Emotion

We know that when we experience an emotion, there are often physical symptoms as well…pounding heart, faster breathing, sweaty palms, butterflies, flushed face etc. What comes first, physiological arousal or conscious awareness of an emotion?

Three theories James-Lange: We feel aroused, leading to our perceiving an emotion: “My heart is pounding, so I’m afraid” Cannon-Bard: Our conscious awareness of an emotion and the physical response occur at the same time Schacter-Singer: We feel physiological arousal, give that feeling a cognitive label, and thus feel emotion (Two-factor theory)

Emotion fear Cognitive interpretation “I feel afraid!” Physiological arousal trembling increased heart rate James- Lange theory Cannon- bard theory Two- factor theory Stimulus: snake Stimulus Emotion fear Physiological arousal trembling increased heart rate Emotion fear

How much arousal does it take to perform at peak levels? Depends on the difficulty of the task For difficult tasks, peak performance occurs at lower levels of arousal, For easy or well- learned tasks, more arousal is required for peak performance

Do we become what we think? Pretty much Arousal can “spill” from emotion to another This explains why violence sometimes breaks out at high-stakes football and soccer games

Some emotional responses bypass conscious thinking

Non-verbal communication Helped our ancestors survive We pick up on negative emotions faster Introverts are better at identifying emotions than extraverts, but not as good at expressing them

Gender and Emotion Women are better than men at correctly identifying what is being conveyed by non- verbal behavior They also describe emotions in more complex ways

Detecting emotion Hard to detect liars

Culture and emotional expression Same basic facial expressions in all cultures Even blind children make those same expressions Some cultures show emotions than others Individualistic vs. collectivist

Put on a Happy Face It actually works Our facial expressions can influence our emotions

Fear Fear can be in-born (spiders, snakes, heights), or learned (homework) We are biologically prepared to fear some things more than others What part of the brain is associated with fear? Genetics plays a role too Fear and politics

Anger Does “venting” our anger help us “get it out of our system?” For the most part, no. It only makes you angrier

Dealing with anger Wait Calm yourself in ways that don’t involve sulking or exploding Forgiveness helps too

Happiness Feel good, do good Emotional ups and downs Many people, even after traumatic experiences, report normal levels of happiness after some time has gone by – we are remarkably resilient

Money and Happiness Bad stronger than good Money/material things make us temporarily happy, but over the long run they don’t Gratitude makes us happy Those who strive the hardest for wealth are usually the most unhappy

Adaptation and Comparison Why don’t material possessions make us happy in the long-term? Adaptation Comparison

How to be happier