Chapter 4: Emotions and Stress Management

4 Components of Emotions 1. Physiological arousal – Sweaty palms, increased heart rate, etc. 2. Subjective feelings – What you are aware of and the name you give to the emotion you are experiencing 3. Cognitive processes – How you get to the name of the emotion you are having – what one person calls “fear” another may call “excitement” 4. Behavioral reactions – Facial expressions, gestures, tones of voice

10 Building Blocks of Emotions 1. Emotions aren’t right or wrong 2. Context makes a difference 3. Family beliefs affect emotions 4. Repressing feelings may make them more intense 5. Limiting one feeling may limit them all 6. We have feelings about feelings 7. The way out is the way in 8. Know how to get in and out 9. Use a dimmer switch on emotions 10. Remember to remember

6 Basic Emotions While there are many different words for emotions, most psychologists report that each of us experiences these six: 1. Mad 2. Sad 3. Glad 4. Fear 5. Disgust 6. Surprise

Plutchik’s Primary Emotions Robert Plutchik believed that we all experience 8 emotions and they can be combined to create mixed emotions: 1. Acceptance 2. Surprise 3. Anticipation 4. Disgust 5. Anger 6. Sadness 7. Fear 8. Joy

Theories of Emotion James-Lange Theory – Autonomic activation leads to the experience of different emotions. Cognitive Appraisal Theory – We have to think about our physiological responses in order to develop or experience an emotion. Schachter-Singer Theory – The experience of emotion depends on autonomic arousal and cognitive interpretation of that arousal. When you experience arousal, you search for an explanation.

Managing Emotions Dissociating – Stepping outside of yourself and viewing the situation from another perspective; useful when you want to decrease the intensity of emotions Associating – Putting yourself in a situation as if it were happening to you; useful when you want to increase intensity of emotions

Incoming and Outgoing Emotions Incoming emotions – Ability to empathize with other people’s feelings Outgoing emotions – Ability to experience or express our own feelings

Incoming and Outgoing Emotions There are 4 combinations of incoming and outgoing emotional expressions: 1. Feelers – People who are associated when it comes to others’ emotions as well as their own 2. Sponges – People who experience everyone else’s emotions but ignore their own 3. Blamers – Easily step into their own feelings and increase them 4. Spocks – Constantly dissociated, downplay emotions

Incoming and Outgoing Emotions

Emotional Intelligence Understanding one’s own feelings Empathy for the feelings of others Regulation of emotion in a way that enhances living Emotional intelligence reflects the functioning of your emotional brain just as IQ reflects the thinking part of your brain.

Chapter 4: Big Ideas Emotions aren’t right or wrong; those judgments come from family and culture. More important than judging right or wrong is considering the context in which the emotion occurs and the intensity of the emotion in order to decide if your reaction is useful.

Chapter 4: Big Ideas (cont.) You have more control over your emotions than you think; emotional control can be learned. Everyone will experience stressful periods in their lives; life is neither equitable nor fair. Strategies for handling stress can be learned.