what is the general consensus in the area of research on emotions
Emotion Emotion is any conscious experience[1][2][3] characterized by intense mental activity and a certain degree of pleasure or displeasure.[4][5] Scientific discourse has drifted to other meanings and there is no consensus on a definition. Emotion is often intertwined with mood, temperament, personality, disposition, and motivation.[6] In some theories, cognition is an important aspect of emotion. Those acting primarily on the emotions they are feeling may seem as if they are not thinking, but mental processes are still essential, particularly in the interpretation of events. For example, the realization of our believing that we are in a dangerous situation and the subsequent arousal of our body's nervous system (rapid heartbeat and breathing, sweating, muscle tension) is integral to the experience of our feeling afraid. Other theories, however, claim that emotion is separate from and can precede cognition.
Menstrual cycle Fear response in women during two different points in the menstrual cycle has been examined. When estrogen is highest in the preovulatory stage, women are significantly better at identifying expressions of fear than women who were menstruating, which is when estrogen levels are lowest. The women were equally able to identify happy faces, demonstrating that the fear response was a more powerful response. To summarize, menstrual cycle phase and the estrogen levels correlates with womenâ€™s fear processing.[46]