Emotion

Defining Emotion A response of the whole organism, involving: –Physiological Arousal –Expressive Behaviors –Conscious Experience, including thoughts and feelings

Defining Emotion Physiological Arousal includes internal behaviors like heart pounding (when excited?), dry-mouth (when nervous?), or shortened breath (when tired?) Expressive Behaviors includes external behaviors like a quickened walking pace (when fearful?), jumping (excited?), smiling (happy?) Conscious Experience includes identifying thoughts and feelings (fear, happiness, anger, etc.?)

How do we experience an emotion?

James-Lange Theory When presented with stimulus, our body reacts first. We cry, we laugh, our heart races, our breathing becomes shallow, we hug, we run away, etc. After the body reacts, we feel an emotion based on what behaviors we exhibited. –I see a bear. My heart is racing and I am running away. Those behaviors mean I am afraid.

Cannon-Bard Theory –When a stimulating event happens, we feel emotions and physiological changes (such as muscular tension, sweating, etc.) at the same time. There is a simultaneous arousal and emotion I see a bear. I feel afraid as my heart races and I run away.

Schachter’s Two-Factor Theory After the initial stimulus is presented, our body begins to react immediately. But before we experience an emotion, we first evaluate the stimulus and the context it is presented in to determine which emotion is correct. My heart is pounding and my palms are sweaty. If the stimulus is a bear, I feel fear and run away. If the stimulus is another runner in a race, I feel competitive and run faster. If the stimulus is a test, I feel nervous and ask for a pass. If the stimulus is my date leaning in for a kiss, I feel excited and pucker up.

What kind of emotions can we feel?

Carroll Izard identified 10 basic emotions: –Joy –Interest-Excitement –Surprise –Sadness –Anger –Disgust –Contempt –Fear –Shame –Guilt

–Two-Dimensional Model - Any and all emotions can be measured as “positive”, or “negative” (value measure of pleasantness or unpleasantness), and again as either “low arousal”, or “high arousal” (intensity) Positive may be joy, high arousal is ecstatic, low arousal is relaxed Negative may be fear, high arousal is terrified, low arousal is nervous

Two Dimensions of Emotion

How do physiological changes accompany emotions?

The brain identifies our emotional state Our autonomic nervous system controls our arousal The sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system directs the glands and hormones of the body to react accordingly The parasympathetic division is responsible for putting the body back to its normal state after an emotional reaction has occurred

IE. The brain identifies an emotion as fear. The brain tells the autonomic nervous system “we need a response to fear”. The autonomic nervous system tells its sympathetic division to create a “fear” reaction in the body. The sympathetic division tells the adrenal glands to release adrenaline and norepinephrine. Those hormones increase the heart rate, increase blood pressure, and increases blood sugar levels. When the emotion is over, the parasympathetic division shuts the glands down and returns the body to a normal state.

Do different emotions activate different physiological responses?

NO Emotions like fear, anger, and sexual arousal can all elevate heart rates, increased respiration, etc., so in some cases, multiple emotions do trigger similar responses

YES Amygdala brain activity is different for different emotions Different lobes and hemispheres of the brain are activated during different emotions (right during negative, left during positive) Though some physiological responses are similar for multiple emotions, different emotions do stimulate different facial features

Yes A polygraph machine can identify the different physiological responses accompanying different emotions in order to detect lies.

How Are Emotions Expressed?

Emotions can be felt internally as the physiology of the body changes, and emotions can be projected outwardly through a variety of non-verbal methods, including: –Facial Expressions –Body Language –Tone of Voice

Facial Expressions Facial expressions are relatively universal regarding the emotions that they portray. There are both conscious and unconscious facial features that express emotion. For example, a frown is an expression of sorry or distress (consciously), but in addition, generally, your inner eyebrow lifts as well (unconsciously).

Facial Expressions Trying to fake a smile? More authentic smiles unconsciously activate muscles under the eyes and raise cheeks. Feigned smiles often continue on far too long, and get switched on and off more often.

Facial Expressions Assuming emotional expressions and postures can trigger a feeling Meaning, if you are sad, and force a smile, the muscles associated with smiling generate positive feelings in the brain. Vice-Versa holds true as well.

Body Language and Emotions The body conveys how a person feels. Someone doesn't say "I'm shaking in fear". His body does this automatically to convey that he is indeed afraid. The cardinal rule when reading the body is to look out for a coherent cluster of any of the following: Facial expressions - Gestures, body movements - Tone of voice/ pace of voice

Examples of Body Signals: The Eyes –Direct eye contact occurring 60% of the time indicates that the prospect is very interested in what you have to say. Eye contact occurring 80% of the time tells that the prospect is interested in you sexually. 100% eye contact indicates aggression. Be forewarned of resistance. –Frequent avoidance of eye contact reveals that a prospect may be hiding something. It may also reveal subordination and lack of confidence. Dilated pupils indicate great interest, either in what you said or in you. –Lock eye contact with a woman's gaze. If she drops it instantly and gazes downward to the left or to the right, it indicates that she is interested in you. If, on the other hand, she merely glances to the left or the right (without first dropping her eyes) in order to avoid your gaze, she simply finds you uninteresting. –Rapid blinking is a warning sign. If it forewarns that your prospect may provide resistance to what you have just said.

Examples of Body Signals: The Legs When a prospect 's feet points at you it indicates that he is interested in what you are saying. When the feet are pointed away, he may want to extricate your presence. A prospect's crossed legs, when standing, betray a feeling of isolation. While sitting, a prospect's crossed legs report that your idea may not be accepted easily. A prospect signals that she may like you when she sits with her legs tucked under her haunches. An insistent tapping foot says "Let me speak" or "I am bored", "What's next"

Verbal Fluency and Emotions The way that we speak can also be indicative of the emotions that we are feeling. –IE. Being deceitful? Longer pauses in your verbal flow, fast talking, hesitations, fewer illustrations, and raised pitch. –Sentences that are slowly paced, even, and terminated with downward inflected tones convey the image of control and power. Authoritative people audibly and punctuate sentences with a period. To convey even more power, they speak at a pace much slower than normal. –In contrast, a tone that increases in speed and rises in pitch indicates escalating nervousness and perhaps that something is hidden.