{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.sadness","code":"thing-q169251","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q169251/","name":"sadness","alternateNames":["glumness","Weltschmerz","sorrow","Ḥuzn","chronic sorrow"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.3","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Activities and processes","entryKind":"thing","plane":"ACT","domain":["ACT.ACT"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"An emotional state of unhappiness, loss or disappointment, ranging from brief low mood to deep sorrow and grief, expressed in facial expression, posture, tears and withdrawal; sadness is a normal human emotion studied in psychology and expressed differently across cultures, and it differs from depression, which is a clinical condition of persistent low mood and other symptoms.","purpose":"Let an agent describe sadness as a normal emotion with attribution to psychology and cultural traditions, distinguish it from depression and grief as conditions, relay general wellbeing information from health bodies, and route people in distress or at risk to support and crisis services.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Normal emotion, not a disorder","Tied to loss and disappointment","Universal expression with cultural variation","Distinct from clinical depression"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What sadness is.","layers":[{"id":"emotion","name":"Emotion","description":"The emotion.","findings":[{"id":"emotion-finding","name":"Emotion","description":"Emotion.","questions":[{"text":"What is sadness, what triggers it, and how do psychologists describe its function?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the user expressing distress or risk, which must be routed to support or crisis services?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"expression","name":"Expression","description":"Expression.","findings":[{"id":"expression-finding","name":"Expression","description":"Expression.","questions":[{"text":"How is sadness expressed in face, body and behaviour, and how does that vary by culture?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits emotion research?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"distinguish","name":"Distinguish","description":"Sadness and conditions.","layers":[{"id":"depression","name":"Depression","description":"Sadness versus depression.","findings":[{"id":"depression-finding","name":"Depression","description":"Depression.","questions":[{"text":"How do health bodies distinguish sadness from depression, and when do they advise seeking help?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits depression?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"grief","name":"Grief","description":"Grief.","findings":[{"id":"grief-finding","name":"Grief","description":"Grief.","questions":[{"text":"How does grief relate to sadness, and what support exists?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits bereavement?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"support","name":"Support","description":"Wellbeing and help.","layers":[{"id":"wellbeing","name":"Wellbeing","description":"General wellbeing.","findings":[{"id":"wellbeing-finding","name":"Wellbeing","description":"Wellbeing.","questions":[{"text":"What general wellbeing information do health bodies provide about coping with sadness?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the presentation free of therapy or personal advice?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"services","name":"Services","description":"Services.","findings":[{"id":"services-finding","name":"Services","description":"Services.","questions":[{"text":"Which support and crisis services exist, and how are they reached?","kind":"action"},{"text":"Is the user asking for help now?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"culture","name":"Culture","description":"Culture and study.","layers":[{"id":"culture","name":"Culture","description":"Cultural concepts.","findings":[{"id":"culture-finding","name":"Culture","description":"Culture.","questions":[{"text":"How do cultures and traditions name and value sadness, with attribution?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the presentation neutral?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"study","name":"Study","description":"Research and art.","findings":[{"id":"study-finding","name":"Study","description":"Study.","questions":[{"text":"How is sadness studied and represented in art and literature, and which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits emotion generally?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Recognise and respond to sadness with care and without judgement.","Suggest support from people or professionals when sadness is deep or lasting.","Describe research on sadness and grief in general terms."],"mustNot":["Diagnose depression or another condition from expressions of sadness.","Dismiss or minimise a person's sadness or tell them how long to grieve.","Exploit a sad person's state to sell products or gain their trust.","Ignore signs that a person may be at risk of self-harm."],"requiresHuman":["Contacting others or emergency services about a person at risk."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Sadness is normal; treating it as illness or ignoring real risk both harm.","People in distress are vulnerable to manipulation."],"affectedParties":["People who are sad or grieving","Their families and friends"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody owns an emotion; each person is the authority on their own feelings.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q60539481","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"negative emotion","type":"related","note":"in emotion classifications"},{"target":"depression","type":"related","note":"a clinical condition"},{"target":"grief","type":"related","note":"sadness after bereavement"},{"target":"psychology","type":"related","note":"the discipline"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.sadness","Wikidata: Q169251 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q169251)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":[]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Response to loss or disappointment","Transient and proportionate to its cause","Depression is persistent and affects function; grief follows bereavement","Not visible as an object; expressed in face, voice, posture and tears."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["describe the emotion and its expression","distinguish sadness from depression and grief","relay general wellbeing information","route distress to support services"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Missing depression or risk of self-harm behind sadness","Pathologising normal emotion","Agents offering therapy instead of routing"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["No regulation; clinical guidelines distinguish sadness from depression"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Not applicable; an emotion.","brief sadness and low mood","sorrow and grief after loss","melancholy and nostalgia","culturally named forms such as Weltschmerz and huzn","chronic sorrow in long-term caregiving"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q169251: sadness","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q169251","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Sadness","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadness","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should grief and melancholy be separate entries?","How should crisis lines be linked by country?","The registry entry has merged aliases from several languages and traditions; should they be split off?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q169251/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q169251/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-12T20:13:52Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:51:54+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane ACT: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}