Wheel of Emotions (Plutchik): Theory and Chart explained
Your emotions become overwhelming but you struggle to find the right words to express them. The conversation remains at a surface level because this approach prevents people from understanding their actual behaviors and decision-making processes and teamwork dynamics. The wheel of emotions developed by Robert Plutchik enables you to identify emotions instantly while you learn their names and understand their strength levels. The emotional states in this image demonstrate how different emotions create new emotional experiences.
The Wheel of Emotions model delivers functional methods which coaches can use in their practice and team environments and workplace communication situations. The tool enables managers to deal with difficult workplace conversations and team disputes and shows them how to detect signs which show employee stress symptoms. The system enables staff members to monitor ongoing events while it provides them with particular instructions which enable them to bring back their current state.
The following article explains the Wheel of Emotions by describing its origins and organizational structure. The course will teach you about emotional connections between the eight basic emotions and demonstrate how color and layering techniques create intensity and explain emotional relationship patterns. You will also get a visual example and tips for applying the Wheel of Emotions directly in practice. Enjoy reading!
What is the Robert Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions?The theory and background
The wheel of emotions which American psychologist Robert Plutchik created serves as his main contribution to the field. He presented the model in 1980 as part of his psycho-evolutionary theory of emotions. Plutchik believed emotions existed to serve survival needs which he identified with specific purposes. Emotions serve as a mechanism which allows people and animals to respond to dangerous environmental conditions and advantageous situations.
To make this understandable, he reduced the large number of possible emotions to eight primary basic emotions. The primary emotions exist as opposing pairs. They are joy and sadness, trust and distrust, fear and anger, anticipation and surprise. The wheel of emotions shows these emotions as direct opposites which appear at different strength levels.
The wheel of emotions functions as a tool which enables people to move between various emotional states. People experience fear at its most basic level differently than they do when they reach a state of total panic. Mild displeasure is different from intense anger. The position of the wheel indicates which emotion is present along with its intensity level. The wheel design enables people to identify and name their strong emotions through an objective process.
Plutchik assumed that, in theory, tens of thousands of different emotions and nuances can be distinguished. He himself mentioned numbers up to approximately 34,000 combinations. In practice, it is impossible to recognize and name all these variants separately. The eight primary emotions which connect to each other provide researchers and counselors and everyday people with an easier method to study and handle emotions.
Elements within Robert Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions Chart
The Wheel of Emotions has three elements which also act as its three main characteristics:
1: Colours
The eight basic emotions have each been marked with a recognisable colour within the Emotion Wheel. As the intensity of the emotion increases, so does the intensity of the colour. However, combinations of two basic emotions are not given a colour.
2: Layers
The Wheel of Emotions shows different system levels which extend from basic to advanced system components. Towards the middle of the Wheel, the intensity of the emotion and colour increases.
3: Relations
The Feelings Wheel of Emotions depicts mutual relations found in between opposing emotions. Combinations of emotions that arise when emotions are mixed together are found in between the basic emotions. As a result, all emotions are in mutual contact with one another.
Robert Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions Chart
The eight core emotions form the basis for all other human emotions. The eight primary emotions are entered into a grid opposite one another.
After all eight emotions are connected to one another, a wheel is created (hence the name of this model). The Wheel of Emotions contains emotions which each have their own designated color.
As the intensity of the emotion increases (towards the centre of the wheel), so does the indicator colour. Both the emotion and the color decrease towards the outer edge. There are also secondary emotions that are presented as combinations of the primary emotions.
Figure 1 – Robert Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions
Wheel of Emotions Dimensions
The wheel of emotions can be displayed in both two and three dimension. In the flat, two-dimensional Wheel, there are eight segments, in which the primary emotion dimensions are located: anger, anticipation, joy, trust, fear, surprise, sadness and disgust.
Each segment has an opposing emotion, and also has its own colour within the Wheel of Emotions. The emotions without colours represent mixtures of two primary emotions. The combination of Anticipation and Joy results in the creation of Optimism.
The Wheel of Emotions takes on a conical shape when observed from a three-dimensional perspective. This vertical dimension focuses on the intensity of the emotion, which becomes stronger the more it moves inwards.
So, the emotion of ‘boredom’ can, if it is not kept in check, develop into the more intense emotion of ‘disgust’, and ‘anger’ can flare up and become ‘rage’. This immediately teaches people how to deal with emotions in real-world situations in relation to each other; if emotions are not controlled, they can run high and become more intense.
The basic assumptions of Robert Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions chart appear in this section.
Robert Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions theory is rooted in ten basic theoretical assumptions that can be found below:
1: Animal & human
The basic emotions are the same for humans as they are for all other mammals, and are generated in the middle-most part of the brain: the limbic system.
2: Evolution
Emotions arose during the evolutionary process and continued to develop in humans. This has resulted, in addition to the eight basic emotions, in 34,000 different discernible emotions.
3: Survival
The eight natural emotions which exist in nature serve as the basis for human survival. The warning system of fear protects us from dangerous circumstances which makes it a beneficial emotion.
4: Basic patterns
Every basic emotion has a number of common, recognisable patterns and elements that are also called prototypes.
5: Basic emotions
Robert Plutchik identifies eight basic emotions that humans as well as mammals have in common: anger, anticipation, joy, trust, fear, surprise, sadness and disgust.
6: Combinations
The combinations of eight basic emotions produce new emotions, whereby ‘joy’ and ‘trust’ can lead to ‘love’, for example.
7: Constructs
Robert Plutchik defines emotions as theoretical concepts which serve to explain particular emotional experiences.
8: Opposites
Nature shows dualities through its fundamental elements which include polar opposites and duality as demonstrated by the basic emotions between Joy and Sadness and Trust and Disgust and Fear and Anger and Anticipation and Surprise.
9: Similarity
The concept of duality exists alongside other emotions which demonstrate shared characteristics.
10: Intensity
All emotions exist on a scale which ranges from weak to extremely powerful.
The Wheel of Emotions serves as a tool which coaches and leaders and HR professionals can use in their work.
The Wheel of Emotions by Plutchik functions as a practical tool which helps people during their conversations. The process enables people to transform their unclear emotions into specific feelings which exceed basic descriptions of anger and stress and discomfort. The explanation reveals the fundamental reasons which drive people to act in certain ways and make particular decisions and respond in particular manners. The information proves useful when working with coaches and leaders and human resources professionals during their discussions.
The Wheel of Emotions serves as a tool in coaching which enables coaches to analyze complex situations through sequential analysis. For example, a coachee may initially describe a conflict at work as irritation. The wheel serves as a tool to detect the actual emotions which cause this specific feeling.
People experience three different emotions which include disappointment and fear of rejection and anger toward what they see as unfair treatment. The differentiation method shows specific patterns which help users identify the required elements needed for different responses. The wheel enables people to progress from sensory experiences to mental understanding which leads to various actions.
Managers can apply the Wheel of Emotions to achieve better communication results when they need to handle difficult conversations with employees. Employees often describe their experiences in general terms, such as “it’s too much” or “I’m stuck. ” The process of identifying emotions through calm examination with the wheel helps both parties understand what is happening.
The main emotions people experience during this process include uncertainty and shame and anger and sadness and these emotions exist together. The process enables healthcare providers to develop suitable follow-up questions and establish mutual agreements regarding support needs and boundary definitions and work accommodation requirements.
The emotion wheel serves as a tool which helps professionals discover hidden emotions during their appraisal and development interview sessions. An employee who receives feedback will defend themselves because their primary concern is avoiding rejection which could lead to job loss.
A worker who shows major withdrawal behavior could actually be experiencing despondency instead of showing unwillingness. The discussion shifts from studying performance to studying the person who shows this behavior when their emotions appear during discussions. This offers more starting points for development.
The Wheel of Emotions serves as a tool which HR departments and company social workers can apply during their work with employees who experience stress and conflicts and need to reintegrate into their work environment.
The wheel demonstrates how people feel when they experience work-related stress and when they experience shame about their mistakes and when their team operations become disrupted. Organizations can choose particular intervention approaches through this assessment which includes coaching and mediation and team discussions and workload adjustments.
The Wheel of Emotions functions as a reflective tool which helps people develop their language skills in every situation. The assessment functions as a diagnostic instrument which serves to identify learning difficulties rather than as a testing procedure.
The system produces its highest performance through research collaborations which determine emotional involvement levels and their strength and their effects on behavioral responses and teamwork dynamics. The emotion wheel functions as a tool which enables professionals and managers and HR staff to start vital discussions about actual employee experiences.
The Wheel of Emotions and customer experience
The Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions serves as a valuable tool which benefits both coaching and HR practices and marketing operations and service delivery and customer experience management. Every customer journey contains emotions which serve as essential elements.
Customers choose not only on the basis of price and product, but also on how they feel before, during, and after a point of contact. The emotion wheel provides a clear method to identify specific emotions which designers should use to enhance their process design and improvement activities.
The analysis of customer journey helps organizations identify which emotions their customers will experience at different stages of their process. Customers who want to purchase a product will usually develop expectations but they might also experience some degree of uncertainty during their product exploration process.
The process of handling orders and requests creates tension and frustration because customers must navigate complicated procedures which they find difficult to understand. The delivery of good services together with clear communication will create trust and relief and satisfaction in customers.
By placing these emotions on the Wheel of Emotions, it becomes clear where the organization evokes negative emotions and where there is room to reinforce positive emotions.
The Wheel of Emotions functions as an effective tool which front office staff can use to handle customer complaints while they maintain their service delivery. An angry customer rarely experiences anger alone. People commonly experience letdowns together with feelings of guilt and worries about money loss and doubts about receiving proper attention.
The Wheel of Emotions serves as a tool in training and coaching which helps staff members develop their ability to detect the actual emotions which people express. The process lets me create empathetic answers by choosing words which produce suitable answers for each individual situation.
For marketing and communication, the Wheel of Emotions can be used in the development of campaigns and customer communication. The current focus moves away from selecting our message content to determine which emotional response we should create at this particular moment.
Organizations need to establish an environment which piques customer interest and builds trust and generates enthusiastic customer responses when they introduce new products. In service communication, the focus can be on relief and clarity, after previous frustration or uncertainty. The process enables better alignment between all content elements which include texts and images and voice tone with the target user experience.
The Wheel of Emotions also offers guidance at a strategic level. Management teams need to determine what emotions their customers experience when they deal with their organization. The customer base shows primarily two reactions which include feelings of distrust and irritation together with trust and appreciation. The explicit statement reveals which process improvements need to occur together with accessibility enhancements and reduced waiting times and better employee service. Organizations that make service delivery decisions will directly affect customer emotional responses according to the relationship between the emotion wheel and customer journey.
Working with the emotion wheel in three steps
The emotion wheel serves its purpose best when people apply it to recognize emotions which they experience during their conversations and individual mental activities. The following three steps create a basic method which people can use for personal development and team work and coaching sessions.
Step 1. Select a particular event
The first requirement demands that you select one specific situation which you will focus on. The situation occurs in any setting which includes your workplace and your home environment and your academic studies. The examples include challenging team meetings and workplace disputes and employee performance assessments and situations which caused colleagues to become overwhelmed. The ability to identify emotions becomes simpler when we know the exact circumstances which are involved.
Step 2. Name and refine the emotions
The Wheel of Emotions needs to be used to determine which emotions affected the situation. First, look at the primary emotion. The experience contained primarily fear together with anger and sadness and joy and trust and aversion and expectation and surprise. Next you need to establish the level of intensity. The situation presented two different possible responses which included feeling slightly uncomfortable and showing actual anger. Mild tension or intense fear?
We need to establish the exact emotions first before we can determine if different emotions occurred simultaneously. A person can experience both disappointment and anger at the same time. Or relieved and yet still uncertain. The wheel shows that emotions consist of multiple elements which combine to create a complete emotional system. The method creates an experience which goes past the typical expressions of anger and discomfort. ”
Step 3. Link emotions to behavior and choices
We need to evaluate which emotions have impacted us during this entire experience at this last stage of the process. The leaders used their influence to shape employee conduct and communication methods and their choices. Someone either pulled back or exploded in anger or spoke excessively while ignoring others or responded with excessive speed to a question.
For a manager, this means that it becomes clear how their own emotions affect their management style and reactions. Employees need to understand how their emotions affect their ability to establish limits and work with others and start new projects.
Limitations and critical comments on the emotion wheel
Plutchik’s wheel of emotions serves as an emotional classification system but it does not show how people actually experience their emotions in their natural state. People experience emotions which combine with each other while their emotional state shifts based on their current circumstances. A combination of, for example, fear, shame, and anger cannot be fully captured in a single box on the wheel.
Furthermore, the model was developed within a Western psychological tradition. Different cultural backgrounds lead people to create their own methods for identifying and appreciating various emotional expressions. The wheel needs special methods to explain it and specific handling techniques when working with people from different international or multicultural backgrounds.
The Wheel of Emotions functions as a tool which helps people understand emotions but it does not serve as a diagnostic test or assessment instrument. The text contains no information about disorders or their causes or any treatment methods. The model reaches its maximum potential through language development and awareness growth instead of depending on diagnostic labels for clinical assessment.
In addition, there are other models for basic emotions and emotion regulation, with a different classification or with more emphasis on dimensions such as pleasant or unpleasant and the degree of activation. The emotion wheel provides one useful method to understand emotions although it does not represent the complete truth.
The Wheel of Emotions functions as a useful tool which users can apply but they need to understand its limited usage scope. The assessment tool enables professionals to identify emotions better which leads to more specific discussions about emotional states when they consider the situation and the person involved and their expert opinion.
Recommended books and articles about Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions
These books and articles clearly outline the theory behind Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions. The sources explain how emotions are structured, how they evolve, and how they influence each other. The combination of classical theory and modern scientific insights helps to provide a clear understanding of the model and its practical application in communication, self-reflection, and emotion recognition.
- Barrett, L. F. (2017). How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. → A modern perspective on emotions as constructs of the brain, allowing you to frame the emotion wheel from a neuropsychological perspective as well.
- Cowen, A. S., & Keltner, D. (2017). Self-report captures 27 distinct categories of emotion bridged by continuous gradients. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(38), E7900–E7909. → Empirically demonstrates that emotions overlap and occur in gradations, which helps to understand the visual and dynamic nature of the emotion wheel.
- Ekman, P. (1999). Emotions Revealed: Recognizing Faces and Feelings to Improve Communication and Emotional Life. New York, NY: Times Books. → Clarifies how emotions appear in behavior and communication, allowing you to link the emotion wheel to recognition and expression.
- Fontaine, J. R. J., Scherer, K. R., Roesch, E. B., & Ellsworth, P. C. (2007). The world of emotions is not two-dimensional. Psychological Science, 18(12), 1050–1057. → Explores the complex structure of emotions and shows that emotions are more than simply positive or negative, supporting the usefulness of visual classifications such as Plutchik’s wheel of emotions.
- Gross, J. J. (Ed.). (2013). Handbook of Emotion Regulation. New York, NY: Guilford Press. → Explains how emotions are regulated and recognized, which helps to use the wheel of emotions as a tool for emotion recognition and regulation.
- Harmon-Jones, E., & Winkielman, P. (2007). Social neuroscience: Integrating biological and psychological explanations of emotion. Psychological Science Agenda, 20(2), 1–5. → Shows how emotional processes are controlled by brain mechanisms, which helps to link the emotion wheel to the biological foundations of emotions.
- Izard, C. E. (2013). The Psychology of Emotions. New York, NY: Springer. → Provides scientific depth on emotional systems and helps to compare Plutchik’s model with other emotion theories.
- Plutchik, R. (2001). The Nature of Emotions: Human Emotions Explained. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. → Plutchik’s own explanation of emotions and the evolutionary theory behind them, with analyses of emotion wheels and how they relate to behavior.
- Plutchik, R. (1994). The nature of emotions. American Scientist, 85(1), 22–29. → Clarifies the structure of the emotion wheel, the primary emotions and their combinations, which directly contributes to understanding the model.
- Plutchik, R. (1991). The Emotions. New York, NY: Random House. → In this classic work, Plutchik describes his model of emotions in detail, including their evolution and functional significance, which forms the basis for the wheel of emotions.
- Plutchik, R. (1980). A general psychoevolutionary theory of emotion. In R. Plutchik & H. Kellerman (Eds.), Emotion: Theory, research, and experience (pp. 3–33). New York, NY: Academic Press. → Foundation for the wheel of emotions and the evolutionary basis of primary emotions.
- Tracy, J. L., & Randles, D. (2011). Four models of basic emotions: A review of evolutionary psychology, differential emotions, cognitive appraisal, and social constructionist perspectives.
Emotion Review, 3(4), 397–405. → Compares multiple emotion theories and places the Plutchik model in a broader theoretical perspective.
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Original publication date: March 14, 2018 | Last update: February 8, 2026
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2 responses to “Wheel of Emotions (Plutchik): Theory and Chart explained”
I have a question…what if you are drawn to the opposing color your body needs for healing? Are you trying to balance the excessive energy of the needed color?
The emotion wheel shown (Robert Plutchik’s) is interesting and useful. However, it’s missing many common sensations we all experience throughout life, such as compassion, hunger, and so on. I’d suggest to check out the Pan-Affect Chart, which aims to better cover all of our pleasant and unpleasant feelings (without going too overboard). Cheers, Pierre.