© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Instructor name Class Title, Term/Semester, Year Institution Introductory Psychology Concepts Emotions

© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Introductory Psychology Concepts – Emotions 2 Emotions: feelings that generally have both physiological and cognitive elements that can influence behavior. Emotions are triggered by external or internal eliciting stimuli. Components of emotion Eliciting stimuli Instrumental behaviors Cognitive appraisal Physiological responses Expressive behaviors

© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Introductory Psychology Concepts – Emotions 3 Emotions: feelings that generally have both physiological and cognitive elements and that can influence behavior. Emotional responses result from our appraisal of these stimuli. Components of emotion Eliciting stimuli Instrumental behaviors Expressive behaviors Physiological responses Cognitive appraisal

© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Introductory Psychology Concepts – Emotions 4 Eliciting stimuli Instrumental behaviors Cognitive appraisal Emotions: feelings that generally have both physiological and cognitive elements and that can influence behavior. Our bodies respond physiologically to our appraisals. Components of emotion Expressive behaviors Physiological responses

© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Introductory Psychology Concepts – Emotions 5 Eliciting stimuli Cognitive appraisal Physiological responses Emotions: feelings that generally have both physiological and cognitive elements and that influence behavior. Components of emotion Emotions include behavior tendencies: + Expressive (smiling, crying) + Instrumental (fighting back in self-defense) Expressive behaviors Instrumental behaviors

© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Introductory Psychology Concepts – Emotions 6 Theories of Emotion The James-Lange Theory Our bodily reactions determine the subjective emotion we experience. The Cannon-Bard Theory The subjective experiences of emotion and physiological arousal do not cause one another, but instead are independent responses to an emotion- arousing situation. The Schacter-Singer Theory Emotions are determined jointly by a nonspecific kind of physiological arousal and its interpretation, based on environmental cues. Schacter’s Two-Factor Theory The intensity of physiological arousal tells us how strongly we are feeling something, but situational cues give us the information we need to label the arousal and tell ourselves what we are feeling.

© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Introductory Psychology Concepts – Emotions 7 Facial Feedback Hypothesis According to the facial feedback hypothesis, feedback from the facial muscles to the brain plays a key role in determining the nature and intensity of emotions that we experience. Holding a pencil in the teeth activates the muscles used in smiling, and thus evokes more pleasant feelings than holding the pencil in one’s lips. (Adelmann & Zajonc, 1989).