Surprise is one of the seven universal emotions that occurs when we encounter sudden and unexpected sounds or movements. As the most concise of the universal emotions, its function is to focus our attention on determining what is happening and whether it is dangerous.

Some emotion researchers do not consider surprise an emotion because they say it is neither pleasant nor unpleasant, arguing that all emotions must be one way or the other.

Many emotion experts, including Dr. Paul Ekman, disagree with this position, noting that surprise is perceived by most people as an emotion; a moment or two before we realize what’s going on, before we switch to another emotion or not switch to another emotion, surprise itself can be good or bad.