Mental Ingredients as a
route to Emotion
Markup Language
Isabella Poggi & Francesca D'Errico
Roma Tre University
WC3 Workshop on Emotion Markup Language
Paris – 5-6 October 2010
A definition of Emotion
According to a model in terms of goals and beliefs
(Castelfranchi 1988; 2000; Castelfranchi & Poggi 1990;
Miceli & Castelfranchi 1995; 2007)
an EMOTION is a subjective state encompassing
cognitive, physiological, expressive, motivational
aspects
that is triggered when an Agent believes that a
current event
causes or is likely to cause
the achievement or thwarting
of an important goal of the Agent
The adaptive function of
Emotions
Emotions are an adaptive device aimed at monitoring
the state of achievement – thwarting
of the Agent’s adaptively important goals
(Darwin, 1872; Frijda, 1986; Castelfranchi, 1995; 2000; Scherer 2003)
The “mental ingredients”
of emotions
Beliefs represented in the mind of the
Agent who is feeling the emotion,
concerning
1. the current event and its relationship to the
Agents’ goals
2. the goals monitored by the emotion
3. the goals activated by the emotion
Some methods to find out the
ingredients
• Semantic analysis : analysis of a lexical area in
a natural language. Ex. To analyse pride: pride,
proud, cocky, haughty, presumptuous, arrogant
• Conceptual analysis : the investigator produces
examples and counter-examples to discover the
necessary and sufficient conditions for feeling an
emotion
• Empirical investigation : the investigator
submits interviews and questionnaires to people
Semantic analysis
• Dimensions that differentiate words
concerning pride in italian
Conceptual analysis
• A lead: dimensions
Dimensions
• MONITORED GOAL
• VALENCE
• TIME
• DEGREE OF
CERTAINTY
• Shame, goal of
(self)image, Fear,
survival and wellbeing
goals
• +  goal
achievements, joy
• -  goal thwartings,
sorrow
• Joy, sorrow  after
• Hope, fear  during
Dimensions
COGNITIVE ELEMENTS
expectations,
causal attributions,
evaluations
POWER OF CONTROL
ARGUMENTAL
STRUCTURE
•
•
•
disappointment implies goal
thwarting but also previous
expectation of success
Guilt may require selfattribution of cause and
resposibility
Shame, guilt, contempt contain
evaluations
•
•
The “potency” dimension:
Ex. Fear vs. Anger
•
Emotions “towards” someone
else: love, hate, admiration,
contempt
•
Annoyance, anger, rage, fury
INTENSITY:
Prototypes applied to the mental
ingredients of emotions
• Some cases of an emotion contain all the
ingredients  prototypical cases
• Some cases only contain a subset of the
ingredients of the emotion
• Final goal of the analysis:
• to find out the common ingredients that are
present in all cases
• both prototypical and non-prototypical ones
Different kinds of admiration by
adding ingredients
Intense
Pleasant
Emotion of A
Due to a
positive
evaluation
of an object X
Seen as
beautiful
to an extent
that is
surprising
Landscape
Mantaigne and
the statue
The object is a
quality
of a person B
A does not have
quality X
That B has quality X
causes A to
believe that
B is superior to A
A wants to have
B’s quality
A believes A is
similar to B
A believes A can
achieve B’s
quality
A wants to
imitate B
Maria and Yuri
Chechi
The detective and
the gangster
A evaluates
positively
the goals to
which B
applies
quality X
A evaluates B
positively
A wants to have
positive
interactions
with B
The follower
and the
leader
Pride
• Pride is the emotion signalling the achievement
of the goal of image and/or of self-image
• Therefore to show pride means that
– You have done something good Internal
attribution of success
– You are a winner
– You have more power than others
The two facets of pride
Pride is not a single unified construct, but there are
two theoretically and empirically distinct facets
(Lewis, 2000; Tracy & Robins, 2007).
Authentic pride, is based on specific achievements
“I’m proud of what I did”;
Hubristic pride, is based on global positive feelings
about the stable self
“I’m proud of who I am”
Three types of pride
Three types of pride = Three types of power relationships
DIGNITY:
Image of self-sufficiency in order to reach
equity (i.e.stigmatized minorities who claim
for equity)
SUPERIORITY:
Image of superiority (based on past or on
acknowledged level) in order to gain
dominance or to be re-acknowledged
ARROGANCE:
Image of superiority against someone;
provocation oriented to gain dominance or
to challenge social hierarchy or social rules;
Real
level
Ideal
level
A<B
A=B
A≥B
A>B
A≤B
A>B
Communication of pride as
strategy for social change
• Dignity Pride is a a way to restablish
paired relations
• Superiority Pride is a way to express
dominance and (re)gain power
• Arrogance Pride is a way to challenge the
establishment
The prototypical expression of
pride (Tracy, 2004;2007)
•
•
•
•
small smile
expanded posture
head-tilt back
arms extended
out from the
body; with hands
on hips.
“authentic and hubristic pride share the same signal”
Do the “three facets” of pride
- dignity, superiority, arrogance have the same pattern of
expression?
Combination of signals
• Different combinations of the same
basic signals for the different types
of pride?