Opponent-process theory

Opponent-process theory is a way of explaining how people and animals experience emotions. It says that emotions come in pairs and that when you feel one emotion, it helps to create the other emotion in the pair. For example, when you are happy, you can then feel sad afterwards. It's like when you go on a fun roller coaster ride - you might start out feeling really excited and then when you get off, you might feel a bit scared or dizzy. The theory suggests that this happens because each emotion has an opposite, or "opponent", emotion.