PowerPoint Presentations for Passer/Smith Psychology: Frontiers and Applications by David K. Jones Westminster College and Diane Feibel, Ed. D. Raymond Walters College

PowerPoint Presentations for: Passer/Smith Psychology: Frontiers and Applications Chapter 10 Emotion, Stress, and Health

Emotions s Emotions are positive or negative affective states –Consist of cognitive, physiological, and behavioral reactions to events that have relevance to our goals –Emotions are responses, while motivators are stimuli to action

Adaptive functions of emotions (Frederickson, 1998) s Negative emotions narrow attention, enabling a response to threat through increased physiological activation s Positive emotions broaden thinking and behavior, enabling exploration and skill learning pre a.html

s Emotions are a form of social communication –They provide observable information about internal states and influence others’ behavior toward us Emotions

The Nature of Emotions s Four common features of emotions –Emotions are responses to eliciting stimuli –Emotions result from cognitive appraisal of the stimuli –Bodies respond physiologically to stimuli –Emotions include behavioral tendencies, including expressive behaviors and instrumental behaviors

Emotions: Eliciting Stimuli s Biological factors –We come equipped to respond to stimuli that may have evolutionary significance s Learning –Previous experiences can affect current emotional experiences

The Appraisal Process s Appraisals relate to what we think is desirable or not desirable for us s Different appraisal processes cause different people to have different emotional reactions to the same situation s Appraisals influence both similar and different emotional experiences cross- culturally

Happiness s Factors in subjective well-being –Wealth is only weakly correlated with SWB (+.20) –Intelligence, educational level also weakly positively correlated –Gender is not related –Age n n

Happiness: Psychological Processes s Downward comparison promotes increased satisfaction, while upward comparison promotes dissatisfaction s Research of David Myers

Physiological Components of Emotions s Limbic system structures play major roles in emotions –Hypothalamus –Amygdala –Hippocampus

Physiological Components of Emotions s LeDoux (1996) –Thalamus sends sensory input along two independent neural pathways n One directly to the amygdala emotional and behavioral reaction behavioral reaction n One to the cerebral cortex conscious interpretation

Physiological Components of Emotions s Evidence for the role of the amygdala –Removal of visual cortex in rats did not impair classically conditioned fear response (LeDoux, 1989) –People with hippocampal damage (unable to learn a connection between CS and UCS) still acquire a fear response (Bechara et al., 1995)

Physiological Components of Emotions s Hemispheric Activation –Evidence for left hemisphere activation underlying some positive emotions –Evidence for right hemisphere activation underlying some negative emotions

Physiological Components of Emotions s Sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system directly stimulates organs and muscles s Endocrine system pumps stress hormones into the bloodstream Arousal patterns for basic emotions (e.g. anger,fear) may be different, but patterns for complex emotions (e.g. jealousy) may not

Evolution and Emotional Expression s Evidence for innate fundamental emotional patterns –The expression of certain emotions is similar across a variety of cultures –Children blind from birth express basic emotions as sighted children do SYCHTODAY2

Culture and Emotions s Different display rules in different cultures produce different emotional reactions to the same event  E.g. In regions of Greece and Sardinia, a thumbs-up is like a raised middle finger in the U.S.

Culture and Emotions

Yerkes-Dodson Law

James-Lange Theory

Facial Feedback Hypothesis s Muscular feedback to the brain plays a key role in emotional experience  e.g. Strack, Martin, & Stepper(1988) /emotion3.html

Facial Expression of Emotions

Cannon-Bard Theory

Stress s Defining stress: –Some define stress in terms of eliciting stimuli (or stressors) –Stress is also a response, with cognitive, physiological, and behavioral components –Stress is a person-situation interaction

Stress s The appraisal process –We appraise: n The demands of the situation (primary appraisal) n The resources available to cope with the situation (secondary appraisal) n The consequences of the situation n The personal meaning of the situation to us

General Adaptation Syndrome (Selye, 1976) s Three phases: –Alarm –Resistance –Exhaustion

Stress and Psychological Distress Stress Psychological Distress Possible Relationships Psychological Distress Stress Third Variable (e.g. personality trait)

Stress and Psychological Distress s Excessive secretions of stress hormones can damage artery lining s Stress can cause breakdowns in immune system functioning

Stress and Psychological Distress s Vulnerability factors –Lack of a support network –Poor coping skills –Anxious or pessimistic tendencies s Protective factors –Social support –Good coping skills –Optimism un98/pess.html

Stress and Psychological Distress s Factors in hardiness (Kobasa et al., 1982) –Commitment –Control –Challenge

Factors in Coping s Self-efficacy (Bandura, 1989) –Conviction we can perform the behaviors necessary to provide a desired outcome s Optimism s Finding meaning through spiritual beliefs –Religious beliefs can also increase stress

Methods of Coping s Problem-focused coping –Strategies to attempt to deal with the demands of the situation –Used more by males s Emotion-focused coping –Manage the emotional responses resulting from the situation –Used more by females s Seeking social support