This version of the emotions wheel has spawned dozens of similar designs, as people continue to try to improve on the concept. These “high survival value” emotions were believed to be the most useful in keeping our ancient ancestors alive.Īnother seminal graphic concept was developed by author Dr. One of these original concepts was developed by American psychologist Robert Plutchik, who mapped eight primary emotions-anger, fear, sadness, disgust, surprise, anticipation, trust, and joy. The concept of mapping the range of human emotions on a wheel picked up traction in the 1980s, and has evolved ever since. In total, there are 102 second- and third-order emotions listed on this emotion wheel. The wheel visualization above identifies six root emotions:įrom these six emotions, more nuanced descriptions emerge, such as jealousy as a subset of anger, and awe-struck as a subset of surprise. Our understanding has come a long way since William James proposed four basic emotions – fear, grief, love, and rage-though these core emotions still form much of the foundation for current frameworks. This circular visualization is the latest in an ongoing attempt to neatly categorize the full range of emotions in a logical way. That’s where this brilliant visualization by the Junto Institute comes in. Of course, the broad spectrum of emotions we’re capable of experiencing can be difficult to articulate. There are few attributes more central and universal to the human experience than our emotions. Despite vast differences in culture around the world, humanity’s DNA is 99.9% similar.

Film color wheel emotions