Towards an ecological approach to emotions and the individual differences therein

Abstract

Abstract In the present paper, I aim to develop a Gibsonian approach to our emotional responses to the environment. To that end, the relationships between affordances, emotions, and information will be explored. After laying out Gibson's original concept of affordances as possibilities for action, I sketch a recent view that holds that affordances often invite or solicit actions. It is argued that Dewey's theory of emotions is a natural ally of this concept of inviting affordances. Focusing on the emotions of fear and anger, I will discuss the individual differences in our emotional reactions. To explain these phenomena, a user-based account of information is needed. Drawing upon both developmental systems thinking and the insights of the clinical psychologist Miller, a conception of information is developed that can account for our emotional reactions and the individuals differences therein.