Emotion

Emotion is a gameplay feature introduced in The Sims 4. Emotion is a core part of a Sim's simology. Emotion is similar to mood, but is more easily affected by in-game events and social interactions with other Sims. The current emotional state of a Sim is depicted in the lower left corner of the screen while playing. It is also noted that some objects in-game can affect the emotions of some Sims, though the Sim has to already be feeling a particular way in order for an object to affect them emotionally. Sims that are severely emotional can die from their emotions.

There are several ranges of emotions. Sims may reach one stage of an emotion and then progress to a second, more extreme stage of the same emotion. For instance, a Sim that is embarrassed may become very embarrassed. Sims that become extremely emotional may eventually suffer an emotional death.

Emotional death
Sims can die as a result of being in an extreme emotional state for a prolonged time. There are several emotional deaths, but not every emotional state has an associated death. Currently, the only deadly emotions are Mortified, Enraged, and Hysterical.

When a dangerous emotion is reached, the little outline of the circle which appears on the second level of an emotion, will fade in and out. After they die and become ghosts they remain in their Mortified, Enraged, or Hysterical states.

Hysterical
When a Sim is in a state of hysteria, if they continue doing funny actions, they can die. This can be avoided by calming down in the mirror.

Mortified
When a Sim is Mortified, if they hide from everyone when they have already been Mortified twice, they will die from Embarrassment. This can be avoided by telling a self-depreciating joke or hiding from other Sims.

Enraged
When a Sim is in the Enraged state, for example, if they hate the sight of children and are trapped in a room full of screaming infants, they can die of a cardiac explosion. This can be avoided by calming themselves down in the mirror, or venting to another Sim, though this may upset them.

Emotional related actions
When having a specific emotion, the player may unlock new interactions, but it only happens when having the emotion.

For example, an energized Sim can do push-ups, sit-ups and stretch. A humiliated Sim may hide under the covers of his or her bed. An uncomfortable Sim can complain about their problems to other Sims. A confident Sim can tell an unbelievable story to other Sims. A sad Sim can cry under his or her covers and read obituaries on the computer. Playful Sims have access to some goofy social interactions, and happy Sims have some extra friendly interactions such as brightening another Sim's day and giving them a heartfelt compliment.

In the pie menu (the menu which opens when you click a Sim/object), actions which are influenced - or influence an emotion - have a half circle in the color of the emotion on the left side of it.

Trivia

 * Any Sim can achieve any of these emotional states from the following methods:
 * With the MySim trophies obtained from time capsules, they can "emit" emotions that affect any Sims that enter the room, based on the color of the trophies.
 * The Sims 3 Rewards lamps obtained from The Sims 4 website can also be used; these work the same as MySim trophies.
 * If a Sim survives being eaten from a Cowplant, they can milk the cowplant to get a potion which gives them the emotion they had before they got eaten. If a Sim gets devoured by a Cowplant, another Sim can milk the Cowplant to get Essence of Life which makes the Sim instantly happy as well as adding a few days to their life.
 * Painters can paint emotional paintings based on their emotion, for example, a Confident Sim can draw a Confident painting, which emits a Confident Aura, similar to The Sims 3 Rewards lamps.