Get to know yourself through your emotions

Surprise is an emotion that appears when something unexpected happens or something that does not match our predictions. It is one of the basic emotions and usually lasts a very short time.

Its task is to quickly direct attention to a new situation and assess whether it is safe, favourable or threatening. Surprise in itself is neither positive nor negative - only after a moment can it turn into another emotion, e.g. joy, fear, relief, anger or sadness.

In the body there may appear sudden arousal, holding of the breath, wide-open eyes or a momentary stopping of movement. For a moment the body concentrates all its attention on what has just happened.

Surprise helps us quickly adapt to new information and react flexibly to a changing reality.

Similar:Astonishment, Wonder, Amazement, Startle, Shock