Personality is often viewed as an underlying tendency to act in a particular way, but we also have feelings, emotions, and moods that can change in response to our surroundings. Dutch psychologist Nico Frijda explained that we have spontaneous reactions to certain situations, which occur without our control. These include involuntary responses, such as blushing, and also emotional reactions, such as feeling embarrassed. We also have mental states, such as thinking about our emotions or moods, which we experience as feelings. These can then lead to physical changes, such as hair standing on end, which we perceive as a reaction.
Paul Ekman, an American psychologist, who helped develop a system for measuring emotions based on facial expression, observed that one of our involuntary reactions is a range of facial movements. He identified six basic emotions, each associated with specific muscle movements. Anger, fear, disgust, joy, sorrow, and surprise. These facial expressions are involuntary and can not be controlled.
