Emotion: its role in human life

Emotion is associated with mood, temperament, personality, disposition and motivation. Language and culture are often seen as unique characteristics of human beings that use a wide array of emotions evolved long before spoken language. Some emotions occur over a period of seconds (for example, surprise), whereas others can last years (for example, love). The complex emotions could arise from cultural conditioning or association combined with the basic emotions. Non-humans and infants generally do not have the capacity to meaningfully communicate in grammatical word sequences, but they still vocalise and these vocalisations are often limbic and emotional in origin. Theories of emotion can be categorised in terms of the context within which the explanation is developed. Good emotional awareness can provide a solid foundation for other coping skills. Emotional intelligence consists of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management. Balance to life is maintained by think, act and feel. Happy people are more likely to work toward goals, find the resources they need and attract others with their energy and optimism ? key building blocks of success. Recent advances in psychology have greatly improved our understanding of role of affect in communication, perception, decision making, attention and memory. The enduring assumption that human behaviour is governed by innate morality and reason is at odds with the persistence of human deprivation, injustice, brutality, inequality and conflict.