The 7 Laws Of Emotions According To Nico Frijda

The psychologist Nico Frijda was a prestigious researcher. In 2006 he presented a work in which he exposed what in his opinion are the laws of emotions. He intended to establish fixed patterns in this regard.

Emotions are difficult realities to classify. Much more complicated is finding common emotional patterns from one individual to another. However, based on extensive research, Frijda postulated that there are general rules that can be applied universally.

The researcher himself pointed out that as in all the rules, there are also exceptions in this case. However, in his opinion, there are more fixed patterns than deviations. Although Frijda established 12 laws of emotions, they can actually be synthesized into seven. They are as follows.

1. Situational meaning, the first of the laws of emotions

For Frijda, emotions are the result of specific situations. They do not arise spontaneously, without references, but are derived from specific scenarios. As much as such scenarios only exist in the imagination, they are always associated with real situations.

Therefore, two similar situations generate the same type of emotional response. Thus, a loss leads to sadness and a gain to happiness. No matter what kind of loss or gain it is, the emotional response is always the same.

2. Apparent reality

This is one of the most interesting laws of emotions. It postulates that people react emotionally to what we consider real. Not to what is real, but to what we give that quality to.

It is the way of interpreting reality that gives rise to emotions, not reality itself. That is the reason why, for example, we can plunge into a cry watching a movie or feel fear when imagining a danger that has not been presented.

3. Habituation, comparison and change

In this case there are three laws of emotions: habituation, comparison and change. The law of habituation says that we always get used to our circumstances and see them as “normal”, even though they are not. The emotional response to the habitual is not very intense.

The law of comparison indicates that we are always comparing the intensity of our emotional responses, whether consciously or unconsciously. While the law of change indicates that when faced with a novelty, the emotional response is more intense.

4. Hedonic asymmetry

This is one of the most perplexing laws of emotions. He postulates that it is much more difficult to get used to negative situations. The emotional response in this case is one of resistance and the application of the law of habituation is more relative.

With positive situations, the opposite happens to us. We get used to them much more easily. Therefore, and as we get used to it, positive emotions tend to be less intense each time until they disappear.

5. Preservation of the situational moment

Negative experiences tend to hold your emotional power for a long time. The impact they produce can last for several years. Emotions remain, even if the situation has already disappeared.

This remains unchanged until a similar situation arises and can be positively reassessed. In other words, it has to be lived again and resolved properly, so that the negative emotion disappears.

6. Closure and attention to consequences

The law of closure says that emotions tend to forge an absolutist idea of ​​reality. When the intensity of the emotion is very great, everything is seen in terms of black or white. Only one side of the problem can be seen.

Another of the laws of emotions is that of attention to consequences. This indicates that people manage to modulate their emotions, depending on the consequences that they may cause. For example, you can feel a lot of anger, but do not attack, unless the consequences are not serious.

7. The lightest load and the biggest gain

The law of the lightest load says that people can change their emotions if they interpret situations differently. The human being tends to look for the interpretations that help him the most to ward off negative emotions. For example, “if this bad situation happened to me, it is because something good is coming”.

Largest law indicates which gain and seek to reinterpret situations to get an emotional benefit with this new vision. For example, we fear heights and assume that those who challenge them are truly irresponsible.

Frijda’s laws of emotions are a contribution in this long task of understanding human emotions. Although this researcher postulates them as laws, in reality they have not been accepted as such by all schools of psychology. However, this does not detract from their conclusions.