1. Emotion, Stress, and Health

2. What is emotion? A state of arousal involving: Physiological changes
Facial
Bodily
Brain activation
Cognitive processes
Appraisals
Feelings
Action tendencies
Fight or Flight
Embrace or withdraw
Cultural context
Social rules

3. Emotion and the Body Primary emotions:
considered to be universal and biologically based:
Fear
Anger
Sadness
Joy
Surprise
Disgust
Contempt

4. Secondary emotions
Emotions that develop with cognitive maturity and vary across individuals, cultures, and societies

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The brain and emotion
Facial feedback The process by which the facial muscles send messages to the brain about the basic emotion being expressed

6. The brain and emotion The amygdala Responsible for assessing threat
Damage to the amygdala results in abnormality in processing fear.

7. The brain and emotion Mirror neurons:
Fire when an animal sees or hears an action and carries out the same action on its own
Help us recognize others’ intentions

8. ANS arousal, hormones and emotion
With intense emotion, two hormones are released:
Epinephrine
Norepinephrine
Results in increased alertness and arousal
At high levels, can create sensation of being out of control emotionally

9. Which comes first: ANS arousal or emotion?
Schacter and Singer’s 2-Factor Theory of Emotion:
Physiological arousal and cognitive interpretation influence emotion

10. Which comes first: ANS arousal or emotion?
Capilano River Suspension Bridge Study: Men on arousing bridge were more likely to make up stories with sexual content and to ask out interviewer

11. How thoughts create emotions
Appraisals are explanations of ones own and other people’s behavior that influence the feelings one has in any given circumstance. They involve:
Beliefs
Expections
Judgements
Perceptions
Reactions
Philosophy of life

12. Cultural rules determine emotional regulation
Culture influences what people feel angry, sad, lonely, happy, ashamed or disgusted about.

13. Cultural rules determine emotional regulation
Display rules
When, where, and how emotions are to be expressed or when they should be squelched

14. Cultural rules determine emotional regulation
chapter 13
Cultural rules determine emotional regulation
Emotion work
Acting out an emotion we do not feel or trying to create the right emotion for the occasion
Body language
The nonverbal signals of body movement, posture, and gaze that people constantly express

15. Gender and emotion In North America women. . .
smile more than men.
gaze at listeners more.
have more emotionally expressive faces.
use more expressive body movements.
touch others more.
acknowledge weakness and emotions more.
In North America men. . .
express anger to strangers more than women.

16. Factors influencing emotional expressiveness
Gender roles
Cultural norms
The specific situation

17. Stress

18. The physiology of stress
General Adaptation Syndrome (Hans Selye): The body’s response to external stressors
Alarm phase: Mobilizing SNS activity; immediate threat
Resistance: Coping with ongoing stressors
Exhaustion: Depletion of energy; sickness more likely
Minimize stress!

19. Stressors Work-related problems Noise Bereavement and loss
Poverty, powerlessness, and low status

20. Stress and the mind: The sense of control
Locus of control
A general expectation about whether the results of your actions are under your own control (internal locus) or beyond your control (external locus)
Feelings of control can reduce the effect of stress on health.

21. Explanatory styles Optimists: Take better care of themselves when sick
Cope better
Draw on friends in hard times

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Benefits of control
Those who feel in control are less likely to develop colds.
Low-income individuals with high levels of control report similar quality of life to high-income individuals.
Managers and executives have fewer illnesses.
Nursing home residents with greater control are more alert, happier, and live longer.

23. Culture and control
Primary control: an effort to modify reality by changing other people, the situation, or events
A “fighting back” philosophy
Western cultures
Secondary control: an effort to accept reality by changing your own attitudes, goals, or emotions
A “learn to live with it” philosophy
Eastern cultures

24. Stress and emotions Hostility: a major risk factor for heart disease
Emotional inhibition:
Stressful situations cause heart rate and blood pressure to rise sharply
People with trait more likely to fall ill than people who acknowledge feelings

25. Coping: Talking about it
Let grievances go:
Give up thoughts that produce grudges and replace them with different perspectives (forgive)
Divulge private thoughts and feelings that make you ashamed or depressed (confess)

26. Coping: Cooling off Relaxation training Massage therapy Exercise
Lowers stress hormones
Enhances immune function
Massage therapy
Exercise

27. Coping: Solving the problem
Emotion-focused coping deals with feelings a situation has caused
Problem-focused coping deals with actively trying to change situation

28. Coping: Drawing on social support
Friends can help
People who have network of close connections tend to live longer.
Giving support to others can be a valuable source of comfort.

29. When friends aren’t helpful
Relationships can cause stress when:
one friend is responsible for taking care of another.
there is arguing in a hostile way.
friends are unsupportive or block your progress toward a goal.