Anticipation

Anticipation is an emotion or feeling involving pleasure (excitement) and sometimes anxiety (worry) in considering some expected or longed-for positive event, or irritation at having to wait for said event. When I catch myself in the act and begin to ponder anticipation I naturally think of Carly Simon and ketchup - of course! In an NPR interview, Carly said she wrote the song (called Anticipation) about Cat Stevens while waiting for him to pick her up for their first date. The song was made famous by the Heinz Ketchup commercials of the late 70's, in which people were shown waiting for the ketchup to pour while the chorus of the song played in the background. Because of this, many people still refer to the song as "the ketchup song."

So is anticipation an emotion or a feeling? Is there a difference? Does it really matter? Probably not. Emotion/feelings encompasses a vast spectrum of possible responses to various stimuli. Psychologists have attempted to offer general classifications of these responses and, as with the color spectrum, systematically distinguishing between them largely depends on the level of precision desired. One of the most influential classification approaches is Robert Plutchik's psychoevolutionary theory of emotion. He considered there to be eight primary emotions: anger, fear, sadness, disgust, surprise, curiosity, acceptance and joy. Plutchik proposed that these "basic" emotions are biologically primitive and have evolved in order for the species to survive. Plutchik argued for the primacy of these emotions by showing each to be the trigger of behavior with a high survival value (e.g. fear: fight-or-flight response).

Plutchik linked anticipation to these eight basic emotions which, as in the color spectrum, can combine in various degrees to yield the vast array of secondary emotions which Plutchik called feelings, and thus would seem to classify anticipation as a feeling. It (anticipation) can be shown in many ways; for example, some people seem to smile uncontrollably during this period, while others seem ill or sick. It is not uncommon for the brain to be so focused on an event, that the body is affected in such a way. Of course this brings me back to me - it's all about me, right?

I am experiencing anticipation - the good kind - and I find that I like it, but it is not easy. I find myself remembering Christmas Eves as a small child, and the sleepless hours spent in anticipation of Santa's bounty. Susie and I would build elaborate structures with Lego's for hours, starting at two or three in the morning, having given up all pretense of sleep. It was our attempt to defy the laws of physics and make time pass more quickly, but was always doomed by the "watched pot" phenomenon. We were trying not to loose our minds at the thought of what lay a story below us beneath the carefully decorated tree - did Santa bring the chemistry set? Am I getting the G.I. Joe with the kung-fu grip? I really want that G.I. Joe! - I was good all year... well,... most of the year... well,...pretty good, mostly. I need that G.I. Joe! What time is it now? Damn! It's only been five minutes since the last time I looked...pass me another bucket of Lego's.