Are emotional expressions intentional? : A self-organizational approach
This paper discusses the debate over whether emotional expressions are spontaneous or intentional actions. We describe a variety of empirical evidence supporting these two possibilities. But we argue that the spontaneous-intentional distinction fails to explain the psychological dynamics
of emotional expressions. We claim that a complex systems perspective on intentions, as self-organized critical states, may yield a unified view of emotional expressions as a consequence of situated action. This account simultaneously acknowledges the embodied status of environment, evolution,
culture and mind in theories of emotion.
Keywords: embodiment; emotional expressions; intentions; self-organized behaviors
Document Type: Research Article
Publication date: 01 January 2003
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