The word "emotion" dates back to 1579, when it was adapted from the French word émouvoir, which means "to stir up". The term emotion was introduced into academic discussion to replace passion.[7] According to one dictionary, the earliest precursors of the word likely dates back to the very origins of language.[8] The modern word emotion is heterogeneous[9] In some uses of the word, emotions are intense feelings that are directed at someone or something.[10] On the other hand, emotion can be used to refer to states that are mild (as in annoyed or content) and to states that are not directed at anything (as in anxiety and depression). One line of research thus looks at the meaning of the word emotion in everyday language[9] and this usage is rather different from that in academic discourse. Another line of research asks about languages other than English, and one interesting finding is that many languages have a similar but not identical term[11][12]
Emotions have been described by some theorists as discrete and consistent responses to internal or external events which have a particular significance for the organism. Emotions are brief in duration and consist of a coordinated set of responses, which may include verbal, physiological, behavioural, and neural mechanisms.[13] Psychotherapist Michael C. Graham describes all emotions as existing on a continuum of intensity.[14] Thus fear might range from mild concern to terror or shame might range from simple embarrassment to toxic shame.[15] Emotions have also been described as biologically given and a result of evolution because they provided good solutions to ancient and recurring problems that faced our ancestors.[16] Moods are feelings that tend to be less intense than emotions and that often lack a contextual stimulus.[10]
Emotion can be differentiated from a number of similar constructs within the field of affective neuroscience:[13]
Feelings are best understood as a subjective representation of emotions, private to the individual experiencing them.
Moods are diffuse affective states that generally last for much longer durations than emotions and are also usually less intense than emotions.
Affect is an encompassing term, used to describe the topics of emotion, feelings, and moods together, even though it is commonly used interchangeably with emotion.
In addition, relationships exist between emotions, such as having positive or negative influences, with direct opposites existing. These concepts are described in contrasting and categorization of emotions. Graham differentiates emotions as functional or dysfunctional and argues all functional emotions have benefits