From Inside Out to Outside In: Navigating Emotional Expression

-Sheersha Roy

Intern, May- July 2024

What we learn from Inside Out?

Recently, the movie ‘Inside Out’ has been doing the rounds on social media and popular culture, which compelled most of us to spend an evening watching it. To say the least, this film is humbling in its portrayal of the universal core emotions we have and adopts from different situations in children’s lives to make it comprehensible to them. The addition of newer emotions to the sequel expands the film’s scope by including the essence of Plutchik's wheel of emotions. The wheel and the film refer to the eight primary emotions, that is, Joy, Anger, Sadness, Trust, Fear, Surprise, Disgust, and Anticipation. Beyond this, the model emphasizes that emotions are dynamic with varying intensities and makes our emotional landscape open to more person-oriented.

Have we learned to be Outside In?

Even though we are mostly under the control of our emotions, it was interesting to ponder upon the amount of agency one has in emotional expression. As we exercise such agency, we may learn to perform emotions in ways that align with social norms and expectations. From a young age, we are taught to smile politely, hide our disappointment, and express gratitude, even when we might not feel these emotions genuinely. Socialization shapes our emotional performances, blending what we feel internally with what we are expected to display externally. Think about it: how often do you put on a brave face when you're feeling overwhelmed? Or smile through gritted teeth to avoid conflict?

This brings up an intriguing concept called the facial feedback hypothesis which suggests that our facial expressions can influence our emotions. So, smiling can make us feel happier, even if we start out feeling neutral or sad. By intentionally changing our expressions, we can alter our internal emotional states. Such outward performances are also colored by our differing social contexts. For instance, we see Riley in the film trying to mask her feelings of nervousness and uncertainty by putting on a brave face and forcing a smile. This performance is driven by the social expectation to appear confident and approachable in a new setting, yet isn’t devoid of internal turmoil. Becoming habituated to following such social scripts can blur the lines between our internal and external worlds.

Performativity of Emotions

In the kind of hustle and bustle that surrounds us, we often use our emotional expressions to navigate such environments daily. Consider a regular day commuting on public transportation where despite feeling tired and stressed, we learn to regulate expression in spaces we inhabit. With the advent of social media, stereotypical connotations of productivity have influenced such performances in urban contexts. This widening emotional disconnection can increase the weight of anxiety and stress and is a possible source of emotional numbness, where an individual cannot recognize the congruence between their behavior and needs. If emotional performativity can be so prone to context, we must also consider that it could be adaptive to changing times. For instance, appearing confident and composed for some can indicate masking, a self-protective measure under certain scenarios. 

Acknowledging multiple sides of the argument becomes essential here to identify and modulate our emotional performances. These can be messy, and complicated, and sometimes hinder healing, just like how Riley finds it difficult to heal until she allows herself to be sad. While performative emotions are inevitable in social situations, aiming for emotional authenticity can improve our well-being and the quality of our interactions. The balance between both is intricate in building self-awareness and can be pursued by practicing self-reflection, being mindful of what we say to ourselves, seeking help, and sometimes, merely stopping and suspending time for ourselves. It all boils down to the fact that as humans, we can be  “Inside Out” and “Outside In” simultaneously, by choosing to exercise our emotional agency at times. 

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