Emotions and vision: assessment and perception of what is happening

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There are no receptors in the human body that reflexively trigger this or that emotion: there are no receptors for admiration or resentment, there are no receptors for fear or humiliation. The emergence of this or that emotional state is always cognitively mediated: what is happening must be understood in one way or another.

Here the child ran and fell: how will he see it? Is it interesting or scary? If the child perceives the fall as an insult, he will burst into tears from resentment. If he sees danger in this, he will be scared. If he perceives it as an adventure, he will laugh with joy.

Experience is determined by the perception of what is happening, a specific emotion is triggered by a specific vision, understanding or interpretation of the situation. Resentment as an experience starts only when the situation is understood, seen as offensive. Fear, as a feeling, will not arise until the situation is assessed as terrible. It will be funny only to those who regard what is happening as funny.

By controlling the vision of the situation, it is possible to control the emergence of emotion — however, only in the early stages of its occurrence. In the practice of counseling, for such purposes, reframing is used — a way of rethinking the situation by changing the context in which what is happening is considered. At the same time, it should be taken into account that the management of the vision of the situation is effective in relation to relatively weak emotions: if the emotion has already unwound, the more the person has become affected, rethinking is almost unrealistic. Emotion confirms itself. When a person expresses fear or resentment, he makes an appropriate facial expression, and a certain facial expression acts as a suggestion on the person himself: the one who has an offended face believes in the justice of his offense. The one with frightened eyes believes in the danger of what is happening. The physiological storm itself becomes a confirmation that the experience is true.

A separate question is who and how much can control their vision of the situation. It’s not always easy. Firstly, many people simply do not think that their vision is not obvious, subjective, largely determined by themselves and can be changed. Secondly, this also requires a certain skill, some training (sometimes called the level of culture). Thirdly, beliefs often stand behind this or that vision, sometimes this or that internal benefit or just a habit — worldly or intellectual.

The vision of the situation has a lot to do with beliefs. Accordingly, by changing beliefs, you can change your vision, and through this — control your emotions. See Emotions and Beliefs

The arbitrariness of seeing the situation

The vision of the situation can be both relatively arbitrary and unconditionally involuntary, reflexively rigidly set. Involuntary, fixed vision usually occurs when

• if vision occurs in a pattern, from a zero position of perception,
• when the vision occurs repeatedly and becomes habitual,
• when the vision is triggered by a reflex or instinctive anchor,
• when the emotion had already unfolded, when the bodily incarnation took place. See Stages of Life Emotions

cultural interpretation

A way of seeing (perceiving) a situation, set by the local culture or chosen by a person independently.

We can say that this is the Choice of the most appropriate Life Tale. Probably best of all positive and promising.