chapter 12 Flashcards
emotions def and components
-response of the whole individual
1. physiological/bodily arousal
2. expressive behaviors
3. conscious experience resulting from one’s interpretations
2 questions of emotion
- Does your bodily arousal come before or after your emotional feelings?
- How do thinking and feeling interact? Does cognition always come before emotion?
James-Lange theory
-arousal comes before emotion
-emotion occurs when we become aware of out physiological responses to an emotion-arousing stimulus
-(ex: we feel angry because we strike)
-the environment does not matter
-2 problems: not enough time to have a physiological response and it would mean each emotion would have a distinct pattern
(notice body response (heart racing), then feel the emotion (fear)
Cannon-Bard theory
-arousal and emotion occur separately but simultaneously
-ex: heart is pounding as I experienced fear
Schacter-Singer two factor theory
-arousal + label = emotion
-to experience emotion one must be physically aroused and cognitively label the arousal
-emotional experience requires a conscious interpretation of arousal
-the ENVIRONMENT does MATTER
-spillover effect: arousal spills over from one event to the next, influencing the response
Zajonc, Lazarus, LeDoux theories
-can have an emotional experience and not even be aware of it (involves no thinking)
-speedy low road (not conscious of it): bypasses the cortex
-ex: we can jump at the sound of rustling bushes nearby, leaving it to our cortex to decide later whether the sound was made by a snake or by the wind.
autonomic nervous system: sympathetic, parasympathetic, fight or flight
-Sympathetic system: arousing
-parasympathetic system: calming
-fight-or-flight: automatically mobilizes the body for action
physiology of emotions
-different emotions have different brain circuits
physiology of emotions: right brain
-usually negative emotions
-when body tends to withdraw from bad things
(im mad ARRRRRRR)
physiology of emotions: left brain
-usually positive emotion
-approaching something good
-anger, usually thought as a neg. emotion is an exception to positive emotion
Detecting emotions in others and through text
-people can often detect nonverbal cues and threats as well as signs of status
-ex: firm handshakes, gaze, averted glance, stare
-gestures, facial expressions, and voice tones are absent in written communication
Gender, emotion, and nonverbal behavior
-women are more intuitively tuned into emotions naturally and they express emotions more, more complex emotions
-when men told to pay attention to emotions they can read the same emotional cues the same
culture and emotional expression
-gestures and meanings vary among cultures, but outward signs of emotion are generally the same
-musical expression of emotion crosses cultures
-shared emotional categories do not reflect shared cultural experience
-facial muscles speak a universal language for some basic emotions; interpreting faces in context is adaptive
-those encourage individuality display more visible emotions
-those that encourage people to adjust to others often have less visible emotional display
The facial feedback effect def
-we can control emotions by going through the outward movements of any emotion we want to experience
-people can mimic other’s expressions
behavior feedback effect def
-tendency of behavior to influence our own and other’s thoughts. feelings, and actions
How many distinct emotions are there?
-basic human emotions: anger, fear, disgust, sadness, and happiness
-10 basic emotions by Izard: joy, interest-excitement, surprise, sadness, anger, disgust, contempt, fear, shame, and guilt
Emotion: causes of Anger
-threat or challenge
-evoked by misdeeds that we interpret as willful, unjustified, and avoidable
-smaller frustrations and blameless annoyances can also trigger anger
Catharsis
idea that releasing aggressive energy (through action or fantasy) relieves aggressive urges
-does not reduce anger over the long term
-western advice
Consequences of anger
-chronic hostility is linked to heart disease
-expressing our anger can make us more angry
-controlled assertion of feelings may resolve conflicts, and forgiveness may rid of us of angry feelings
-anger communicates strength and competence, motivates action, and expresses grief when wisely used
What are some better ways to manage your anger?
- wait
- find a healthy distraction or support
- distance yourself
How is anger not wrong?
-it can communicate strength and competence
-motivates people to act courageously and achieve goals
feel-good, do-good phenomenon
people’s tendency to be helpful when in a good mood
subjective well-being
-self perceived happiness or satisfaction with life
-used along with measures of objective well-being to evaluate people’s quality of life
-more satisfied when you give than receive
positive psychology def
scientific study of human flourishing, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive
three pillars of positive psychology
- positive well-being: about building a pleasant and good life that engages one’s skills and a meaningful life that points beyond oneself
- positive traits: focuses on exploring and enhancing creativity, courage, compassion, integrity, self-control, leadership, wisdom, and spirituality
- positive groups, communities, and cultures: seek to foster a positive social ecology
wealth and well-being
-wealth does not correlate with well-being in some ways
-having money to buy resources that meet basic needs and have some control over life does buy happiness
-increasing wealth matters less once the basic needs are met
adaptation-level phenomenon
our tendency to form judgments (of sounds, of lights, of income) relative to a neutral level defined by our prior experience.
relative deprivation def
perception that we are worse off relative to those with whom we compare ourselves
what does satisfaction come from?
income rank rather than income level
Happy people tend to…?
-have a higher self-esteem
-be optimistic, outgoing, agreeable, and humorous
-have close, positive, and lasting relationships
-have work and leisure that engage their skills
-have an active religious faith (especially in more religious cultures)
-sleep well and exercise
happiness is not related to factors such as…..?
-age
-gender
-physical attractiveness
Is happiness based on genes?
-genes can determine happiness
-human traits are influenced by many genes having small effects
-there is a happiness set point
Stress
the process by which we perceive and respond to certain events, called stressors, that we appraise as threatening or challenging.
three main type of stressors:
- catastrophes
- significant life changes
- daily hassles
Catastrophes def
unpleasant, large-scale events
significant life changes
personal events; life transitions
daily hassles
day-to-day challenges
approach and avoidance motives
the drive to move toward (approach) or away from (avoid) a stimulus
Stress response: Canon
viewed the stress response as a fight-or-flight system
Stress response: Selye
-proposed that the body’s adaptive response to stress is so general that, like a burglar alarm, it sounds, no matter what intrudes
-named this response the general adaptation syndrome (GAS)
-prolonged stress can damage the body
General adaptation syndrome (GAS)
Selye’s concept of the body’s adaptive response to stress in three phases—
1. alarm: sympathetic system is activated
2. resistance: temp, bp, and respiration remain high; epinephrine and norepinephrine into the bloodstream; fully engaged and use all resources to meet the challenge; body reserves begin to dwindle
3. exhaustion: become more vulnerable to illness or even collapse or death
tend-and-befriend response
-under stress, people (especially women) often provide support to others (tend) and bond with and seek support from others (befriend)
-men may withdraw socially, turn to alcohol, or become aggressive
health psychology def
a subfield of psychology that provides a psychology’s contribution to behavioral medicine
psychoneuroimmunology def
the study of how psychological, neural, and endocrine processes together affect our immune system and resulting health
-psycho (emotions)
-neuro (affect your brain)
-immune system
-ology (study of)
B lymphocytes
fights bacterial infections
T lymphocytes
attack cancer cells, viruses, and foreign substances
Marcophage cells
attack harmful invaders and worn-out cells
natural killer cells (NK cells)
attack diseased cells
Two things that can happen if your immune system does not function properly
- It can respond too strongly; it may attack the body’s own tissues, causing an allergic reaction or self-attacking disease
-women are more susceptible to autoimmune diseases - underreacting, the immune system may allow a bacterial infection to flare, a dormant virus to erupt, or cancer cells to multiply
-To protect transplanted organs, which the recipient’s body treats as foreign invaders, a patient’s immune system may be deliberately suppressed.
stress effects on health
-stress hormones suppress the immune system: surgical wounds heal more slowly, more vulnerable to colds, hasten the course of disease
-stress does not make us sick, but it does alter our immune functioning which leaves us less able to resist infection
stress and cancer
-stress does not affect cancer cells, but it may affect their growth by weakening natural defenses
-research is mixed
stress and AIDS
-stress can not give people aids but it may speed the transition from HIV infection to AIDS and the decline in those with AIDS
stress and heart disease
-stress is related to the generation of inflammation, which is associated with heart and other health problems
-Type A man, pessimists, and depression are more likely to have heart attacks
coronary heart disease
the clogging of the vessels that nourish the heart muscle; a leading cause of death in many developed countries.
Type A man
Friedman and Rosenman’s term for competitive, hard-driving, impatient, verbally aggressive, and anger-prone people
Type B man
Friedman and Rosenman’s term for easygoing relaxed people
stress and inflamation
chronic stress triggers persistent inflammation, which increases the risks of heart disease and depression
Cope
alleviating stress using emotional, cognitive, or behavioral methods
problem-focused coping
attempting to alleviate stress directly- by changing the stressor or the way we interact with that stressor
emotion-focused coping
attempting to alleviate stress by avoiding or ignoring a stressor and attending to emotional needs related to our stress reaction
In animal and humans, what do uncontrollable threats trigger
they trigger the strongest stress responses
personal control
our sense of controlling our environment rather than feeling helpless
learned helplessness
the hopelessness and passive resignation humans and other animals learn when unable to avoid repeated aversive events
learned helplessness steps
uncontrollable bad events, perceived lack of control, generalized helpless behavior
tyranny of choice
brings information overload and a greater likelihood that we will feel regret over some of the things we left behind
external locus of control def
the perception that outside forces beyond our personal control determine our fate
internal locus of control def
the perception that we control our own faith
self-control
the ability to control impulses and delay short-term gratification for greater long-term rewards
-predicts good health, higher income, and better school performance
-
pessimists
-expect things to go badly
-attribute their poor performance to a basic lack of ability or situations enduringly beyond their control
optimists
-expect more control, coping ability, and better health
-tend to have optimal health, better grades
-runs in the family; genetic marker/oxytocin
social support
-feeling like and encouraged by intimate friends and family promotes happiness and health
- social support calms us, improves our sleep, and reduces blood pressure
-social support fosters stronger immune functioning
-close relationships give us an opportunity for “open heart therapy” a chance to confide painful feelings
aerobic exercise
sustained exercise that increases heart and lung fitness; also helps alleviate depression and anxiety.
-increases the quality and quantity of life
mindfulness meditation
a reflective practice in which people attend to current experiences in a nonjudgmental and accepting manner.
mindfulness does what?
-strengthens connections among brain regions
-activates brain regions associated with more reflective awareness
-calms brain activation in emotional situations
faith and health
-religiously active people tend to love longer than those who are not religiously active
-promotes healthy behaviors/self-control. social support, positive emotions
