The Case for Emphasizing Discrete Emotions in Communication Research

There are several noteworthy debates associated with the study of emotion. For example, which comes first-emotion or cognition? Or, even more basic, what feature most centrally defines emotion? Although undoubtedly conceptually important, the more pressing question for scholars within our discipline is: which approach to emotion is most useful for understanding communication-based phenomena-the discrete or the dimensional view? Here I argue that, although these two perspectives share some very basic root elements, we must look for the best match between the phenomena under consideration and the unique strengths of the theoretical paradigms applied to them. Given the complexity of communication-related processes and outcomes, the more complex orientation to the study of emotion-the discrete emotion perspective-is most useful as what little might be lost in parsimony is more than offset by the precision gained in prediction. In this essay, I will first define emotion and the two major approaches to its study. I will then argue that given that unique emotion states ( generated by unique appraisal patterns) are the key motivator behind differences in human thought, word, and deed, it is most reasonable to adopt a discrete perspective to the extent those outcomes are of interest. I will then present evidence from several domains of literature to demonstrate the value of the discrete over the dimensional view in the study of communication-related issues.