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Strongest in the middle, mildest on the outside. Opposites sit across from each other.
Tap any part of the wheel to see what the emotion means, how it gets milder or stronger, and a question to talk about.
An educational aid to use with a therapist, teacher or parent. It is not a medical device and does not diagnose anything.
How the emotion wheel works
The wheel has eight core emotions: happiness, trust, fear, surprise, sadness, disgust, anger and anticipation. Each one comes in three strengths. The strongest sits in the middle of the wheel and the mildest on the outside, so furious is in the middle and irritated is on the edge of the same slice.
Opposite emotions sit across from each other: happiness and sadness, trust and disgust, fear and anger, surprise and anticipation. The layout follows an idea from psychologist Robert Plutchik, who described a small set of core emotions that vary in strength and come in opposing pairs. The words and the drawing here are our own.
How to use it in a therapy session
- Turn the volume down. When a client is at furious, find it on the wheel, then ask what would move it one ring out to angry, and then to irritated. It helps a feeling seem changeable rather than fixed.
- Find the word that fits. "Bad" or "fine" can mean a dozen things. Start from the closest slice and move in or out until the word is right.
- Look across. Ask what the opposite feeling would be like, and when the client last felt it.
- Spin to play. With kids and groups, take turns spinning and answering the question. It is a low-pressure way into talking about feelings without starting from the hardest one.
- Send it as homework. Ask the client to find their strongest feeling of the day on the wheel and notice what happened just before it.
Using it over telehealth
- Open this page before the session and choose Teens and adults or Kids.
- Share your screen and press Present mode, so only the wheel shows, in large print.
- Ask the client which slice fits and tap it for them, or send them the link so they can tap on their own device.
- Spin mode works well over video: the client says "spin" and you both watch where it lands.
Emotion wheel for kids
The Kids setting turns the wheel into eight faces with simple words: happy, safe, scared, surprised, sad, grossed out, mad and excited. Instead of three rings, children choose whether their feeling is small, medium or big, and the face grows to match. It suits children from about 4 to 10.
Emotion wheel, feelings wheel or feelings chart?
They do related jobs. An emotion wheel like this one is about strength: how big a feeling is and what its opposite is. A feelings wheel narrows a broad feeling down to a more exact word. A feelings chart is a set of faces to point at, and is the easiest of the three for young children.
Emotion words by strength
| Emotion | Mild | Medium | Strong | Opposite |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Happiness | pleased | happy | overjoyed | Sadness |
| Trust | comfortable | trusting | devoted | Disgust |
| Fear | uneasy | scared | terrified | Anger |
| Surprise | puzzled | surprised | astonished | Anticipation |
| Sadness | down | sad | heartbroken | Happiness |
| Disgust | put off | disgusted | revolted | Trust |
| Anger | irritated | angry | furious | Fear |
| Anticipation | interested | eager | impatient | Surprise |
Printable emotion wheel (PDF)
The free PDF has four pages: the full color emotion wheel, a kids wheel with faces, a blank wheel to color in, and the table of emotion words by strength. Print it for a classroom, an office wall or a client's fridge. It is free to print and share.
