The Bodily Maps of
Emotions
by
UNPLUCKED &
Pablo A. Padilla Jargstorf
A collection inspired by the idea of how different emotions affect different parts of the human body.
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The Bodily Maps of Emotions
Has someone ever warmed your cockles? Has love raised your pulse and your temperature? The cold feeling of sadness or depression? Getting cold feet? The warming of your head fueled by anger or pride? The warm fluttering of your chest triggered by anxiety?
Some of these expressions are truly universal, and one way or another we can all recall how emotions can be felt in different parts of our bodies.
But how much is this a personal experience or something shared across humanity, and that science can help elucidate.
PNAS 111(2): 646-651; https://www.pnas.org/content/111/2/646
Through the use of a unique tool called emBODY, scientists at Aalto and Tampere Universities in Finland have recently developed maps of bodily sensations associated with different emotions (1). In their experiments, these emotions have been clustered in two categories, encompassing six ‘basic’ (Anger, Fear, Disgust, Happiness, Sadness, Surprise), and seven ‘non-basic” or complex emotions (Anxiety, Love, Depression, Contempt, Pride, Shame, Envy), as well as a neutral state.
The team developed a self-reporting method, called emBODY, with the aim to associate different emotions with sensations in different parts of the human body. In these maps, the so-called ‘activated regions’ are represented in warm colours (reds, oranges, yellows), and those parts that experience ‘decreased activation’ are shown in cool colours (blue range)- i.e. following what we generally associate with a heat-related charter of colours.
In some cases, these sensations are shared or overlap between different emotions. The consistency of these maps (ie. shared between different cultures across the globe, specifically in their research being consistent across West Europeans and East Asian samples, all speaking their respective languages) supports the theory that these body sensations or regional activations of the body play a critical role in the processing of emotions.
As well as granting us a deeper understanding of how humans experience emotions, the ability to map topographically changes in emotion-triggered sensations could become a valuable tool for the identification and diagnosis of emotional/mood disorders, such as depression and anxiety.
Inspired by the emBODY project, Unplucked brings you our own Bodily Maps of Emotion, a collaboration with international artist and designer Pablo A. Padilla Jargstorf (www.jargstorf.com ).
We hope you enjoy navigating these bodily landscapes as much as we do.
PNAS 111(2): 646-651; https://www.pnas.org/content/111/2/646
About the Artwork
​​
A random candidate was chosen to interact with twelve different emotions. Our candidate - let's call him Subject A - reacted beautifully to each emotion on different parts of his body in a colourful manner.
Subject A
Basic Emotion
Range of emotions exposed to Subject A.
The instants of Subject A's reaction to every emotion
Love
Surprise
Happiness
Sadness
Fear
Anger
Envy
Pride
Disgust
Anxiety
Depression
Shame
References
​​
1 Nummenmaa L et al. (2012). Bodily maps of emotions. PNAS 111(2): 646-651; https://www.pnas.org/content/111/2/646
​
Topographical distribution of the emotion-related sensation on the body.
Somatosensory feedback (Nummenmaa L et al. (2012). Bodily maps of emotions. PNAS 111(2): 646-651; https://www.pnas.org/content/111/2/646
UNPLUCKED MOSAICS
We like to consider Unplucked a collection of stories, boxes that once open transport you closer to one of those natural wonders we share our lives with. In the spirit of those cabinets of curiosities treasured by so many in the past.
All these stories are unique in themselves, and at the same time share a common place and a connecting thread.
To reflect that, UNPLUCKED brings you our own MOSAICS. Like looking through the lens of an observation instrument, before focusing on a particular corner of our world. Encapsulating both our curiosity to discover and our eagerness to collect.
Generated from each one of our collections, but all sharing a deep connection, MOSAICS distill some of the essence of UNPLUCKED.
