The Experience of Emotions During Goal Pursuit

This chapter describes a viewpoint on the origins of emotions in the context of goal-directed behavior. This viewpoint treats emotions as part of a systematic network of influences on behavior, embedding the goal concept in a model of self-regulating systems. The systems regulate actions with respect to diverse kinds of goals (eg, values, plans, strategies, intentions—even whims), so that life's many incentives are successfully approached and threats avoided.