Tuesday, November 28 Today’s topic: Expressed Emotions and Stress What is catharsis? When I am stressed out, I . . . What are the causes of your stress? What are some physical things that happen to people when they are stressed? Today’s topic: Expressed Emotions and Stress Upcoming Dates: Tonight’s HW Read pages 397-407 Test: Thursday, 11/30 STUDY – remember the spacing effect?

Expressed Emotion Expressed behaviors (nonverbal cues) can reveal emotions. Vary with culture? Can expressions influence our experienced emotions?

Facial-Feedback Hypothesis Behavior Feedback Hypothesis

Nonverbal Communication Most people can detect nonverbal emotional cues, especially those that indicate a threat. Recognize many emotions in the eyes NEED to be aware that some nonverbal cues can be multiple things (ex: crossed arms) Experiences can sensitize us to recognizing certain emotions… Abused children will recognize an angry face quicker AND assume more faces portray anger.

Gender, Emotion, and Nonverbal Behavior Women… Increased emotional literacy Better at reading nonverbal cues Greater emotional responsiveness in + or - situations More empathy (self-reported) More likely to express emotion physically

Culture and Emotional Expression Gesture meaning varies with culture “Thumbs up” can be offensive The raised middle finger can hold no or different meaning Facial expressions carry basically the same meanings across cultures

Culture and Emotional Expression Evolutionary  universal language for ancestors Adaptive to enhance survival Wrinkled nose in disgust  avoids odors Blind people convey the same expressions even when never having been observed. Universal infant expressions HOWEVER… the presentation and intensity of emotions will change across cultures.

The Effects of Facial Expressions Facial feedback hypothesis Making certain facial expressions can make you feel the conveyed emotion Behavior feedback hypothesis Moving your body as if you were experiencing an emotion can cause you to feel the emotion to some degree

Emotion Biological Psychological Socio-cultural Physiological arousal Evolutionary adaptiveness Response pathways in the brain Spillover effect Cognitive labeling Gender differences Expressiveness Presence of others Cultural expectations

Experienced Emotion “An emotion, if it is sincere, is involuntary.” - Mark Twain

Expressed Emotion What functions do they serve? What influences our experience of each? Research any important information for your emotion.

Emotional Ups and Downs Positive emotions – peak mid-day Negative emotions – after waking, before sleeping Moods triggered by everyday events (good/bad) tend not the last beyond the day. Tend to rebound from bad days with better than average days Significant bad events can cause prolonged sadness, but we adapt and can return to average levels of happiness.

Anger Usually a response to an act by another person OR “blameless annoyances” (traffic, weather, etc) Can lead to aggression, prejudice, and illness. Western cultures encourage catharsis – emotional release Venting (aggressive, verbal) towards the source Can actually lead to MORE anger

Fear Can be contagious and fatal Mobilizes fight/flight Evolutionary – fear certain things that enhance survival Learned Conditioning (Little Albert) Observed (monkey experiment, Sandy Hook shooting)

Fear Possibly biologically prepared to learn certain fears Amygdala Limbic system – emotions Associates fear with certain situations input from areas that process emotion and sends output info to areas that produce bodily symptoms Phobia – an intense fear of objects or situations that disrupts the ability to cope Social, agoraphobia, specific

Happiness Happier people… Determined by studying subjective well-being Perceive the world as safer, make decisions easier, are more cooperative, and live healthier and more energized and satisfied lives Experience the feel-good-do-good phenomenon – tendency to be more helpful when happy Determined by studying subjective well-being Self perceived happiness or satisfaction with life Used along side of objective well-being Money/wealth ≠ happiness

Evaluating Happiness Adaptation-level phenomenon Relative deprivation The tendency to form judgments relative to a neutral level defined by previous experience The neutral point fluctuates during life. Relative deprivation The perception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself.

How to be Happier! Realize wealth ≠ happiness Set goals, manage your time wisely Act happy Exercise Sleep Seek work/leisure that engages your skills Form and value close relationships Do good  feel good Be grateful Nurture your spiritual self

Spot the Fake Smile! Spot the fake smile – BBC 20 faces with 2-3 second videos Can only watch video once Genuine or fake? Gender differences? Boys leave room first Compare results

SYSK – Does smiling make you happy? What did Duchenne discover? What is distinctive in detecting a genuine smile? Why did Zajonc study the effects of smiling by using vowel sounds? (Hint: why couldn’t he invoke smiles with funny jokes or simply asking participates to smile?) What kind of effects did Zajonc find in the participants that produced the “eee” sound? What suggestion did researchers propose for why the group that smiled AND looked in the mirror felt the more positive? What is Zajonc’s physiological hypothesis for why physiological expressions can induce emotions? What effect does Botox have on the experience of emotions? Why? Does a fake smile invoke positive emotions?