Constructing Emotions: The Intersection of Brain, Body, and Personality
(…) most importantly, if you take this observation stance, you will come to realize that feeling unpleasant or having unwelcome emotions like anger or sadness isn’t necessarily a sign that anything is wrong with you. It might just mean that you’re doing something new, or something that’s difficult; anything your brain is interpreting as “oh, this is taking more energy than usual and I don’t know how to predict the best outcome.”
What if your emotions weren’t automatic reactions, but carefully constructed predictions, based on an interpretation of signals and your past experiences? “In today’s blog, I’m exploring how Lisa Feldman Barrett, Antonio Damasio, and Carl Jung might help connect the dots between how your brain, body, and personality makes you feel.
When you think about your emotions, what comes to mind? Do they feel like flashes of instinct, like automatic reactions to the world around you? Or might they somehow be woven into the fabric of our perception and consciousness? Do all humans have the same emotions, or are there cultural and individual differences in how we experience and express them?
Lisa Feldman Barrett (LFB), Antonio Damasio (AD), and Carl Gustav Jung (CGJ) have offered distinct, yet in my view complementary perspectives on emotions, consciousness, and personality. I believe that bringing their ideas into conversation allows us to reshape how we interpret and navigate our life and relationships.
The Classical Model of Emotions
In a recent podcast episode, LFB broadly laid out the classical view of emotions as follows: all humans are born with a number of emotions, which can get triggered by outside events. They then activate specific brain circuits, and produce distinct facial or physical expressions that are universally recognizable.
One of the reasons this view is so pervasive is that from personal experience it seems plausible. It does indeed feel like I get angry because someone does something offensive, or I wouldn’t be sad if the world around me didn’t feel so terrible right now.
Lisa Feldman Barrett: Emotions as Constructed Realities
In How Emotions Are Made, LFB challenges the traditional view that emotions are universal, pre-programmed responses. Instead, she argues, emotions are constructed by our brains, shaped by our past experiences, cultural contexts, and the concepts we’ve learned over time. According to Barrett, emotions aren’t something we have or that happen to us, but something we actively co-create.
Since there doesn’t appear to be one singular definition of certain terms, we’ll have to get a little more specific now to differentiate between feeling, affect, emotion and sensation.
In LFB’s framework, feelings are the subjective experience of this construction process. She uses the term affect to describe the basic sense of valence (pleasant vs. unpleasant) and arousal (high vs. low energy) that forms the backdrop of our mental states.
The example she gives for an interpretive construction of emotion is that she was feeling butterflies in her stomach while on a date with a guy she didn’t really think she was attracted to. But because the sensation in her stomach occurred while seated at a restaurant table with candles, she interpreted the butterflies as relationship potential. In reality, she went home and had the flu.
In other words, LFB suggests that when you feel anger, joy, or sadness, your brain is essentially making meaning of internal and external signals, combining them with your unique emotional vocabulary which has been shaped by your cultural and personal experiences.
According to her theory, this construction process is based on the brain’s primary function: to manage the metabolic household and keep the organism alive, as well as on its predictive nature: at the neuronal level, studies show that electricity starts firing before we even become aware that we’re going to e.g. move our arm. So instead of merely reacting to the world, LFB argues our brains anticipate and interpret sensory input, to then send signals back to the body to act in ways that have the best chance of ensuring our survival.
Antonio Damasio: Feelings as the Roots of Consciousness
Antonio Damasio, in The Feeling of What Happens, links emotions and feelings to the realm of consciousness. More akin to the traditional view, he describes emotions as physiological responses to stimuli; a collection of actions depending on the state of the organism, which helps to visibly translate something about the state of the organism to the outside.
Feelings, in his view, arise when those emotional responses are mapped onto the brain and become part of our conscious experience. In his book Feeling and Knowing, he argues that there is no consciousness without feelings. He gives the example that bacteria may have implicit intelligence and processes to sense and move toward food sources, but they don’t have a mind to represent it.
For Damasio, affect serves as an umbrella term encompassing both emotions and feelings. Emotions, in his framework, are bodily reactions triggered by external or internal stimuli, while feelings emerge when the brain interprets these emotions, integrating them into the conscious experience. For Damasio, feelings are foundational to self-awareness, as they provide a continuous thread that anchors our sense of being.
While Barrett focuses on how the brain constructs emotions by combining sensory input with learned concepts, Damasio highlights how those constructions become embodied through feelings. Both perspectives suggest that emotions and feelings are dynamic processes rather than fixed reactions. Barrett emphasizes the brain’s predictive role in shaping emotions, whereas Damasio underscores the integration of those emotions with bodily awareness to create consciousness. From these perspectives, emotions and feelings are not just reactions; they’re essential to how we come to know ourselves and navigate the world.
Carl Jung: Personality Types and the Energies of Interpretation
Long before neuroscience provided us with brain scans and predictive models, Carl Jung explored the inner workings of the psyche through his theory of personality types. Jung proposed that our psychological energies—Sensation, Intuition, Thinking, Feeling—shape the way we interpret experiences and assign meaning. (You may be familiar with these terms through the MBTI(r) questionnaire; a tool that is based on Jung’s theory of Types.)
In Jung’s language, Feeling describes the rational cognitive process of making decisions based on values and evaluations. He uses Sensation to describe the mental energy being drawn to practical, tactical, tangible information. Paired with introversion and extraversion, these eight functions create a framework for understanding how individuals perceive and process the world.
For example, imagine a team meeting where a controversial decision is made. An individual with a dominant feeling function might focus on how the decision impacts relationships or group harmony, interpreting the situation through a subjective, people-focused lens. In contrast, someone with a dominant thinking function might analyze the decision logically, focusing on the facts, the reasoning behind it, and its potential outcomes in favor of a more objective perspective.
In my opinion, Jung’s model aligns with, and is indeed complementary to Barrett’s and Damasio’s ideas.
If emotions are constructed, then our dominant personality functions would influence how we build them. For instance, someone with a dominant Feeling function might have a nervous system more focused on maintaining social harmonies and therefore experience interpersonal conflict as a greater threat to survival than someone with a dominant Thinking function.
And if our feelings about those emotions form our sense of being and consciousness, Jung’s map of the psyche points to not only the function that is central to ego consciousness, but also its developmental opportunities and shadow expressions.
Where These Ideas Overlap
Barrett, Damasio, and Jung converge on a profound truth: our emotions and consciousness are deeply embedded in our bodies and intertwined with the way our brains interpret and make sense of the world. Barrett’s constructed emotions align with Jung’s idea that perception is a key ingredient in interpreting and making meaning of the world. Meanwhile, Damasio’s emphasis on the embodied nature of feelings complements Barrett’s view of emotions as rooted in both the brain and the body.
Together, these perspectives suggest that emotions are not fixed, universal experiences but dynamic, deeply personal constructions. They’re shaped by our past, our surroundings, our physiology, and the lens of our personality—and in turn, they shape the stories we tell about ourselves, our relationships, and the world.
Consider a relationship conflict where one partner feels hurt by something the other said. A person with a dominant feeling function might immediately experience the emotion of hurt, focusing on how the comment impacts their sense of connection and values in the relationship.
In contrast, someone with a dominant thinking function might analyze the situation more objectively, questioning the logic behind the comment and experiencing an emotion of confusion. Damasio’s perspective reminds us that both partners’ physiological responses—like increased heart rate or tension—may also influence how they interpret the situation, intensifying or calming their emotional reactions.
In other words, the stories we tell ourselves about the situation—the narrative language we use to interpret our partner’s slight—shape how we make sense of their actions. The Feeling partner might sense their increased heart rate and construct a story of betrayal, while the Thinking partner might brush the physical tension off as non-life-threatening because they view the comment as a simple misunderstanding.
What This Means for You
I believe that understanding these perspectives invites a more compassionate view of ourselves and others. If emotions are constructed, then they’re open to change. By expanding our conscious awareness, our emotional vocabulary, reflecting on our personality patterns, and tuning into the signals of our bodies, we can reshape how we experience the world.
Here’s something you can try right now: pay attention to your body for a second. Does it feel more pleasant or unpleasant, and is the vibe more energetic or calm? That’s all you need to cover the valence and arousal information.
Depending on where you land, here are some suggestions on how to keep it going or perhaps move into a new state, if desired. (Full disclosure, chatGPT helped with this bit.)
1. High Valence + High Arousal (i.e., Feeling Good + Energetic)
Examples: Excitement, enthusiasm, motivation
To Stay Here:
Physical activities: Engage in high-energy movement like dancing, jogging, or group sports to sustain momentum.
Music: Listen to upbeat, energizing music that reinforces positive emotions.
Goals and action: Set small, actionable goals that feed the excitement and channel the energy into productive activities.
To Move Out (Toward Good + Calm):
Breathwork: Practice deep, diaphragmatic breathing to calm the nervous system.
Mindfulness: Engage in a grounding activity like yoga or meditation to transition into a calmer state.
Aromatherapy: Use calming scents like lavender or chamomile to reduce arousal while maintaining positivity.
2. High Valence + Low Arousal (i.e., Feeling Good + Calm)
Examples: Contentment, peace, relaxation
To Stay Here:
Relaxation rituals: Continue with calming activities like sipping tea, reading, or taking a warm bath.
Nature connection: Spend time in serene natural settings like parks or gardens.
Meditative practices: Engage in mindfulness or gratitude journaling to deepen the sense of peace.
To Move Out (Toward Good + Energetic):
Movement: Try light exercises like a walk or stretching to gradually increase arousal.
Music: Shift to moderately upbeat or inspiring tunes.
Social interaction: Connect with uplifting people to spark energy and motivation.
3. Low Valence + High Arousal (i.e., Feeling Bad + Energetic)
Examples: Anxiety, frustration, anger
To Stay Here (e.g., Channel Anger Productively):
Physical release: Use vigorous movement like kickboxing, running, or screaming into a pillow to channel energy constructively.
Problem-solving: Direct the energy into identifying solutions to the source of frustration or anxiety.
Journaling: Write down the racing thoughts to process emotions and focus on clarity.
To Move Out (Toward Good + Calm):
Relaxing techniques: Practice progressive muscle relaxation or paced breathing to engage the parasympathetic nervous system.
Visualization: Imagine a serene, safe place that calms the mind.
Grounding exercises: Focus on sensory experiences (e.g., noticing five things you see, hear, or feel) to bring yourself into the present moment.
4. Low Valence + Low Arousal (i.e., Feeling Bad + Tired)
Examples: Sadness, boredom, apathy
To Stay Here (e.g., Process Sadness or Reflect):
Reflection: Journal or talk to someone supportive to process the underlying emotions.
Rest: Allow yourself restorative rest or sleep if your body needs recovery.
Artistic outlets: Create through art, music, or writing to express emotions in a meaningful way.
To Move Out (Toward Good + Calm or Energetic):
Incremental activity: Start with small, achievable tasks like tidying a small area or drinking water to build momentum.
Music or movement: Use uplifting music or gentle stretching to nudge yourself toward higher energy.
Social connection: Reach out to a friend or loved one for support.
Checking in and doing body scans, as the meditation and mindfulness folks have been suggesting for centuries, allows you to be in a curious observer position without jumping to conclusions and misinterpreting bad dates, as happened to LFB.
In the aforementioned podcast, LFB suggested that most importantly, if you take this observation stance, you will come to realize that feeling unpleasant or having unwelcome emotions like anger or sadness isn’t necessarily a sign that anything is wrong with you. It might just mean that you’re doing something new, or something that’s difficult; anything your brain is interpreting as “oh, this is taking more energy than usual and I don’t know how to predict the best outcome.”
To get out of unpleasant feelings, then, ask yourself whether you are well rested, hydrated, and fed. If the answer is no, consider drinking a glass of water, having a meal, taking a nap, and checking back again afterward.
I know how trivial this sounds, and I know that not all issues can be solved in this way. But there is now overwhelming scientific support that shows that taking care of these basics will signal to your brain that its survival isn’t under threat, which will free up cognitive space for more differentiated problem-solving and compassionate relating to yourself and others.
So tell me, what emotions have shaped your story today? If you’d like to explore how you can take a more active role in co-creating your emotional life through the lens of your psychological personality type, you know where to find me!
