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Chapter 3
THE NEUROPHYSIOLOGY OF EMOTIVE AWARENESS
INTRODUCTION
In the previous chapter I stated the problems that gave rise to this research
project, and presented the research methodology that I will employ to resolve them. In
this chapter I will discuss how human experiences and memories of past events are
linked to our emotions that we experienced at that time when the memories were
formed. I will begin by outlining types of emotions and their functions and how they
are experienced, the role ofthe brain in language, perception and motor function, and in
the personal and social dimension. The three stages of cognitive appraisal, how
emotions and hidden meaning can be identified as well as how empathy takes place will
also be discussed.
THE CONCEPT "EMOTION"
Bulmer (1975: 33) calls an emotion an individual's subjective feeling of
pleasantness or unpleasantness which is associated with internal reactions e.g. blood
pressure, heart rate, sweating, etc; external facial reactions e.g. smiling, laughing and
crying and bodily reactions like nervousness, gestures, change in voice or tone.
According to Clark (1990:122) external reactions help to observe the emotions. He says
verbal statements also illustrate a person's emotions:
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