Psychology · Unit 2
Feelings and Emotions
Basic emotions and how we handle them
Emotions are not interruptions to thinking. They carry information, direct attention and drive decisions, and people with damaged emotional processing make worse decisions rather than more rational ones.
The unit covers the basic emotions, why we feel them, how feelings are expressed, managing them, and empathy.
This unit breaks down into 23 short steps and 120 questions, starting at difficulty 1 and building to 5. Below you can see exactly what it covers, how the path is structured, and worked examples with explanations.
- Steps
- 23
- Questions
- 120
- Difficulty
- 1-5
What this unit covers
- Managing Emotions
- Empathy
- Basic Emotions
- Why We Feel
- Showing Feelings
Where this fits
An accessible early unit. Motivation and Emotion is the theoretical version.
Where people slip
Managing an emotion is not suppressing it. Suppression tends to increase physiological arousal, so it is a different thing from regulation and works worse.
How the unit is structured
Feelings and Emotions runs as 23 short steps that unlock in order. 17 are practice rounds and 6 are challenge rounds that pull together everything before them. Questions start at difficulty 1 and climb to 5 as you progress.
Challenge rounds
Example questions
30 real questions from this unit, with the answer and the reason behind it, grouped by what they practise. There are 120 in the unit altogether.
Basic Emotions
- Choose all that applyLevel 1
1. Which of these are feelings?
- Sadcorrect
- Scaredcorrect
- Happycorrect
- Pizza
- Cloud
Sad, scared, and happy are feelings, while pizza and cloud are things.
- Fill the blankLevel 1
2. When you feel very cross and want to stamp your feet, you are feeling ____.
- angrycorrect
- happy
- sleepy
- calm
Anger is the strong feeling we get when something seems unfair or upsetting.
- Multiple choiceLevel 1
3. You wrinkle your nose and turn away from a rotten, smelly piece of food. Which feeling is that?
- Disgustcorrect
- Joy
- Pride
- Calm
Disgust is the yucky feeling that helps us stay away from things that might make us sick.
- Odd one outLevel 1
4. Which one is NOT a feeling?
- Bicyclecorrect
- Happy
- Afraid
- Angry
A bicycle is a thing you ride, while the others are feelings inside you.
- Match the pairsLevel 2
5. Match each face to the feeling it usually shows.
Answer: A wide smile = Happy; Tears and a droopy mouth = Sad; Tight fists and a frown = Angry; Wide eyes and open mouth = Surprised
Our faces often show our feelings, so a smile means happy and tears often mean sad.
- Guess the numberLevel 4
6. How many basic emotions did Paul Ekman first describe as being recognized across many cultures?
Answer: 6 emotions
Ekman first described six basic emotions: happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise, and disgust.
Empathy
- Choose all that applyLevel 2
7. Which of these are ways to show empathy to someone who is upset?
- Listen to themcorrect
- Say you understandcorrect
- Offer to helpcorrect
- Ignore them
- Laugh at them
Listening, understanding, and helping are all kind ways to show empathy.
- Fill the blankLevel 2
8. Trying to imagine how someone else feels is called putting yourself in their ____.
- shoescorrect
- lunch
- backpack
The saying 'putting yourself in someone's shoes' means imagining how they feel.
- Multiple choiceLevel 2
9. Your friend is crying because they lost their pet. What is a kind, caring thing to do?
- Comfort them and listencorrect
- Laugh at them
- Walk away
- Take their snack
Comforting and listening shows empathy and helps your friend feel cared for.
- Odd one outLevel 2
10. Which action does NOT show empathy for a sad friend?
- Making fun of themcorrect
- Giving them a hug
- Listening to them
- Saying kind words
Hugs, listening, and kind words show empathy, but making fun of someone does not.
- True or falseLevel 2
11. Empathy means noticing and caring about how someone else is feeling.
Answer: True
Empathy is about understanding and sharing another person's feelings.
- Type the answerLevel 2
12. What is the word for understanding and sharing how another person feels?
Answer: empathy
Empathy is understanding and sharing the feelings of others.
Managing Emotions
- Fill the blankLevel 1
13. When a big feeling is hard to handle, it helps to talk to a trusted ____ like a parent or teacher.
- adultcorrect
- stranger
- toy
- wall
A trusted adult can listen and help you with big feelings.
- Multiple choiceLevel 1
14. A helpful trick to calm down when upset is to slowly ____ to ten. Which word fits?
- Countcorrect
- Eat
- Sleep
- Run
Counting slowly to ten gives your body and mind a moment to settle.
- Choose all that applyLevel 2
15. Which of these are healthy ways to calm down when you feel upset?
- Take deep breathscorrect
- Talk to someone you trustcorrect
- Take a short breakcorrect
- Kick your friend
- Throw your chair
Breathing, talking, and taking a break are healthy ways to calm down.
- Odd one outLevel 2
16. Which of these is NOT a healthy way to cope with a big feeling?
- Bottling it up until you explodecorrect
- Talking about it
- Taking deep breaths
- Going for a walk
Talking, breathing, and walking all help, but bottling a feeling up until you explode is not healthy.
- Put in orderLevel 2
17. Put these calm-down steps in a helpful order, from first to last.
Answer: Notice you feel upset -> Stop and take a deep breath -> Count slowly to ten -> Feel calmer and carry on
First you notice the feeling, then you breathe and count, which helps you feel calmer.
- Sort into groupsLevel 3
18. Sort each action by whether it Calms you down or Makes anger worse.
Answer: Counting slowly to five = Calms you down; Squeezing a soft stress ball = Calms you down; Slamming doors = Makes anger worse; Yelling insults = Makes anger worse
Gentle actions help you settle, while hurtful actions usually make anger grow bigger.
Showing Feelings
- Multiple choiceLevel 1
19. Which of these often shows on our face when we feel sad?
- Tearscorrect
- A big grin
- A wink
- A laugh
Crying and tears are common ways sadness shows on the face.
- Choose all that applyLevel 2
20. Which of these are ways people can show their feelings?
- Facial expressionscorrect
- Body languagecorrect
- Tone of voicecorrect
- Their shoe size
- Their house number
We show feelings through our faces, bodies, and voices, not through numbers like shoe size.
- Fill the blankLevel 2
21. The look on your face that shows a feeling is called a facial ____.
- expressioncorrect
- sandwich
- window
A facial expression is the way our face shows what we feel.
- Odd one outLevel 2
22. Which one is NOT a way people show their feelings?
- Ignoring how you feelcorrect
- Smiling
- Crying
- Using words
Smiling, crying, and words all show feelings, but ignoring a feeling hides it instead.
- True or falseLevel 2
23. The way we stand and move our body, called body language, can show how we feel without any words.
Answer: True
Body language like slumped shoulders or crossed arms can show feelings without talking.
- Match the pairsLevel 3
24. Match each body signal to the feeling it often shows.
Answer: Slumped shoulders and a sigh = Sadness; Clenched fists and a tight jaw = Anger; Bouncing on the spot with a grin = Excitement; Wide eyes and raised eyebrows = Surprise
Our bodies give off signals, so slumped shoulders often mean sadness and clenched fists often mean anger.
Why We Feel
- Fill the blankLevel 2
25. Emotions are helpful ____ that tell us how we feel about something.
- signalscorrect
- rocks
- colors
- shoes
Emotions work like signals that give us useful information.
- Multiple choiceLevel 2
26. When you feel scared, your heart may beat faster and your body gets ready to run. Which part of you helps create these feelings?
- Your braincorrect
- Your shoes
- Your hair
- Your lunchbox
Feelings are created by the brain working together with the body.
- Odd one outLevel 2
27. Which of these is NOT a helpful job that emotions do for us?
- Making our hair growcorrect
- Warning us of danger
- Helping us connect with others
- Pushing us to solve problems
Emotions warn us, connect us, and push us to solve problems, but they do not make our hair grow.
- Sort into groupsLevel 2
28. Sort each thing into whether it usually makes people feel Happy or Scared.
Answer: A birthday party = Happy; A warm hug = Happy; A dark, spooky room = Scared; A loud growling dog = Scared
Nice events often bring happy feelings, while sudden or dangerous things can bring scared feelings.
- Put in orderLevel 3
29. Put the steps of a scared reaction in order, from first to last.
Answer: Your brain notices something scary -> Your body gets tense and alert -> Your heart beats faster -> You feel the urge to run or act
First your brain spots something scary, then your body gets alert and speeds up, ready to act.
- Choose all that applyLevel 4
30. Which of these body changes are part of the fight-or-flight response?
- A faster heartbeatcorrect
- Quicker breathingcorrect
- Muscles getting tense and readycorrect
- Fingernails changing color
- Feet getting bigger
A racing heart, quick breathing, and tense muscles all help the body get ready to act.
Where these questions come from. Each unit starts as a plan of the concepts it should cover and the difficulty it should span. Questions are written against that plan with AI assistance, then checked by a validator that rejects anything without a single defensible answer, an explanation, or plausible wrong options. How we write questions sets out the whole process, and corrections are fixed in the bank and reach the site and the app the same day.
How you practise
This unit mixes 10 different question formats, so you are recalling and applying rather than recognising the same layout every time.
- Choose all that apply
- Fill the blank
- Guess the number
- Match the pairs
- Multiple choice
- Odd one out
- Put in order
- Sort into groups
- True or false
- Type the answer
Practise Feelings and Emotions
120 questions across 23 steps. Start with step one and crawl at your own pace.
Play this unitRead about Feelings and Emotions
Explainers from our blog on what this unit covers. Each one ends with real questions from the bank.
- What Is Nostalgia? Why the Past Feels Warmer Than It WasNostalgia was a disease of homesick soldiers before it became a feeling everyone has. What triggers it, why it is mostly good for people, and how it is sold.September 15, 2026 · 4 min read
- What Is Imposter Syndrome? Feeling Like a Fraud When the Evidence Says OtherwiseImposter syndrome is the persistent belief that your success is undeserved. Where the term came from, who reports it, what keeps it going, and what helps.September 14, 2026 · 5 min read
More units in Psychology
- What is Psychology?What psychology studies and why we behave
- Senses and PerceptionHow we take in and make sense of the world
- MemoryHow we remember and why we forget
- Learning and HabitsHow we learn and form habits
- The Brain and BehaviorThe biology behind how we think and act
- How We GrowDevelopment across childhood and life
- Thinking and CognitionProblem solving, decisions and thinking traps
- Motivation and EmotionWhat drives us, and theories of emotion