When was the word emotion first used in English?
The word emotion dates back to 1579 when it was adapted from the French word émouvoir. The term was introduced into academic discussion as a catch-all for passions, sentiments and affections.
Questions about Emotion
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Who coined the modern concept of emotion around 1830?
Thomas Brown coined the word emotion in the early 1800s while the modern concept emerged around the 1830s for the English language. No one felt emotions before about 1830 but instead felt other things like passions or moral sentiments.
What did Charles Darwin argue about emotional expressions in his 1872 book?
Charles Darwin argued that emotional expressions have evolutionary origins and can serve adaptive and communicative functions in his 1872 book The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. He concluded that expressions are universal across human cultures and occur in homologous forms in other animals.
Which brain structures does Paul D. MacLean associate with emotion in 1952?
Paul D. MacLean suggested in 1952 that emotion is related to a group of structures called the limbic system including the hypothalamus cingulate cortex and hippocampi. The amygdala plays an important role in coordinating behavioral input based on presented neurotransmitters that respond to threat stimuli.
How does the James-Lange theory explain the origin of feelings?
William James argued in his 1884 article that feelings and emotions were secondary to physiological phenomena where perception leads directly to a physiological response known as emotion. Carl Lange proposed a similar theory at around the same time so this became known as the James-Lange theory.