According to Ekman’s Basic Emotion Theory, there are seven universally acknowledged and distinguished basic emotions: fear, anger, sadness, disgust, contempt, happiness and surprise. The aforementioned follow specific and fixed biological and physiological patterns (e.g. facial expressions) and can be recognized across different cultures. He suggests that every other emotion we believe to experience is merely part of one of these seven “emotion families”. Surprise, specifically, is triggered by unexpected events and is an immediate response to sudden changes in the environment – unforeseen sounds or movements would be characteristic instances. The emotion itself is very short-lived – the briefest of them all in fact –, possesses a rapid onset, and does not necessarily indicate whether an event is positive or negative, unlike all the other emotions. This makes surprise a distinctive basic emotion and provides an essential basis for examining if it typically occurs independently or in connection with other emotional states.

One argument supporting the emotion’s rare isolated occurrence is that it does not display any fixed valence. Surprise does not tell us whether the situation is good or bad, and can therefore hinder further cognitive appraisal: To fully interpret the scene, the brain needs more context to determine what the situation means for us specifically, and to dictate further actions. One could even argue that surprise is a transition state, in which we understand and classify the given situation, which is then followed by the emergence of one of the other six emotions or variations of them as a consequence of the preceding interpretation. The fact that surprise is very a brief state highlights this point, as it indicates surprise as an initial reaction rather than a lasting emotional state. For instance, receiving an unexpected gift may initially evoke surprise due to the unforeseen event. As you recognize the positive nature of the gift, this primary reaction will likely develop into happiness.

To further examine the thesis, it is useful to introduce the Theory of Constructed Emotion by Lisa Feldman Barrett. Importantly, this theory is based on assumptions that contradict Ekman’s Basic Emotion Theory in large scale: According to the foregoing, emotions are not universal and biologically distinct, but are constructed based on the situation, context, past experiences, and the body’s internal state. In the train station scenario, the sudden scream primarily triggers surprise as it violates your expectations and is unpredictable. However, the surrounding context – being alone at night in a poorly lit and unfamiliar environment – influences how your brain interprets the event. Due to the threatening context, surprise is quickly accompanied or replaced by fear. This shows why surprise rarely remains an isolated emotional experience: Because it results from something unexpected, the brain immediately needs to interpret that event and ascertain its emotional significance. Depending on the context, this interpretation can produce fear, happiness, anger, or another emotion. Thus, surprise may function as a brief initial response that triggers further emotional processing and is already influenced by other situational elements, rather than as an emotion that exists independently for a prolonged period. Although Barrett’s theory challenges Ekman’s concept of universal basic emotions, both theories combined reinforce the present argument by demonstrating that surprise is highly dependent on contextual interpretation and is therefore particularly likely to transition into a subsequent emotional state – simultaneously challenging if surprise could even be considered a “basic emotion” if it is so context-sensitive. Psychologist Andrew Ortony, for instance, has argued that surprise is better understood as a cognitive state resulting from the violation of expectations rather than as an emotion itself, specifically because of its lack of valence. This perspective further supports the idea that surprise differs fundamentally from other basic emotions, as it signals that an event was unexpected rather than convey a specific emotional response.

However, surprise does not necessarily need to develop into another emotion. In several instances – especially one where the intensity could be classified as rather low -, an unexpected event may initially cause surprise, but after processing the information, the person may simply feel indifferent rather than experiencing another emotional response. For example, imagine being unexpectedly told that a person you barely know has moved to another city. The information may surprise you at first because you did not anticipate it, but once you process it, you could realize that it has no personal significance or emotional meaning to you. Surprise therefore does not turn into happiness, fear, anger, or sadness, but simply fades into indifference. This suggests that surprise can occur independently, even if only for a brief period and only in some situations. In addition, it suggests that the likelihood of surprise being a transition state rather than an isolated emotion heavily depends on the given event.

Overall, surprise appears to occupy a distinctive position among Ekman’s basic emotions due to its brief duration and its frequent connection to subsequent emotional responses. The Theory of Constructed Emotion further suggests that the emotional meaning of an unexpected event depends on its interpretation and contextualization. This may undermine the independence of surprise, as is has no inherent positive or negative valence and therefore often requires further interpretation to determine the emotional significance of the event. Nevertheless, surprise does not necessarily have to result in another emotion and may simply fade without further emotional response. In my opinion, therefore, it can occur in isolation, but it is more likely than other basic emotions to be followed by or connected to another emotional state.