Mixed emotions in the predictive brain

Understanding complex or mixed emotions first requires an exploration of the human nervous system underlying emotions, and indeed all experience. We review current research in neuroscience, which describes the brain as a predictive, internal model of the world that flexibly combines features from past experience to construct emotions. We argue that ‘mixed emotions’ result when these features of past experience correspond to multiple emotion categories. Integrating event perception and cognitive linguistic theories, we propose that ‘mixed emotions’ are perceived as an episode of distinct, linked emotional events due to attentional shifts which update the predicted model of experience. These proposed mechanisms have profound implications for the study of emotion; we conclude by suggesting methodological improvements for future research.