The 8 Basic Emotions, According To Plutchik’s Wheel

Plutchik’s wheel is a resource devised by Robert Plutchik, an American psychologist, to graph the different emotions and their possible combinations in a didactic way. This researcher thought that there were some basic emotions and that these evolved throughout life, transforming over time.

Emotions evolve and present modifications thanks to adaptation. In other words, human beings need to adjust their subjective world to  external reality and that interaction leads to transformations in the way of feeling. Plutchik’s wheel would show, in some way, the path that emotions follow.

We are talking about a graphic in the  shape of a flower with eight petals in different colors. Each of them shows the evolutionary course that each of the basic emotions, represented in those eight petals, follows. Let’s see what this is about.

Plutchik wheel axles

The Plutchik wheel is based on three axes or basic criteria. These are typology, antagonism, and intensity. Regarding the typology, Plutchik points out that there are two kinds of emotions : the basic ones and the compound ones. The first are those that are in a natural state, the second, would result from the combination of these.

As for antagonism, it refers to the opposition between some emotions and others. On Plutchik’s wheel, such emotions appear at opposite extremes, so that opposition becomes apparent. There are four axes of opposition: joy / sadness; anticipation / surprise; disgust / confidence; and fear / anger.

Finally, intensity  refers to the strength of emotions. This is plotted on Plutchik’s wheel as intensity in color. The more intense an emotion, the more it resembles the basic emotion and the closer it is to the center on the graph.

Basic emotions

According to Plutchik’s thesis, the basic emotions  are the following: joy, confidence, fear, surprise, sadness, aversion, anger and anticipation. Each one of them is in the essence of the human being and corresponds to the emotion in its pure state. Let’s see what Plutchik says in front of each of those emotions:

• Joy. It is defined as a state of satisfaction and well-being, both with oneself and with the circumstances in which one lives.
• Confidence. It is a subjective position in which you have the conviction that there will be no harm or damage, in a certain situation, or after an action of your own.

• Fear. Plutchik defines fear as an unpleasant uncertainty, born of expectations associated with harm or evil to come.
• Surprise. It is the reaction to the unpredictable in the environment. It is classified as a basically neutral emotion.
• Sadness. It is a state of anxiety in which depressed mood prevails and usually leads to the need for social support.
• Aversion. It is an emotion in which the will to reject or avoid something or someone is expressed.
• Ira. According to Plutchik, anger is the response to an offense, especially when it is perceived that it has been done deliberately.
• Anticipation. It is the objective expectation, based on experience and previous information about facts or situations.

The combination of basic emotions

Plutchik’s wheel shows that the basic emotions combine with each other and give rise to three dyads or groups of combined emotions. In turn, these combinations generate new emotions. Let’s see:

Primary dyad :

• Joy + Trust = Love.
• Joy + Anticipation = Optimism.
• Trust + Fear = Submission.
• Fear + Surprise = Alarm.
• Surprise + Sadness = Disappointment.
• Sadness + Disgust = Regret.
• Disgust + Anger = Contempt.
• Anger + Anticipation = Aggression.

Secondary dyad :

• Joy + Fear = Guilt.
• Joy + Anger = Pride.
• Confidence + Surprise = Curiosity.
• Trust + Anticipation = Fatalism.
• Fear + Sadness = Despair.
• Surprise + Disgust = Disbelief.
• Sadness + Anger = Envy.
• Disgust + Anticipation = Cynicism.
• Anger + Sadness = Envy.

Tertiary dyad :

• Joy + Surprise = Delight.

• Joy + Disgust = Morbidity.
• Trust + Sadness = Sentimentality.
• Trust + Anger = Domination.
• Fear + Disgust = Shame.
• Fear + Anticipation = Anxiety.
• Surprise + Anger = Outrage.
• Sadness + Anticipation = Pessimism.

The value of Plutchik’s wheel is in the precise and didactic organization that it proposes as a common emotional dictionary. We are talking about a tool that can help us better understand our emotions and those of others.