2.Human qualities and emotions
Human Experiences Overview
Exploration of qualities and emotions associated with human experiences.
Distinction between individual and collective human experiences.
Texts represent human qualities and emotions arising from experiences.
Understanding Human Qualities
Definition
Patterns of behaviour, thought, and emotion defining individuals.
Unique combination creates individual personalities.
Built up over time, consistent across experiences.
Nature vs. Nurture
Questioning origins of human qualities:
Nature: Inherent traits.
Nurture: Influenced by life experiences.
Analyze characters in texts for intrinsic qualities vs. those shaped by experiences.
Characteristics and Changes
Human qualities evolve over time.
Example: Consistently anxious individuals vs. temporary anxiety.
Personal histories shape characters’ traits.
Role of Characterization
The author's method of revealing character qualities.
Characters illustrated through actions and reactions, not merely descriptive labels.
Example character: Ella showing resilience through challenges.
The Big Five Personality Traits
Openness: Creativity, intellect, appreciation of art.
Example: Oliver as an aesthetic enthusiast.
Conscientiousness: Dependability, organization.
Example: Cathy as a conscientious worker vs. Lazy Larry.
Extraversion vs. Introversion: Sources of energy and social behavior.
Example: Ebony (extroverted) vs. Iris (introverted).
Agreeableness: Compassionate or antagonistic qualities.
Example: Anthony (agreeable) vs. Arthur (antagonistic).
Neuroticism: Emotional stability.
Example: Nelly (neurotic) vs. Ella (stable).
Beyond the Big Five
Cultural variations in personality theories:
Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory and other global perspectives.
Dark Triad: Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy; traits representing dark aspects of personality.
Example characters exhibiting these traits.
Emotions Associated with Human Experiences
Understanding Emotions
Emotions as subjective, psychological, and physiological experiences.
May vary greatly among individuals.
Definition Components
Subjective: Unique emotional reactions to experiences.
Example: Different responses to travel.
Psychological: Triggered by mental states affecting emotions.
Physiological: Physical responses correlate with emotions.
Example: Heart rate increases with fear.
Pleasure and Displeasure: Emotions range from positive to negative.
Examples: Euphoria, happiness, grief.
Emotional Models
Plutchik’s Emotional Color Wheel: 8 primary emotions, each with potential intensity variations.
Examples: Mixing emotions, such as surprise with sadness = disapproval.
Interplay of Qualities, Emotions, and Experiences
Influence of Experiences on Emotions
Positive experiences lead to pleasurable emotions; negative experiences result in adverse feelings.
Emotions can influence behavior and shape experiences actively pursued.
Example: Happy individuals seeking social gatherings; sad individuals avoiding them.
Collective Human Experiences
Emotions can become shared experiences through social contagion.
Example: Mass hysteria during disease outbreaks.
Explore recent examples of collective emotional responses.
Conclusion
Understand connections between human qualities, emotions, and experiences.
Essential for crafting insightful analyses and creative narratives in literature.