As the commentaries beautifully illustrate, in spite of the venerable history of scholarship on the phenomenon, there is still no consensus on how to define emotion or how to study it in an appropriat

The gap

Consensus across the literature

Supporting evidence — 5 representative gaps

• Who Determines the Meaning of an Emotion? Affective Sovereignty as an Epistemic Consequence of Measurement Limits (2026)

  Yet a central normative question in this domain has remained underexplored: who has the final authority to determine the meaning of one's own emotion? This study addresses the question from the epistemological side of measurement's structural limits.

  Keywords: question central normative domain remained underexplored final authority determine meaning emotion addresses epistemological side measurement
• Emotion Knowledge, Emotion Utilization, and Emotion Regulation (2011) · doi

  This article suggests a way to circumvent some of the problems that follow from the lack of consensus on a definition of emotion (Izard, 2010; Kleinginna & Kleinginna, 1981) and emotion regulation (Cole, Martin, & Dennis, 2004) by adopting a conceptual framework based on discrete emotions theory and focusing on specific emotions.

  Keywords: emotion kleinginna emotions article suggests circumvent problems follow lack consensus definition izard regulation cole martin
• Discrete emotions predict changes in cognition, judgment, experience, behavior, and physiology: A meta-analysis of experimental emotion elicitations. (2011) · doi

  Conclusions are limited by the inclusion of only some discrete emotions, exclusion of studies that did not elicit discrete emotions, few available effect sizes for some contrasts and moderators, and the methodological rigor of included studies.

  Keywords: discrete emotions conclusions limited inclusion exclusion elicit available effect sizes contrasts moderators methodological rigor included
• Emotion regulation from early adolescence to emerging adulthood and middle adulthood (2014) · doi

  The findings suggest that the development of emotion regulation should be studied in an emotion-specific manner, as a perspective solely on general emotion regulation either under- or overestimates existing emotion-specific developmental changes.

  Keywords: emotion regulation specific suggest development studied manner perspective solely general either overestimates existing developmental changes
• Ways to study the nature and frequency of our daily emotions: reply to the commentaries on “Emotions in everyday life” (2004) · doi

  As the commentaries beautifully illustrate, in spite of the venerable history of scholarship on the phenomenon, there is still no consensus on how to define emotion or how to study it in an appropriate fashion.

  Keywords: commentaries beautifully illustrate spite venerable history scholarship phenomenon there still consensus define emotion appropriate fashion