Max S. Dunn

Blog: Emotion Matrix

Posted by: Max Dunn on December 17, 2008 09:14:34

Often we think of emotions in a one-dimensional way, like thinking of a person as being either happy or sad or somewhere in between. But in reality, I think emotions are much more complex and are produced by the interaction of several different moods. For instance, if someone is sad and tired, these moods will combine to produce depression. But if someone is sad and energetic, it will likely produce an anxious state.

Here is a matrix that illustrates these combinations:
 

	Tired	Energetic
Sad	Depressed	Anxious
Happy	Kick-back	Manic

 

These interactions are actually continuous, so if someone is happy and in between tired and energetic, it will likely manifest itself as being bored. This produces a whole range of emotions as the various moods change subtly.

There are lots of other mood interactions as well. For instance, acceptance/anger versus tired/energetic. The important point is that emotions are not simply one-dimensional but interact with other moods to produce new emotions and if we want to fully understand emotions, we need to consider these interactions.