What we rely on
EmotionsDev is outreach, not an academic paper — but everything we claim about emotions tries to be backed by serious research. Here are the people and works behind the content, in case you want to pull the thread.
⚖️ Important: outreach means simplifying. These models are useful maps, not closed truths, and science keeps debating. None of this replaces a mental health professional.
Theory of emotions
Affective neuroscience
António Damasio
Somatic markers: the body takes part in every decision.
See source →Joseph LeDoux
The two pathways of fear and the role of the amygdala.
See source →Jaak Panksepp
The SEEKING system: the engine of anticipation.
See source →Wolfram Schultz
Dopamine signals reward prediction, not just pleasure.
See source →Nummenmaa et al. (2014)
«Bodily maps of emotions» (PNAS): body maps consistent across cultures.
See source →Specific emotions
Dacher Keltner
The science of awe: vastness, «small self» and the vagus nerve.
See source →Sedikides & Wildschut
Nostalgia: a bittersweet emotion that combats loneliness and gives meaning (U. of Southampton).
See source →George Loewenstein (1994)
The «information gap» theory: why curiosity hooks us.
See source →Kosfeld & Fehr (2005)
Oxytocin increases trust and lowers the fear of betrayal.
See source →John Gottman
Contempt as the biggest predictor of breakup («the four horsemen»).
See source →Jessica Tracy
Authentic pride (motivates) versus hubristic pride (isolates).
See source →Regulation and wellbeing
Matthew Lieberman (2007)
«Putting feelings into words»: naming an emotion calms the amygdala.
See source →James Gross
Emotional regulation and cognitive reappraisal.
See source →James Pennebaker
Expressive writing: writing what hurts improves wellbeing.
See source →Kristin Neff
Self-compassion: treating yourself as you'd treat someone you love.
See source →Richard Davidson
Neuroscience of wellbeing and compassion.
See source →Matthew Walker
Sleeping badly amplifies emotional reactivity. «Why We Sleep».
See source →Marsha Linehan
Levels of emotional validation (dialectical behaviour therapy, DBT).
See source →Marshall Rosenberg
Nonviolent Communication (NVC).
See source →