A Human Emotion Visual Guide
Humanity’s DNA is 99.9% similar, Even with our vast differences in cultures around the world
There are few attributes more central and universal to the human experience than our emotions. Of course, the broad spectrum of emotions we’re capable of experiencing can be difficult to articulate. This visualization is the latest in an ongoing attempt to neatly categorize the full range of emotions in a logical way.
Human Emotion Taxonomy
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.
The wheel visualization above identifies six root emotions:
- Fear
- Anger
- Sadness
- Surprise
- Joy
- Love
From these six emotions, more nuanced descriptions emerge, such as jealousy as a subset of anger, and awe-struck as a subset of surprise. In total, there are 102 second- and third-order emotions listed on this emotion wheel.
