Study 2: An Emotion of the Mind

Abstract

A major purpose of this series of studies was to investigate the nature of emotions, using hope as a paradigm case. While Study 1 identified a set of rules that define hope as a coherent syndrome, those rules say little in regards to whether or not hope is, in fact, an emotion. In the present study, we address that question through a comparison of hope to other, more prototypic emotions, namely, anger and love.