How emotions show up in the body
In 2014, Lauri Nummenmaa and his team from Finland’s University of Turku published a landmark paper about how people from different language backgrounds perceive different emotions in their bodies. While the data he collected was subjective, it pointed to a remarkable consistency of human emotional experiences that transcends language, culture and geography. Investigation of the “hot” and “cold” zones his team uncovered align with well-documented physiological changes about how emotions work that you can examine below.
EMO-SCAN 9000
Tap an emoji below, and then click hot spots on the silhouette to learn more
about the bodily processes that drive your feelings.
Vibe coded (and then ruthlessly edited and fact-checked)
with love and buttercups by Geoff Crane and ChatGPT (2025).
Geoff Crane designs research-backed tools to make so-called “soft skills” concrete, measurable, and deeply human. After more than two decades in industry and another decade in personal intelligence research and program design, his work now supports coaches, educators, and organisations that want to understand people more clearly and help them grow with care.
Curious about your own patterns of emotion, connection, and motivation? You can complete the MIPI Short for free on my home page and receive a brief feedback report to start exploring your personal intelligence.
