Kama Muta

Kama Muta

Reviewed by Faisal Zaidi

A positive, socially close emotion set off by a sudden intensification of communal sharing, often with warmth in the chest and tears.

What it is

Janis Zickfeld, Thomas Schubert and colleagues describe kama muta as the feeling often called being moved, set off when a bond of closeness suddenly grows stronger. People report warmth in the chest, moist eyes or tears, chills and a lump in the throat. Surveys with 3,542 people in 19 countries and 15 languages supported the idea, with some variation between cultures.

In effect

In the article on why we cry, it explains tears of joy and tears at reunions, which a distress account alone does not.

What it does not say

It describes a positive emotion and how people report it. It does not say all happy tears share one cause.

Sources

  1. Zickfeld, J. H., Schubert, T. W., Seibt, B., et al. (2019). Kama muta: Conceptualizing and measuring the experience often labelled being moved across 19 nations and 15 languages. Emotion, 19(3), 402-424.