Surprise (emotion)

Part of a series on
Emotions
Affect Classification In animals Emotional intelligence Mood Self-regulation Interpersonal Dysregulation Valence
Emotions Acceptance Admiration Affection Amusement Anger Angst Anguish Annoyance Anticipation Anxiety Apathy Arousal Awe Belongingness Boredom Confidence Confusion Contempt Contentment Courage Curiosity Depression Desire Determination Disappointment Disgust Distrust Doubt Ecstasy Elevation Embarrassment Emotional Detachment Empathy Enthusiasm Envy Euphoria Faith Fear Frustration Gratification Gratitude Greed Grief Guilt Happiness Hatred Hope Horror Hostility Humiliation Interest Jealousy Joy Kindness Limerence Loneliness Love Lust Nostalgia Outrage Panic Passion Pity Pleasure Pride Rage Regret Rejection Relief Remorse Resentment Sadness Saudade Schadenfreude Self-pity Shame Shock Shyness Social connection Sorrow Suffering Surprise Suspicion Trust Wonder Worry
v t e

Surprise (pronunciation^ⓘ) is a rapid, fleeting, mental and physiological state. It is related to the startle response experienced by animals and humans as the result of an unexpected event.

Surprise can have any valence. That is, it can be pleasant/positive, unpleasant/negative, or neutral/moderate. Surprise can occur in varying levels of intensity ranging from very surprised, which may induce the fight-or-flight response, or slightly surprised, which elicits a less intense response to the stimulus.

Surprise is included as a primary or basic emotion in the taxonomies of Carroll Izard and Paul Ekman. According to these perspectives, surprise is evolutionarily adaptive, and also innate and universal across human cultures.