Explore your feelings, and how they affect your behaviour, with this new series on the psychology of the emotions.

We tend to think of our emotions as having laws unto themselves, but one psychological researcher has suggested that our emotions do follow certain general rules.

This post begins a new series on the psychology of emotions with Professor Nico Frijda's twelve laws of the emotions (Fridja, 2006). As for most laws there are exceptions, but these have been synthesised from years of psychological research and hold true much of the time..

1. The Law of Situational Meaning

The first law is simply that emotions derive from situations. Generally the same types of situation will elicit the same types of emotional response. Loss makes us grieve, gains make us happy and scary things make us fearful (mostly anyway - see all the other laws).

2. The Law of Concern

We feel because we care about something, when we have some interest in what happens, whether it's to an object, ourselves, or another person. Emotions arise from these particular goals, motivations or concerns. When we are unconcerned we don't feel anything.

3. The Law of Apparent Reality

Whatever seems real to us, can elicit an emotional response. In other words how we appraise or interpret a situation governs the emotion we feel (compare with laws 11 & 12). The reason poor movies, plays or books don't engage us emotionally is because, in some sense, we fail to detect truth. Similarly it's difficult to get emotional about things that aren't obvious, right in front of us. For example grief may not strike when we are told about the death of loved one, but only once it becomes real to us in some way - say when we pick up the phone to call them, forgetting they are gone.

4, 5 & 6. The Laws of Change, Habituation and Comparative Feeling

The law of habituation means that in life we get used to our circumstances whatever they are (mostly true, but see laws 7 & 8). The emotions, therefore, respond most readily to change. This means that we are always comparing what is happening to a relatively steady frame of reference (what we are used to). As a result our emotions tend to respond most readily to changes that are relative to this frame of reference.

7. The Law of Hedonic Asymmetry

There are certain awful circumstances to which we can never become accustomed. If things are bad enough, it is impossible to escape negative feelings like fear or anxiety. On the other hand positive emotions always fade over time. No matter how much we are in love, how big the lottery win, or how copious the quantities of drugs consumed, positive emotions like pleasure always slip away.

8. The Law of Conservation of Emotional Momentum

Time doesn't heal all wounds - or if it does, it only does so indirectly. Events can retain their emotional power over the years unless we re-experience and re-evaluate them. It's this re-experiencing and consequent re-definition that reduces the emotional charge of an event. This is why events that haven't been re-evaluated - say, failing an exam or being rejected by a potential lover - retain their emotional power across the decades.

9. The Law of Closure

The way we respond to our emotions tends to be absolute. They often lead immediately to actions of one kind or another, and they will brook no discussion (but see laws 10, 11 & 12). In other words emotional responses are closed to goals other than their own or judgements that can mitigate the response. An emotion seizes us and send us resolutely down one path, until later that is, when a different emotion sends us down the opposite path.

10. The Law of Care for Consequences

People naturally consider the consequences of their emotions and modify them accordingly. For example anger may provoke violent feelings towards another, but generally people refrain from stabbing each other willy-nilly. Instead they will shout, hit their head on the wall or just silently fume. Emotions may absolutely dictate a type of response, but people do modulate the size of that response (usually!).

11 & 12. Laws of the Lightest Load and the Greatest Gain

The emotional impact of an event or situation depends on its interpretation. Putting a different 'spin' on a situation can change the feeling. The law of the lightest load means people are particularly motivated to use re-interpretations to reduce negative emotions. For example we might reduce the fear of the credit crunch by generating the illusion we won't be affected. The exact reverse is also true: whenever a situation can be reinterpreted for a positive emotional gain, it will be. For example anger can be used to make others back down, grief attracts help and fear may stop us rashly attempting difficult or dangerous tasks.

Exploring the emotions

You may not agree with all of these 'laws', for example this is quite an individually based account of emotion, and tends to downplay the social aspects of emotion. Nevertheless it is an excellent starting point which provides a very useful way of thinking about emotions, and helps pave the way for examining individual emotions.

我们通过这个新的心理学系列文章探讨你的感觉，以及它们是如何影响你的行为的相关规律。

我们一般会认为情绪无规律可言，然而，心理学研究者认为确实有关于情绪的普适规律存在。

本文是讨论Nico Frijda 教授的情绪相关的12条规律的开篇 (Fridja, 2006)。这里讨论的大部分定律绝非绝对普适，但都是多年的言之有物的集大成的心理学研究成果。

1. 情势影响定律

第一个规律讲的是情绪会受（当事人）所面临的情势影响。一般而言，相同的情势触发相同的情绪反应。得之则喜，失之则悲，骇惧之则惊恐（大多数情况下，该定律和其他定律一起发生作用）。

2. 关注定律 (Cloud: 这个关注很像是"在意""在乎"的意思)

无论事物，我们自己还是其他人，我们关注才会感受到其变化。情绪源于具体的目标、动机或者关注。如果不关注，我们会全无感受。

3. 真实定律

真实激发我们的情绪反应。换言之，我们的对情势的判断和解释会影响我们的感觉（对照定律11、12）。这个也是为什么烂的电影、戏剧或者书不能激发我们的 情绪，原因在于它们让我们觉得不够真实。同理，如果一个事情不够显著，也难于影响我们的情绪。比如，当有人告知爱人已逝，可能会感觉木然，但当已然忘却此事，想起和爱人联系时候，蓦然发觉斯人已去，才会让人痛彻心肺。

4、5、6：变化定律，惯性定律和比较定律

惯性定律讲的是习惯于当下（也有例外，参见定律7、8）。因此，我们的情绪会立即对变化做出响应。这意味着我们会以我们适应的环境为参照来审视发生着的变化。因此，我们熟知事物的变化更能触发我们的情绪。

7. 快乐不对称定律

我们可能永远也不会适应有些糟糕的情形。一边是负面情绪总是挥之不去，另一边是正面情绪总会慢慢消失。不管是刻骨铭心的爱、超级乐透奖还是大量嗑药，它们所带来的快乐总是会慢慢溜走。

8.情绪惯性定律

时间并不能抚平所有伤痛──即使它能，也不是直接见效的。曾经发生过的事情会在很长一段时期对我们的情绪产生影响，除非我们重新体验或重新审视它们。正是重新体验和重新定义的结论，才能减少曾经发生过的这件事对情绪的影响。这是为什么在没有更新体验的情况下，比如考试失败或者求爱被拒之类，会在头脑中缠绕纠结、久久不去的原因。

9.闭合定律

我们的情绪的反映总是倾向于绝对。这种倾向总是导致我们不经思索就采取不是这种就是那种行为（但是也有例外，参见10、11、12定律）。换言之，情绪响应既不是无缘无故的自然发生，也不是深思熟虑的结果，而是更接近于目标（我们活动的目标对情绪影响更为强烈）。情绪笼罩我们、驱策我们采用某种反应方式，直到我们被另外的情绪主宰，才会调整改变。

10. 关注后果定律

人们会很自然地顾虑情绪导致的后果，并随之调整（自己的情绪）。比如，愤怒可能激起对他人的过激行为，但是一般情况下，人们会避免和人死磕。他们会选择咆哮宣泄，以头撞墙或者忍气吞声。情绪必然会促发某种响应，但人们会适时调整反应的烈度（而且一贯如此）。

11&12.最小苦恼定律和最大受益定律

对事情和局势的不同阐释触发不同的情绪。不同的认知导致不同的感觉。最小苦恼定律讲的是人们倾向通过对事情的重新解释来减少负面情绪。比如，我们可以妄想信用坏记录对自己没有影响，来降低对信用违纪的恐惧。反之，哪种解释让我们情绪好受，我们会倾向采用哪种解释。比如，（我们可以认为），愤怒可以让他人退避，悲伤可以引来帮助，恐惧可以让我们不轻易范险。

探索情绪

你可能不尽认同上述定律，比如，这仅仅是众多情绪中的和个体有关的例子，并没有考虑到社会因素对情绪的影响。这仅仅是众多情绪中的和个体有关的例子，并没有考虑到社会因素对情绪的影响。但是，这些定律为思考和探索情绪提供了良好的基础。
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