From (Unconscious) Perception to Emotion: A Global-to-Specific Unfolding View of Emotional Responding

Abstract

We present research showing that emotional reactions unfold from global to more specific emotional reactions, depending on processing specificity. Initially, global processing of, for example, a filthy toilet occurs eliciting a general negative emotional reaction. Subsequently, specific processing occurs, eliciting a more specific disgust reaction. What is crucial according to our global-to-specific unfolding view of emotional responding is that both global and specific emotional reactions can emerge without knowing what caused these emotional reactions. The observation that emotional reactions emerge without conscious awareness of their cause substantiates the idea of a direct link between perception and emotion. In this chapter, we provide more evidence for this link between perception and emotion, explain how our view differs from mainstream appraisal theory, and discuss the interplay between global and more specific emotional reactions.