Semantic Pointers: A New Theory About Emotions

  Your emotions are continually turning on and off. For instance, at one point, you may be feeling deep sadness then, suddenly, something amazing happens that instantly changes your emotion to one of effervescent joy. These kinds of rapid, precise, and almost spectacular changes have always attracted the attention of the science world. They’re now recognized as semantic pointers. This striking term defines a psychophysiological process that’s both complex and fascinating. For instance, you tend to make extremely quick inferences about what’s going on around you. Your brain evaluates this perception and gives it meaning. This later becomes an emotion…