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Cited by 4,264Emotions and Moral BehaviorEmotion and Mood RecognitionAcademic and Historical Perspectives in Psychology

What are emotions? And how can they be measured?

Open access
Scherer, Klaus R.·2005·Social Science Information
DOI 10.1177/0539018405058216
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Abstract

Defining “emotion” is a notorious problem. Without consensual conceptualization and operationalization of exactly what phenomenon is to be studied, progress in theory and research is difficult to achieve and fruitless debates are likely to proliferate. A particularly unfortunate example is William James’s asking the question “What is an emotion?” when he really meant “feeling”, a misnomer that started a debate which is still ongoing, more than a century later. This contribution attempts to sensitize researchers in the social and behavioral sciences to the importance of definitional issues and their consequences for distinguishing related but fundamentally different affective processes, states, and traits. Links between scientific and folk concepts of emotion are explored and ways to measure emotion and its components are discussed.

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Crossref · 10.1177/0539018405058216

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78 of 78 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Motives and their states of action readiness (including autonomic responses) are elicited by events as these are appraised in a fraction of a second.

    “Motives and their states of action readiness (including autonomic responses) are elicited by events as these are appraised in a fraction of a second (Scherer, 2005; Frijda, 2007).”

    From Impulsive action: emotional impulses and their control (2014) · cites this paper as Scherer, 2005

  • The most central appraisal is whether an event is appraised to promote or obstruct one or more of the person's goals, needs, values, or more generally concerns.

    “The most central appraisal is whether an event is appraised to promote or obstruct one or more of the person’s goals, needs, values, or more generally concerns (Ellsworth and Scherer, 2003; Scherer, 2005; Frijda, 2007).”

    From Impulsive action: emotional impulses and their control (2014) · cites this paper as Scherer, 2005

  • Real-life emergency situations are suggested to evoke acute stress responses to facilitate remedial action.

    “Real-life emergency situations are suggested to evoke acute stress responses to facilitate remedial action (Scherer, 2005; Kreibig, 2010).”

    From Voice Stress Analysis: A New Framework for Voice and Effort in Human Performance (2018) · cites this paper as Scherer, 2005

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Authors
Scherer, K. R.
Corresponding author
Scherer, Klaus R.
ORCID
Scherer, Klaus R.
Venue
Social Science Information
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2005-12
Volume
44
Issue
4
Pages
695-729
ISSN
  • 0539-0184 (ISSN-L)
  • 1461-7412
DOI
10.1177/0539018405058216
OpenAlex
W2102998034
Cited by
4,264
References
80
Citations by year
2026: 283 · 2025: 258 · 2024: 271 · 2023: 299 · 2022: 338 · 2021: 348 · 2020: 280 · 2019: 308 · 2018: 263 · 2017: 248 · 2016: 272 · 2015: 248 · 2014: 210 · 2013: 186 · 2012: 158
FWCI
24.26
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Social Science Information (publishedVersion)
  • Archive ouverte UNIGE (University of Geneva) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Emotions and Moral Behavior
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Emotion and Mood Recognition
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › General Psychology › Academic and Historical Perspectives in Psychology
Keywords
emotions, definition of emotion, emotion measurement, emotional processing, affective states, emotional characteristics, conceptualization and operationalization

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