ABSTRACT
All human emotions, in Robert Plutchik's theory, are derivatives and combinations of eight basic emotions, which he displayed, using a color chart as his model, as a wheel composed of paired opposites. Three of these are instantly recognizable as the frequent accompaniments of many experiences: rage/anger versus terror/fear; ecstasy/joy versus grief/sadness; and—as a way of assessing social encounters—admiration/trust versus loathing/disgust. According to the late Robert Plutchik, a prolific theorist about the origins and function of emotions, feelings are an ancient phenomenon that predate humanity by many millions of years—as Charles Darwin recognized when he wrote that "even insects express anger, terror, jealousy, and love by their stridulations." In Plutchik's model, responding to an emotion and doing something to solve a problem, whether social or food-related or in order to escape danger, would bring a return to a preexisting state of comparative rest.
