Emotionality

Smile, depicting joy (Ximena Navarrete, Miss Universe 2010)
Wide eyes and raised eyebrows are common indicators of surprise[1] (Figure 20 from Charles Darwin's The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals)

Emotionality is the observable behavioral and physiological component of emotion. It is a measure of a person's emotional reactivity to a stimulus.[2] Most of these responses can be observed by other people, while some emotional responses can only be observed by the person experiencing them.[3] Observable responses to emotion (i.e., smiling) do not have a single meaning. A smile can be used to express happiness or anxiety, while a frown can communicate sadness or anger.[4] Emotionality is often used by experimental psychology researchers to operationalize emotion in research studies.[2]

  1. ^ Darwin, Charles (1872). The expression of the emotions in man and animals. London, England. pp. 278–309.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ^ a b Reber, A.S.; Reber, E. (2001). The Penguin Dictionary of Psychology. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-051451-3.
  3. ^ Crawford, J.; Kippax, S.; Onyx, J.; Gault, U. & Benton, P. (1992). Emotion and gender: Constructing meaning from memory. London, England: Sage Publications. pp. 16–18.
  4. ^ Hall, J. A.; Carter, J. D.; Horgan, T. G. (2000). Gender differences in nonverbal communication of emotion. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. pp. 97–117.