Emotions can be paradoxical. A friend posted a photo of his XNUMX-year-old toddler on Facebook and it gives us the creeps. We laugh heartily in the company – and suddenly we experience a surge of longing. Why is this happening? Paradoxical emotional reactions help maintain mental health, says psychologist Oriana Aragon.
“The mimimometer goes off scale” – with this phrase, other users of social networks react to photos and videos of fluffy cats, cute little ones and lovers bathing in their own happiness. (For those who are not in the know: the term “mimimi” on the Internet is used to express tenderness, and a mimimimeter, obviously, should be considered a device that measures tenderness.) Irony – and, as it turns out, it can even be in some sense expedient. At least that’s what Yale University psychologist Oriana Aragón comes to in her study.
It all started with Oriana Aragon watching TV. There was another evening show on TV, and his guest, a model and actress, in a fit of frankness admitted that, seeing a charming dog, for example, she sometimes feels a strong desire to give him a kick. Oriana Aragon, as a psychologist, was extremely interested in this reaction. She even called her father to tell about what she saw. Togo, however, was not surprised by the story: “And remember the grandmothers who, in a fit of emotion, strive to pinch their grandchildren on the cheek more painfully,” he grinned.
And Oriana Aragon suddenly realized that her father was right. We often encounter paradoxical emotional reactions. Remember the common expressions: “tears of joy”, “sad smile”, “nervous laughter”. What is behind such a strange display of emotions?
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We are dealing with a mechanism for maintaining emotional balance, Aragon believes. “When positive or negative emotions get too strong, our consciousness becomes unable to function properly,” she says. “And in order for it to continue to perform psychological and cognitive functions, we need to find emotional balance. Its acquisition is served by paradoxical reactions such as tears in moments of happiness or laughter in tragic situations.
In experiments conducted by Oriana Aragon, participants were shown pictures of adorable babies to create an “overload” of positive emotions. The subjects were then asked to describe their reactions to extremely emotional moments, such as beautiful weddings or the reunion of loving people after a long separation. The reactions of many participants turned out to be very aggressive, and the volunteers themselves admitted that during the demonstration of the pictures they felt the desire to pinch or bite the wonderful little ones.
And do not rush to accuse them of perverted feelings. It was these people, as the study showed, that were faster than others able to find emotional balance. Does it not follow from this that the paradoxical manifestation of emotions is a kind of mental mechanism that ensures our mental health? Perhaps, but so far there is not enough data for such a conclusion, and Oriana Aragon intends to continue her research.
* The full text of the Oriana Aragon study article (in English) is available at: theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/11/the-science-of-laughing-through-the-tears/382824/