Bewilderment: quick facts
Bewilderment is a deeper, more disorienting form of confusion in which a person feels utterly puzzled or lost, unable to grasp what is happening. It often combines surprise with a sense of mental scrambling, as the mind…
Category
Complex & secondary emotions
Valence
Neutral
Emotion family / blend
Surprise
Typical triggers
Baffling situations, total surprise, the inexplicable, overwhelming novelty
How it's expressed
Wide eyes, open mouth, frozen pause, scanning gaze, raised brows
Sources: American Psychological Association — APA Dictionary: emotion; Greater Good Science Center, UC Berkeley — Emotions; Plutchik's Wheel of Emotions (Robert Plutchik) — overview. Educational information only — not medical or psychological advice. See our sources & fact-check policy.