THE INTENTIONAL AND SOCIAL NATURE OF HUMAN EMOTIONS - RECONSIDERATIONOF THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN BASIC AND NON-BASIC EMOTIONS

The dispute over the nature of basic emotions is central in current ps ychological discussions of emotions. In this article we first discuss various senses of basic emotions and indicate the connections among th em. Then the nature of nonbasic emotions is discussed; their developme nt is associated with the emergence of complex intentional capacities. We suggest that non-basic emotions involve a conception of the self-a ccordingly social comparisons between the self and others become centr al. The development of the social environment has also affected basic emotions; social concerns have become central in them too.