by Sentimenti Team | Feb 12, 2023 | Sentimenti research
This is entirely human behavior. Most of us avoid painful emotions and suppress and hide them from the world. Suppressing our emotions is a common coping mechanism for dealing with difficult issues in everyday life. However, avoiding confrontation or pain (as long as we are talking about negative experiences) can harm our mental and physical health.
- Emotional suppression is the act of consciously or unconsciously blocking, suppressing or ignoring one’s emotions;
- Suppressing emotions can be a coping mechanism for dealing with difficult situations, or it can be a learned behavior based on past experiences;
- Regularly hiding one’s feelings can have negative consequences for mental as well as physical health;
- Crying is a normal and healthy way of expressing emotions, which serves to release accumulated emotions, reduce stress and improve well-being;
- Expressing one’s feelings improves emotional coping skills. It can also lead to improved communication with others and thus improve relationships with those around you.
Suppressing emotions. Why do we do it?
Emotional suppression can begin in early childhood due to various factors. The style with which our parents raised us may be behind it, but also family environments and life experiences. Here are some causes and examples of emotional suppression:
- Children who grow up in environments where expressing emotions is frowned upon (the belief that “big boys don’t cry”) may learn that feelings are something shameful and should not be openly expressed.
- Children can learn to suppress their feelings if they are exposed to role models who suppress their emotions.
- Children who have experienced traumatic events may suppress their emotions. This is a way to avoid re-experiencing traumatic memories.
Commonly suppressed emotions
Expressing one’s feelings can put a person in a confrontational situation or make them feel vulnerable. People find it easier to shut down and avoid dealing with conflict than to face the problem head-on. People most often suppress the following emotions:
- Anger. One of the most commonly suppressed emotions, as expressing anger is often seen as socially unacceptable, and people may suppress it as a way to avoid conflict or potential negative consequences;
- Sadness and grief. People may suppress these emotions because they find them difficult to deal with;
- Fear. It is often suppressed because of unwillingness to confront our fears;
- Guilt. People may feel guilty for something they did or didn’t do and don’t want to admit it.
People who suppress their own feelings often later have difficulty naming what they actually feel or making more sense of the phenomenon.
Recognizing suppressed feelings
People who suppress their feelings often have difficulty naming what they feel or making sense of it. Not being able to talk about what you’re feeling makes communication more difficult, but it also makes it harder to know which parts of your life are not fulfilling. Here are some signs that may indicate that we are more or less consciously suppressing our own emotions:
- People tell us that we are emotionally detached from reality;
- We experience high nervousness and anxiety;
- We avoid people when they say they are expressing their pain or sadness;
- We find it difficult to say “NO” or set boundaries, which can be an indicator of repressed anger and resentment;
- We become volatile and have emotional outbursts, such as crying or anger, whose intensity is disproportionate to the situation at hand;
- Physical symptoms such as tension headaches, muscle aches, fatigue and sleep disturbances appear;
- We have difficulty maintaining intimate relationships;
- We engage in self-destructive behaviors such as substance abuse, eating disorders, self-harm or other harmful coping mechanisms;
- We don’t like to be alone with our thoughts.
Crying? A normal and necessary phenomenon
Suppressing emotions is not always bad. In certain situations, it can be a healthy coping mechanism. Suppressing emotions can help one stay calm and think clearly when one is in a dangerous or potentially harmful situation. In some cultures, expressing certain emotions may be considered taboo, so suppressing them may be necessary to maintain social harmony.
Crying is a normal and healthy way to show how we feel, and can be good for mental and physical health. Crying brings us closer to people, allowing us to feel more empathy and receive more support from those around us. In addition, crying can help release accumulated emotions, reduce feelings of stress and anxiety, and improve overall mood.
Crying releases the stress hormone (cortisol) and the mood-regulating hormone (oxytocin). It also helps reduce feelings of sadness, anger and frustration.
Some people find it very difficult to cry, but that doesn’t mean they are incapable of feeling emotions. In addition, crying is not the only way to express emotions; other methods, such as talking, writing, art or exercising at the gym, can also be very effective.
What keeps us from crying?
There may be several reasons why someone may be afraid to cry:
- Socialization. Some people may have been taught during adolescence that crying is a sign of weakness or is unacceptable to their gender.
- Past trauma. Someone who has experienced traumatic events may associate crying with that trauma and may avoid crying to prevent reliving those memories.
- Fear of vulnerability. Crying can make someone feel vulnerable and exposed, and they may fear being judged or rejected by others.
- Fear of losing control. Crying can be an intense emotional experience, and some people may fear losing control when they cry.
Suppression of emotions and healthy ways to express emotions
- Conversation. Let’s share our feelings with someone we trust and who will listen to us without judgment;
- Let’s write about our emotions. Keeping a blog or diary is a great way to express your emotions and understand them better;
- Let’s engage in creative activities outside the home. Art, dance, music and writing are great ways to express emotions in a non-verbal way;
- Let’s exercise! Physical activity is a great way to release accumulated emotions and can help improve mood;
- Let’s practice mindfulness. Deep breathing, meditation and yoga can help you stay present in the moment and deal with your emotions more effectively;
- Seek professional help. Consider talking to a therapist or counselor to help understand and process emotions;
- Let’s practice self-compassion. When we feel emotions, let’s treat ourselves with kindness and understanding;;
- Let’s accept our emotions with kindness. Let us regularly ask ourselves: “What are you feeling right now?” Let us allow ourselves to fully experience and feel emotions without judgment.
Expressing your emotions can lead to personal growth and self-awareness. By acknowledging and expressing emotions, one can better understand oneself and one’s needs. Expressing emotions can be verbal or non-verbal, through art, music, writing or physical activity.
It can be worked through alone or together with other people. Everyone has to find their own way, which works best. Healthy disclosure of one’s emotions to the world, however, can take time and practice.
by Damian Grimling | Nov 6, 2021 | Sentimenti research
When sentiment analysis began to be used for marketing activities in the early 2000s, it opened up vast opportunities for the marketing and advertising industries. Understanding consumer sentiment allowed for better validation of actions and more precise targeting of target groups. Today, 20 years later, new doors are opening—rather than just measuring sentiment, we can now analyze emotions, and this offers even more benefits. What are they?
FROM THIS ARTICLE, YOU WILL LEARN: |
-
What is the difference between sentiment and emotion? -
What is the difference between sentiment analysis and emotion analysis? -
How do the results of both algorithms look in practice? -
Emotion analysis is not only effective in content marketing -
Perspectives on the development of emotion analysis tools |
Differences Between Sentiment and Emotions: Full List of Emotions
First, let’s define sentiment and emotions—the most important differences arise at this basic level because sentiment and emotions are two distinct phenomena.
-
- Sentiment is the state in which a person experiencing emotions can name what they are feeling, connect that experience with thoughts about it, and then make a conscious decision regarding the source of the stimulus. Sentiment, therefore, is the sum of physiological reactions (from the body) and cognitive processes triggered by the experience of emotions. Since it is a conscious state, it can be sustained by the person experiencing it. In general, sentiment is a broad mental attitude towards a particular experience.
- Emotions, on the other hand, are the physiological and, consequently, psychological brain responses to an external stimulus or an experience related to such a stimulus. The combination of the experience and the body’s reaction (hormonal activity) causes a short-lived and unconscious state, leading to specific actions such as fight, flight, freeze, awe, disgust, etc. What’s more—each emotion is tied to a different type of reaction, resulting in different behaviors.
As you can see, without experiencing emotions, you cannot enter a state of sentiment. Emotions operate at the lowest, behavioral level, while sentiment is their reflection, consideration, and evaluation by the person experiencing them. Emotions cause spontaneous reactions, while sentiment leads to conscious and controlled actions. The most significant difference: there are only eight basic emotions (according to Plutchik’s theory: joy, sadness, anger, fear, disgust, surprise, anticipation, and trust), which, when combined, form secondary, higher emotions that lead to the creation of feelings. In the case of sentiment, we are dealing only with positive and negative sentiment, sometimes also neutral.
Exploring Emotions: Media Monitoring vs. Sentitool – A Tool Comparison
Just as the phenomena of sentiment and emotions differ, so do the tools used to analyze them. These tools leverage advanced technologies such as neurolinguistic programming, machine learning, and other AI algorithms. Currently, in the Polish market for sentiment analysis in online content, several reputable companies exist, but in the field of emotion analysis, only one stands out as a true pioneer—Sentimenti. Below is a comparison of the general capabilities of sentiment and emotion analysis tools.
| |
-
examining the general tone of statements made by Internet users, article authors, etc. -
determine the user's impression and attitude after reading the text -
ease of processing and estimation of analysis results -
Useful for evaluating online brand mentions, social media management and customer communications, including complaint handling -
crisis communication support -
comparing consumer attitudes toward our own and competitors' products | -
to examine the instinctive reactions of Internet users and the intentions of the creators -
The ability to get to the emotions behind a particular sentiment and determine the future actions of those commenting -
Much greater range of information collected (8 emotions, sentiment analysis and emotional arousal) -
ability to work on huge groups of respondents -
assessment of consumer sentiment before and after the advertising campaign -
validation of marketing strategies -
monitoring emotions about the company in online mentions -
-
comparing brand perceptions -
analysis of emotions associated with influencers, YouTubers, bloggers, etc. to accurately select a brand ambassador |
Conclusion: The common (even within the industry) usage of the terms sentiment analysis and emotion analysis is incorrect. Sentiment is a much narrower concept, indicating in practice only the tone of a statement and possibly the mood of the author. Emotion analysis, on the other hand, describes the level of individual emotions (providing a percentage result for eight components, as well as the type of sentiment and the level of emotional arousal); with this data, consumer reactions and behaviors can be predicted with high accuracy.
As you can see, this data is more detailed; its analysis is more challenging, but it is also more accurate and comprehensive. Sentimenti’s algorithm includes as many as 30,000 words and phrases collected from a group of 22,000 people. The algorithm itself was developed in collaboration with the Wrocław University of Science and Technology and the Brain Imaging Lab of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
How Do the Results of Both Algorithms Look in Practice?
Time for some practice! Take a look at the following analysis of a real review:
I will never buy anything from smelly V(…) again. I recently decided I didn’t want to buy tragic clothes from chain stores, so I bought from there, and the supposedly perfect condition item, without signs of wear, had a stain that was visible. The woman claims that when she sent it, the stain wasn’t there.
This review is authentic and taken directly from a portal. What can you read from it when measuring sentiment versus emotion?
Results: Anger – 70%, Fear – 45%, Anticipation – 24%, Surprise – 57%, Trust – 14%, Sadness – 60%, Disgust – 62%, Joy – 10%, Positive sentiment – 10%, Negative sentiment – 70%, Emotional arousal – 72%.
The comment comes from a disappointed customer who, instead of making a purchase from one of the popular boutiques, opted for what she considered higher-quality used clothes. The purchase turned out to be unsuccessful, and the item was stained despite being described as in good condition. The buyer is clearly upset (emotional arousal at 72%), angry (a high 70%), feeling disgust (62%) and sadness (60%)—as she expected a good purchase. Notice that the woman also exhibits a high level of surprise (57%) and fear (45%)—when you add the disgust result, you can understand that this is her physical reaction to the experience of being deceived.
Now look at the same review from a sentiment analysis perspective: you receive two results—negative (70%) and positive (10%). The negative sentiment is evident even without automatic analysis, given phrases like smelly, tragic, stain, woman. The phrases supposedly perfect condition and without signs of wear build the low positive sentiment score.
The key information, however, is hidden—the phrase smelly refers directly to the shopping platform, tragic to the quality of chain store clothes, and woman to the seller. The overall tone of the review is set by the epithets unrelated directly to the purchased item, yet the sentiment analysis result remains negative.
Conclusion: With percentage results for basic emotions and knowledge of the typical physiological reactions they correspond to, you can estimate consumer behavior in this situation. Anger is associated with an attack response (hence the comment on the portal), disgust and fear with flight, and sadness with freezing. The emotional consumer will likely switch to another platform or opt for in-person shopping. She will probably not use this platform again.
Emotion Analysis is Effective Beyond Content Marketing
You’ve just seen how sentiment and emotion analysis results are interpreted in a specific example, and what kind of insights you can gain from them. As you’ve likely noticed, emotion analysis is a far more comprehensive, complete solution tailored to customer needs. But are emotion analysis algorithms limited to marketing, PR, or customer service?
Definitely not. With the development of machine learning technology and the implementation of increasingly sophisticated AI algorithms, the possibilities of emotion analysis extend into other industries. Today, emotions can be analyzed, for example, to forecast stock market prices or investment opportunities in the cryptocurrency market.
Future Prospects for Emotion Analysis Tools
If the above information hasn’t convinced you of the superiority of emotion analysis over sentiment analysis, look at the development potential of the former. Artificial intelligence is already highly advanced. Today, AI is being implemented not only to study but also to create emotionally engaging content aimed at achieving set goals.
These goals include increasing conversion rates from marketing activities, acquiring more effective leads, or providing customer service tailored to consumer needs (including potential crisis situations and ways to avoid them). The latter goal significantly improves user experience, increasing customer loyalty to the brand, which, in turn, strengthens the brand’s position in the market. That’s the potential of this technology—sentiment analysis can’t do that.
by Sentimenti Team | Aug 5, 2021 | Conferences, Market research, Scientific publications
Place of publication:
- Conference: Proceedings of the 59th Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics and the 11th International Joint Conference on Natural Language Processing
Title:
Personal Bias in Prediction of Emotions Elicited by Textual Opinions
Authors:
Jan Kocoń, Piotr Miłkowski, Damian Grimling, Marcin Gruza, Kamil Kanclerz, Przemysław Kazienko
Abstract:
Analysis of emotions elicited by opinions, comments, or articles commonly exploits annotated corpora, in which the labels assigned to documents average the views of all annotators, or represent a majority decision. The models trained on such data are effective at identifying the general views of the population. However, their usefulness for predicting the emotions evoked by the textual content in a particular individual is limited. In this paper, we present a study performed on a dataset containing 7,000 opinions, each annotated by about 50 people with two dimensions: valence, arousal, and with intensity of eight emotions from Plutchik’s model. Our study showed that individual responses often significantly differed from the mean. Therefore, we proposed a novel measure to estimate this effect – Personal Emotional Bias (PEB). We also developed a new BERT-based transformer architecture to predict emotions from an individual human perspective. We found PEB a major factor for improving the quality of personalized reasoning. Both the method and measure may boost the quality of content recommendation systems and personalized solutions that protect users from hate speech or unwanted content, which are highly subjective in nature.
Link: ResearchGate
by Sentimenti Team | Jul 22, 2021 | Scientific publications
Place of publication:
Behavior Research Methods
Title:
Emotion norms for 6000 Polish word meanings with a direct mapping to the Polish wordnet
Authors:
Jan Kocoń, Arkadiusz Janz, Piotr Miłkowski, Monika Riegel, Małgorzata Wierzba, Artur Marchewka, Agnieszka Czoska, Damian Grimling, Barbara Konat, Konrad Juszczyk, Katarzyna Klessa, Maciej Piasecki
Abstract:
Emotion lexicons are useful in research across various disciplines, but the availability of such resources remains limited for most languages. While existing emotion lexicons typically comprise words, it is a particular meaning of a word (rather than the word itself) that conveys emotion. To mitigate this issue, we present the Emotion Meanings dataset, a novel dataset of 6000 Polish word meanings. The word meanings are derived from the Polish wordnet (plWordNet), a large semantic network interlinking words by means of lexical and conceptual relations. The word meanings were manually rated for valence and arousal, along with a variety of basic emotion categories (anger, disgust, fear, sadness, anticipation, happiness, surprise, and trust). The annotations were found to be highly reliable, as demonstrated by the similarity between data collected in two independent samples: unsupervised ( n = 21,317) and supervised ( n = 561). Although we found the annotations to be relatively stable for female, male, younger, and older participants, we share both summary data and individual data to enable emotion research on different demographically specific subgroups. The word meanings are further accompanied by the relevant metadata, derived from open-source linguistic resources. Direct mapping to Princeton WordNet makes the dataset suitable for research on multiple languages. Altogether, this dataset provides a versatile resource that can be employed for emotion research in psychology, cognitive science, psycholinguistics, computational linguistics, and natural language processing.
Link: ResearchGate
by Sentimenti Team | May 3, 2021 | Scientific publications
Place of publication:
Information Processing & Management, 2021
Title:
Mapping WordNet onto human brain connectome in emotion processing and semantic similarity recognition
Authors:
Jan Kocoń, Marek Maziarz
Abstract:
In this article we extend a WordNet structure with relations linking synsets to Desikan’s brain regions. Based on lexicographer files and WordNet Domains the mapping goes from synset semantic categories to behavioural and cognitive functions and then directly to brain lobes. A human brain connectome (HBC) adjacency matrix was utilised to capture transition probabilities between brain regions. We evaluated the new structure in several tasks related to semantic similarity and emotion processing using brain-expanded Princeton WordNet (207k LUs) and Polish WordNet (285k LUs, 30k annotated with valence, arousal and 8 basic emotions). A novel HBC vector representation turned out to be significantly better than proposed baselines. URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306457321000388
Link: ScienceDirect
Citation BibTeX:
@article{kocon2021mapping,
title={Mapping WordNet onto human brain connectome in emotion processing and semantic similarity recognition},
author={Koco{\'n}, Jan and Maziarz, Marek},
journal={Information Processing \& Management},
volume={58},
number={3},
pages={102530},
year={2021},
publisher={Elsevier}
}
