Émotion et émotions

Emotion is a violent but transient affective experience such as fear, anger, or despair, which is triggered by an unusual perception (danger) or the thought about a pleasant or unpleasant episode (affront). In addition to this emotional experience, an emotional expression may appear - usually but not constantly -, on the face, on autonomous functions, and even on cognitive functions (transient intellectual disconcertment, non coordinated manifestations such as a nervous laugh, tremor…). Emotion, that is an involuntary manifestation of a primitive aspect of the human nature, reveals the deep structure of the personality, which is inaccessible to conscience. Emotion abruptly interrupts the current activity, and associates a visceral state of alert with more or less specific expressions. Emotion is the consequence of a sudden and non-expected discordance occurring in cognition or perception.