Emotion: Concepts and definitions

Abstract

This chapter deals with the task of defining and describing emotion. What do people mean when they identify emotion as a key domain for computing? How are “emotions” related to, and differentiated from, other affective phenomena? The chapter considers the definitions of emotions (and other affective states) formulated by scientists and those that are implicit in everyday language. Empirical results regarding the conception of emotion in everyday life (e.g. frequency of emotional reports in different contexts) are presented and discussed. The focus is always on the way conceptual and terminological issues impact affective computing.