Emotions

Theories of Emotion Emotions are a mix of: 1) physiological activation 2) expressive behaviors 3) conscious experience. OBJECTIVE 1| Identify three components of emotions, and contrast James-Lange, Canon-Bard and two factor theories of emotion.

James-Lange Theory of Emotion. William James and Carl Lange Theory proposes that physiological activity precedes the emotional experience. We feel emotion because of biological changes caused by stress. The body changes and our mind recognizes the feeling.

Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion Does not agree with James-Lange The physiological change and cognitive awareness must occur simultaneously. They believed it was the thalamus that helped this happen.

Two-Factor Theory of Emotion Stanley Schachter and Jerome Singer Physiology and cognitions create ur emotions. Emotions have two factors–physical arousal and cognitive label. People who are already physiologically aroused experience more intense emotions than unaroused people when both groups are exposed to the same stimuli. Biology and Cognition interact with each other to increase the experience.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnTUvHZgumo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR7coyxQuGo&f eature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgOc0JhS6N0

Emotions and Autonomic Nervous System During an emotional experience, our autonomic nervous system mobilizes energy in the body that arouses us. OBJECTIVE 2| Describe the role of the autonomic nervous system during emotional arousal.

Physiological Differences OBJECTIVE 5| Describe some physiological and brain pattern indicators of specific emotions. The amygdala shows differences in activation during the emotions of anger and rage. Activity of the left hemisphere (happy) is different from the right (depressed) for emotions.

Cognition Can Define Emotion An arousal response to one event spills over into our response to the next event. OBJECTIVE 6| Explain how spillover effect influences our experience of emotion. Reuters/ Corbis

Cognition Does Not Always Precede Emotion When fearful eyes were subliminally presented to subjects, fMRI scans revealed higher levels of activity in the amygdala Courtesy of Paul J. Whalen, PhD, Dartmouth College, www.whalenlab.info

Expressed Emotion Emotions are expressed on the face, by the body, and by the intonation of voice. Is this non-verbal language of emotion universal?

Catharsis Hypothesis Venting anger through action or fantasy achieves an emotional release or “catharsis.” Expressing anger breeds more anger, and through reinforcement it is habit-forming.

Feel-Good, Do-Good Phenomenon Happiness People who are happy perceive the world as being safer. Feel-Good, Do-Good Phenomenon When we feel happy we are more willing to help others. OBJECTIVE 17| Describe how the feel-good do-good phenomenon works, and discuss the importance of research on subjective well-being.

Emotional Ups and Downs OBJECTIVE 18| Discuss some of the daily and longer-term variations in the duration of emotions.

Wealth and Well-being Many people in the West believe that if they were wealthier, they would be happier. However, data suggests that they would only be happy temporarily. OBJECTIVE 19| Summarize the findings on the relationship between affluence and happiness. Wealth is like health: Its utter absence can breed misery, yet having it is no guarantee of happiness.

Happiness & Prior Experience Adaptation-Level Phenomenon: Like the adaptation to brightness, volume, and touch, people adapt to income levels. Relative Deprivation is the perception that we are relatively worse off than those we compare ourselves with. OBJECTIVE 20| Contrast the effects on happiness of the adaptation-level and the relative-deprivation principles.

Seyle’s General Adaptation Syndrome Describes our response to a stressful event. Three stages Alarm Resistance Exhaustion