ABSTRACT
Psychological research into the topic of emotion forms a diffuse body of knowledge loosely held together by a commonsense understanding of the boundaries of emotion. This network of formulations is probably the best theoretical arrangement that can be hoped for, for emotion is a multi-faceted phenomenon which achieves a degree of unity largely by standing as a separate chapter heading in many textbooks of psychology. Broadly speaking psychologists agree that emotion should be distinguished from other phenonema such as memory, cognition, or thinking and there is general agreement also on the various states which can be subsumed under the title of emotion. Interest, surprise, joy, anger, disgust, fear, and sadness represent a fundamental constellation of experiences which most people would classify as emotional in flavour; indeed Ekman and his associates have shown that facial displays typifying happiness, fear, contempt, anger, surprise, and sadness can be accurately identified and distinguished from each other by people from a variety of cultural backgrounds. Accordingly, it seems that there is a basic series of psychological states which can be widely recognized as emotion.