OpenEmotions™
01 THE OPEN AFFECTIVE KNOWLEDGE PROJECT

Emotion is complex.
Our knowledge
should reflect that.

An open, evidence-aware atlas of emotional states and the relationships around them. Built for researchers, developers, and the questions in between.

Explore the atlas Build with the API
OPEN DATA / PUBLIC API / VERSION-CONTROLLED KNOWLEDGE
RELATIONSHIP STUDYOE — 001
TRIGGERGoal obstruction
APPRAISALGoal incongruence
EMOTIONAL STATEFrustrationExplore concept ↗
CONTEXT MATTERSGoal importance · Repetition
POSSIBLE TRANSITIONAnger ↗
Editorial seedA possibility, never a prediction.
24Affective concepts
36Trigger concepts
22Appraisal concepts
102Explicit editorial claims
Inside the v0.1 dataset ↗
01 / EXPLORE THE ATLAS

A vocabulary. Not a verdict.

Browse all concepts ↗

Start with an emotion. Follow its possible triggers, interpretations, and responses—then examine what supports each connection.

01 / AFFECTIVE STATE↗

Curiosity

An interest in exploring a gap in understanding or experience.

positive valenceEditorial seed
02 / AFFECTIVE STATE↗

Joy

A pleasurable state associated in some contexts with welcome experiences.

positive valenceEditorial seed
03 / AFFECTIVE STATE↗

Fear

An affective state involving apprehension about a perceived threat.

negative valenceEditorial seed
04 / AFFECTIVE STATE↗

Frustration

A state of displeasure associated with difficulty pursuing a goal.

negative valenceEditorial seed
02 / THE MODEL

What happens between
an event and a response?

Interpretation and context matter. Our model makes those intermediate relationships visible.

01Trigger
02Appraisal
03Context
04Emotion
05Response / transition

A conceptual guide, not a fixed sequence. States can co-occur; relationships can vary across people and settings.

03 / MADE TO BE QUESTIONED

Evidence belongs
beside the claim.

An open database is only useful if you can see where its knowledge comes from—and where it stops.

How evidence works ↗
01

Transparent from the start

Every seed is labelled editorial. Missing measurements stay unknown. Sources attach to specific claims.

02

Disagreement stays visible

Reviews preserve qualifications, contradictory sources, and uncertainty. There is no scientific truth score.

03

Knowledge you can trace

Stable identifiers, dataset versions, and Git history make changes inspectable and reproducible.

04 / FOR BUILDERS

Structured knowledge.
One request away.

A small, public, read-only API for affective computing, research tools, games, and simulations.

Read the API guide ↗Interactive reference
GET /v1/emotions/anger↗
{
  "data": {
    "slug": "anger",
    "evidence_status": "editorial_seed",
    "common_triggers": [
      "openemotions:trigger:goal-obstruction"
    ]
  },
  "meta": { "dataset_version": "0.1.0" }
}
Abbreviated response · No API key required
05 / OPEN BY DESIGN

Build on it.
Help make it better.

A shared foundation for psychology, neuroscience, HCI, and AI research. Code and data are open; contributions happen through version-controlled review.

We welcome researchers and specialists who can question a relationship, improve terminology, or bring evidence to an editorial claim.

Contribute to the project ↗Download dataset ↓