Basic and Self-Conscious Emotions in the Inside Out Animation Film Essay

Personal Reflection on Experiencing the Basic Emotions

This paper aims to discuss the “Meet the Emotions” videos by Disney-Pixar, which concern basic and primary emotions. My initial emotional response was that of humor – all five basic emotions personified on the screen in front of me were portrayed as hyperbolized caricatures of themselves, often overreacting to the situation presented on the screen.

Universal Basic Emotions in Humans and Primates

As discovered by Ekman, the basic emotions universal to humans and primates alike are anger, disgust, fear, enjoyment, and sadness (Santrock, 2020). They are represented in the videos viewed as part of this assignment. Although later discovered to express other emotions, great apes were initially considered more complex and did not belong to the basic emotional spectrum (Santrock, 2020).

Representation of Basic Emotions in Inside Out

In the clips from Disney-Pixar’s Inside Out, all the basic emotions identified by Ekman were represented by animated characters. Although some modern taxonomies suggest the presence of other emotions, such as surprise, pride, and embarrassment, these were not included in the video; the reasons for this are multifaceted. First, there is insufficient research to suggest that these three stand for separate emotions rather than a combination of the five basic ones (Santrock, 2020). Second, introducing more emotions would have taken more screen time without adding to the story. Finally, representing emotions like shame would have been considered inappropriate for some of the younger audiences.

Accuracy of Emotional Portrayals in Relation to Research on Children

The portrayal of emotions and their core attributes aligns with current research on basic emotions in children. Young humans present their emotions through facial expressions and vibrant gesticulation (Santrock, 2020). These traits were evident in all the presented characters — they were vocal and expressive, and their movements were exaggerated to achieve maximum representation of emotion.

Adaptive Purposes and Developmental Roles of Basic Emotions

Emotions serve as adaptive mechanisms for development and can ensure a child’s survival. Anger serves as a warning against potential threats and helps establish dominance in a hierarchy (Santrock, 2020). Disgust is an instinctive mechanism that protects a child against unhealthy substances, such as poisons and rotten food.

Fear seeks to improve the chances of spotting potential threats and appease the aggressor by showing that the child is not a threat. The purpose of sadness is to signal to others that assistance is needed and to invoke sympathy (Santrock, 2020). Finally, joy helps alleviate spirits in oneself and others while signaling the absence of potential threats.

Emergence and Characteristics of Self-Conscious Emotions in Toddlerhood

Self-conscious emotions differ from basic emotions, as they are closely tied to understanding the concept of self versus others. The first self-conscious emotions to emerge in toddlerhood include embarrassment, empathy, and jealousy (Santrock, 2020). Shame is one of the conscious-evaluative emotions, and it appears after the third year of a child’s life, corresponding to their physical and psychosocial development stage. Embarrassment occurs when a child identifies themselves as the object of others’ attention.

Empathy signifies that children can imagine themselves in the role of another person, using this perspective to guide their actions (Santrock, 2020). Jealousy results from a child being capable of identifying items and behaviors that another person receives and the child in question wants. Shame, which occurs later, is a complex emotion when the child feels they have violated the cultural and upbringing norms while being in front of others who could witness that behavior (Santrock, 2020). These emotions differ from basic ones because they require a conscious or subconscious evaluation of one’s own and others’ behavior, rather than being reactive to various stimuli.

Reference

Santrock, J. W. (2020). Life-span development (18th ed.). McGraw Hill.