (to put it simply) a specific need and the conditions for its satisfaction (necessary resources, motives, “threats”, “vulnerabilities”, etc.). These are quite “real” (in the sense that you can hypothetically look and touch - although the owner will not be very happy...) intra-brain “organs” made of neural circuits and synaptic networks.4) In any case, the assessment starts ( again, everything is automatic and unconscious) in the body there is a chain of hormonal and physiological reactions to a perceived stimulus.5) These reactions, simultaneously reflected “by feedback” in consciousness, acquire a holistic character, and form such a “sensorimotor-cognitive gestalt” - in fact, emotion.6) Depending on the emotion, its degree, vector, etc. - the subject receives instant impulses to action, automatic thoughts and everything else at this conscious level (run, yell, fall and pretend to be a hose, whatever :)). Or in short: Stimulus - Perception - Evaluation - Physiological response - Reflection - Physiological assessment - Drives. If we designate steps 1-5 as “Emotion”, we can rightfully assert that it is “emotions that control.