Comparing implications of distinct emotion, network, and dimensional approaches for co-occurring emotions

Many situations elicit multiple emotions at the same time. Therefore, emotion theories should explain when and how emotions co-occur. We compared four parsimonious, formal theories that could explain emotion co-occurrence inspired by distinct emotion, network, and dimensional approaches to emotions. In three studies (N = 1,038), diverse participants rated the intensity of awe and kama muta (Study 1; US community sample; conducted in 2020), shame and guilt (Study 2; Dutch students; conducted in 2006), or awe and fear (Study 3; GB community sample; conducted in 2022) on multi-componential scales in response to emotion-eliciting stimuli (i.e., vignettes or videos). All three studies indicated that the network theory explains the data best. The theory implies that emotions co-occur because the networks of interacting components representing different emotions partly overlap. The parsimonious model can serve as a starting point for a comprehensive formal theory that is able to integrate seemingly inconsistent findings in research on co-occurring emotions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).