The intentional and social nature of human emotions: Reconsideration of the distinction between basic and non-basic emotions

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