Surprise
A brief orienting reaction to an unexpected event, valence-neutral until appraisal resolves it toward pleasant or unpleasant. Its status as a true emotion versus a pre-emotional reflex is genuinely disputed in the literature.
How it shows up
Surprise is the jolt when something does not match expectation: a sudden noise, an unexpected guest, a plot twist. Attention snaps toward the event, eyebrows often lift, and activity briefly pauses. It seems to buy a moment to update what we thought was happening. Surprise usually lasts only a moment before turning into something pleasant or unpleasant, and whether it counts as an emotion at all remains disputed.
How it differs from Perplexity
Surprise is a brief jolt at the unexpected; perplexity is the longer, puzzling effort to make sense of what surprised you.
Notice
After something catches you off guard, notice which way the feeling tips in the next few seconds.
Where it is felt
Felt most in the chest, face and head.
Based on Nummenmaa et al. (2014), bodily maps of emotions, and related research. The map shows where people report bodily sensation, on average; individual experience varies.