Emotional Competency

Explore the Logic of Passion


Mood Map
How do you feel?

Emotions create subjective feelings that are often evaluated as “feeling good” or “feeling bad”. Emotions also tend to increase or decrease our arousal level, which we often describe as increasing or lowering our energy level. The map shown here places each of the major emotions roughly where they are often experienced in these two dimensions.

Mood Map

The placement of each emotion on this map is only approximate and very subjective. Each emotion can vary greatly in intensity. For example anger can range from mild irritation to intense rage. Clearly the energy level of those extremes vary greatly. You can improve your ability to recognize emotions in yourself by paying attention to how you are feeling on the good-bad axis and on the energy level axis as you go about your day. Click on each emotion name to learn more about that emotion.

Two other, more subtle dimensions also differentiate among emotions. The first dimension describes the “depth of experience” or “depth of emotional involvement” characteristic of the emotion. The second dimension describes the extent to which the emotion is either involuntary or deliberate. The major emotions are placed on a grid along these two dimensions below.

Mood Map #2

These charts are based on the following data obtained from Averill, J.R. (1975) “A semantic atlas of emotional concepts”, JSAS Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA, Vol. 5, No. 330, pp.1-64 (Ms No. 1103). Each scale is centered on zero with a range of +3 to -3. The four factors are explained in detail below this table.

Term: Activation Evaluation Depth Uncontrol

Admiration

.59

1.29

.54

.19

Afraid

.33

-.86

.47

.96

Angry

1.76

-1.5

.72

.35

Anxious

1.38

-.35

.76

.87

Compassion

.5

1.99

1.38

.01

Contempt

.98

-1.25

.45

-.55

Depressed

-1.05

-.74

1.25

.86

Disgust

.55

-.88

.56

-0.8

Envy

.7

-.72

.11

.25

Flow

0

0

 

 

Gloating

.88

-1.07

-.24

-.71

Guilt -.13 -1.13 .78 -.35

Gratitude

.39

1.63

.94

-.21

Happy

1.59

1.12

.92

.81

Hate

.85

-2.19

.76

-.99

Hope

.31

1.27

.68

.04

Jealousy

1.24

-1.32

.42

.58

Loving

.76

1.92

1.59

.4

Love-Passion

1.16

1.11

1.49

.47

Proud

.90

.84

1.21

-.68

Relief .3 1.39 .75 .1

Sad

-1.14

-.46

.79

.33

Shame

-.41

-.27

.36

.44

Surprised

1.85

.64

.56

1.24

The “activation” dimension is labeled High/Low energy and the “evaluation” dimension is labeled “Feel good/Feel bad” on the upper chart. The “depth of experience” dimension is labeled Deep/Shallow and the “Uncontrol” dimension is labeled Involuntary/Deliberate on the lower chart.

To better understand each of the four factors used, the fifteen emotional concepts from the list of 558 terms with the highest and lowest scores on each of the four factors are listed in the following table. In each column the terms with the highest score (toward +3) for each factor are listed in the first group. Those with the lowest score (toward -3) are listed in the second group, below the break in the table. The “uncontrol” factor describes the extent of autonomous or involuntary response as opposed to deliberate intent associated with each concept.

Activation Evaluation Depth of Experience Uncontrol

Rampageous
Rambunctious
Riotous
Rollicking
Uproarious
Furious
Fierce
Frolicsome
Enraged
Peppy
Ferocious
Excited
Ranting
Vivacious
Hilarious

Peaceful
Tender
Pleasant
Kindly
Contented
Tranquil
Harmonious
Serene
Thoughtful
Trusting
Compassionate
Warmhearted
Relaxed
Loving
Affectionate

Tragic
Excruciating
Ominous
Foreboding
Grave
Painful
Macabre
Agonizing
Heart-stricken
Loving
Magnanimous
Spiritual
Caring
Understanding
Intense

Terrified
Panicked
Blushing
Petrified
Hysterical
Trembling
Neurotic
Nervous
Scared
Spellbound
Infatuated
Delirious
Berserk
Helpless
Frightened

Dreary
Lonely
Morbid
Grave
Somber
Glum
Despondent
Weary
Solemn
Desolate
Fatigued
Bored
Exhausted
Sluggish
Mournful
Morbid
Repulsive
Plagued
Evil
Shattered
Hateful
Hellish
Persecuted
Macabre
Cruel
Tragic
Tortured
Bloodthirsty
Violent
Suicidal
Shaky
Insecure
Listless
Mischievous
Cowardly
Fretful
Coy
Scoffing
Frivolous
Flirtatious
Sheepish
Timid
Peevish
Meek
Giddy
Devilish
Scoffing
Confident
Greedy
Sneering
Vindictive
Callous
Obstinate
Composed
Heartless
Fiendish
Serious
Determined
Cruel
Diabolical

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