The FEI Model and Identified Emotions in Social Policies: Compassion, Guilt and Regret.

To analyze emotions from a sociological perspective, we utilize the FEI Model (Felt, Expressed, and Identified Emotions). This three-dimensional model addresses the role of the body in the experience, expression, and recognition of emotions. It distinguishes between felt emotions (internal and indirectly expressed through narrative), expressed emotions (explicitly labeled verbally), and identified emotions (interpreted by the researcher based on cultural or collective expressions). This analytical framework enables a deep exploration of human emotions, acknowledging their variability depending on context and modes of expression.

In this case, we examine the presence of emotions within social policies and how feelings such as nostalgia, regret, or compassion are reflected in programs aimed at reducing inequalities. To do so, we focus on the third dimension of emotion access: identified emotions, also known as representational emotions.

These emotions are not directly articulated by the subject but are instead interpreted by the researcher. They are not tacitly expressed but are conveyed or identified through the design of social actions, programs, regulations and penalties, budgets, and all the elements that constitute social policy. Identified emotions reflect underlying intentions of compassion, guilt, justice, regret or social redress, and are strongly influenced by cultural imprints, political codes, and collective emotions. Although not explicitly expressed, identified emotions play a fundamental role in the formulation of policies, especially in relation to their intended and unintended consequences.