Emotion is a complex reaction pattern that involves experiential, behavioral, and physiological elements. It is a conscious mental reaction that is subjectively experienced as strong feelings usually directed toward a specific object and typically accompanied by physiological and psychological responses. Emotions are how individuals deal with matters or situations they find personally significant. Emotional experiences have three components: subjective feelings, physiological responses, and behavioral responses. Emotions are often confused with feelings and moods, but the three terms are not interchangeable.
Psychologists examine emotions from a scientific perspective by treating them as a multi-componential process that includes physiological arousal, psychological appraisal, and subjective experiences. Different people may have different emotional experiences even in response to the same event, as these appraisals are informed by our experiences, backgrounds, and cultures. There are many theories about what makes up our emotions, and existing theories are constantly being challenged.
