According to psychologist Paul Ekman's research, which set of emotions appears to be universal across human cultures?

A: Joy, pride, guilt, shame, awe, and nostalgia

B: Happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, and disgust

C: Love, jealousy, excitement, boredom, and hope

D: Emotions are entirely cultural and vary completely across societies

Correct: Happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, and disgust

Paul Ekman studied facial expressions across isolated cultures around the world and identified six emotions that appear to be universally recognised: happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, and disgust. These "basic emotions" produce distinct facial expressions that people can identify regardless of their cultural background. However, many emotions are culturally shaped — including how openly they are expressed, and which situations trigger them.

Emotions are purely mental experiences that happen entirely in the mind.

Answer: False

Emotions are deeply physical. When you feel afraid, your heart rate increases, your muscles tense, your palms sweat, and adrenaline floods your system — preparing you to fight or flee. When you feel happy, different neurochemicals like dopamine and serotonin are active. William James famously argued that we don't tremble because we're afraid — we're afraid because we tremble, meaning the body's response is part of what creates the emotional experience.

What is emotional regulation?

A: Suppressing all negative emotions to maintain wellbeing

B: The process of influencing which emotions you have, when you have them, and how you express them

C: Letting emotions out freely without holding back

D: Taking medication to control mood

Correct: The process of influencing which emotions you have, when you have them, and how you express them

Emotional regulation refers to the strategies we use to manage our emotional experiences and expressions. This includes things like reappraising a situation ("this is a challenge, not a threat"), distraction, deep breathing, or talking to someone. Research shows that people who regulate emotions effectively tend to have better mental health, stronger relationships, and greater success — not because they suppress emotions, but because they work with them thoughtfully.

Which of these best describes the relationship between emotions and decision-making?

A: Emotions always interfere with good decision-making and should be ignored

B: Emotions and rational thinking are separate systems and rarely interact

C: Emotions play an important and often helpful role in guiding decisions

D: Only negative emotions affect decisions; positive ones do not

Correct: Emotions play an important and often helpful role in guiding decisions

Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio studied patients with damage to the emotional areas of the brain who retained normal intelligence and reasoning ability. Paradoxically, these patients became terrible decision-makers — stuck in endless deliberation without being able to settle on a choice. His "somatic marker hypothesis" suggests that emotions serve as shortcuts, helping us quickly mark certain options as good or bad based on past experience. Far from always being an obstacle, emotions are often essential to good judgement.

Smiling can actually make you feel happier, even if the smile is forced.

Answer: True

This is called the facial feedback hypothesis — the idea that facial expressions don't just reflect emotions but can also generate them. Studies suggest that the act of smiling activates the same muscles and neural pathways associated with positive emotion, creating a mild but measurable boost in mood. While this effect is real, it's modest — forcing a smile during genuinely distressing experiences doesn't resolve the underlying emotion.

What does it mean to say that emotions are "adaptive"?

A: Emotions can be adapted through therapy

B: Emotions evolved to help us survive and respond to our environment

C: We adapt to emotions over time and stop feeling them

D: Emotions are more flexible in some cultures than others

Correct: Emotions evolved to help us survive and respond to our environment

From an evolutionary perspective, emotions evolved because they helped our ancestors survive. Fear alerts us to danger and prepares the body to respond. Disgust protects us from contamination. Anger can mobilise us to defend ourselves. Even sadness has adaptive value — it slows us down, prompts reflection, and may signal to others that we need help. Understanding emotions as useful signals (even unpleasant ones) is a cornerstone of modern psychological approaches to wellbeing.