Plutchiks
Emotions
A model of core human emotions
Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions, created by American psychologist Robert Plutchik in 1980, visually illustrates how emotions are related. Based on years of research, Dr. Plutchik identified eight primary emotions: joy, sadness, trust, disgust, fear, anger, surprise, and anticipation.
Sadness
Joy
Disgust
Trust
Fear
Anger
Surprise
Anticipation
Elements of the Emotional Wheel​
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Core Emotions: At the heart of the wheel are eight fundamental feelings: joy, sadness, trust, disgust, fear, anger, surprise, and anticipation. These basic emotions serve as the building blocks for all other emotional experiences and occupy the second circle of the wheel.
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Opposing Forces: Each of the core emotions has a counterpart on the opposite side of the wheel. These pairings highlight how emotions can contrast and balance one another.
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Strength and Intensity: Emotions are not static—the wheel shows how they can grow stronger. Moving toward the center of the wheel, feelings intensify, with darker shades signaling heightened emotion. Understanding these shifts helps in navigating emotions thoughtfully and expanding your emotional awareness.
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Blended Emotions: Between the main sectors, the white space emotions represent combinations of two primary emotions. For instance, combining joy with trust creates love. Many of our feelings are actually blends, so recognizing these mixtures can provide a clearer understanding of what we or others are truly experiencing.
