Chapter 12 Flashcards
Emotion
a response of the whole organism, involving physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and, most importantly, conscious experience resulting from one’s interpretations.
James-Lange Theory
the theory that our experience of emotion occurs when we become aware of our physiological responses to an emotion-arousing stimulus.
*racing heart, then fear
Cannon-Bard Theory
the theory that an emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers physiological responses and the subjective experience of emotion.
*heart begins pounding as one experiences fear
Two-Factor Theory
the Schachter-Singer theory that to experience emotion one must be physically aroused and cognitively label the arousal.
*heart racing + attribute to danger = fear
Spillover Effect
a feeling of arousal can be “spilled over” into other thoughts. Additionally, when aroused, we can “catch” the feelings of someone else just by observing them.
Emotion vs. Cognition
We can feel emotion before consciously processing an idea.
Emotion Pathway: High Road
a stimulus will travel via the thalamus to the brain’s cortex, where it will be analyzed and labeled before the command is sent out via the amygdala. Complex emotions usually follow this path.
Emotion Pathway: Low Road
a stimulus will travel via the thalamus directly to the amygdala, bypassing the cortex. Simple emotions usually follow this path, which enables an emotional response faster than cognition.
Emotional Arousal Physiology
When our central nervous system is alerted, sympathetic division arouses the body parts. When the crisis is over, the parasympathetic division calms the body parts.
Negative emotions activate the right prefrontal cortex, while positive ones activate the left frontal lobe.
Polygraph
a machine used in attempts to detect lies; measures emotion-linked changes in perspiration, heart rate, and breathing. This shows nothing about lying, because the changes can be cause by hundreds of different things
Detecting Emotion
Humans are great at detecting subtle facial cues and nonverbal threats.
Humans are bad at detecting lies.
Gender Differences in Emotion
- Women are better at detecting emotions and are more emotionally responsive and expressive.
- Men are associated with higher feelings of anger.
There is no difference in how emotion works physiologically.
Culture Differences in Emotion
Hand gestures can mean different things, but the meaning behind certain facial expressions is universal.
Facial Feedback Effect
the tendency of facial muscle states to trigger corresponding feelings, such as fear, anger, or happiness.
Behavior Feedback Effect
the tendency of behavior and movements to influence our own and other’s thoughts, feelings, and actions.
6 Basic Human Emotions
Anger, fear, disgust, sadness, happiness, and surprise
Anger
a feeling caused by the perception of a willful misdeed or a blameless annoyance, which when chronic, can harm us.
Catharsis
in psychology, the idea that “releasing” aggressive energy (through action or fantasy) relieves aggressive urges. This can temporarily relieve anger, but will ultimately make us angrier (behavior feedback effect)
Happiness
Happy people perceive the world as safer. They are also more confident, decisive, cooperative, successful, and healthier.
Feel-Good, Do-Good Phenomenon
people’s tendency to be helpful when in a good mood. The reverse of this phenomenon is also true: people will feel good after they do good.
Positive Psychology
the scientific study of human flourishing, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities thrive.
Subjective Well-Being
self-perceived happiness or satisfaction with life. Used along with measures of objective well-being (for example, physical and economic indicators) to evaluate people’s quality of life.
Emotional Ups and Downs
Emotional ups and downs tend to balance out; throughout the day, or life.
Adaptation-Level Phenomenon
our tendency to form judgments (of sounds, of lights, of income) relative to a neutral level defined by our prior experience.
Money vs. Happiness
Personal income matters up to a certain point. Once we have enough money for comfort and security, we reach a point where more money means less.
Relative Deprivation
the perception that we are worse off relative to those with whom we compare ourselves. This causes us to feel bad about things we were once proud of.
Stress
the process by which we perceive and respond to certain events, called stressors, that we appraise as threatening or challenging.
Types of Stressors
- Catastrophes: large-scale disasters
- Significant Life Changes: life transitions
- Daily Hassles: social stress
Approach and Avoidance Motives
the drive to move toward (approach) or away from (avoid) a stimulus.
Approach-Approach
two attractive but incompatible goals pull us. (least stressful)
Avoidance-Avoidance
a conflict of choosing between two undesirable alternatives. (medium stress)
Approach-Avoidance
we feel simultaneously attracted and repelled. For example, you may love someone but still dislike things about them. (most stressful)
General Adaptation System (GAS)
Selye’s concept of the body’s adaptive response to stress in three phases—alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.
- sympathetic nervous system and fight/flight
- fully engaged
- vulnerable to illness
Tend and Befriend Response
under stress, people (especially women) often provide support to others (tend) and bond with and seek support from others (befriend).
Health Psychology
a subfield of psychology that provides psychology’s contribution to behavioral medicine.
Psychoneuroimmunology
the study of how psychological, neural, and endocrine processes together affect our immune system and resulting health. A subfield of health psychology.
Disfunctioning Immune system Reactions
- Responding too strongly, it may attack the body’s tissues, causing an allergic reaction or self-attacking disease
- Under-reacting, the immune system may allow a bacterial infection to flare, a dormant virus to erupt, or cancer cells to multiply
Stress vs. Cancer
Some studies show that people are generally more at risk for developing cancer if they are experiencing stress or bereavement. Other studies show no link between the two.
Stress does not create cancer cells, only weakens the immune system.
Coronary Heart Disease
the clogging of the vessels that nourish the heart muscle; a leading cause of death in many developed countries.
Type A Personality
Friedman and Rosenman’s term for competitive, hard-driving, impatient, verbally aggressive, and anger-prone people.
Type B Personality
Friedman and Rosenman’s term for easygoing, relaxed people.
Coping
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.
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.
External Locus of Control
the perception that outside forces beyond our control determine our fate. This is worse for us.
Internal Locus of Control
the perception that we control our fate. This is better for us.
Self-Control
the ability to control impulses and delay short-term gratification for greater long-term rewards. This can weaken, recover, and grow.
Optimism vs. Pessimism
Optimists experience less stress and better benefits than pessimists.
Social Support and Stress
Social support (feeling liked and supported by friends and family) promotes both happiness and health.
Aerobic Exercise
sustained exercise that increases heart and lung fitness; also helps alleviate depression and anxiety. You can add to your lifespan by exercising.
Mindfulness Meditation
a reflective practice in which people attend to current experiences in a nonjudgmental and accepting manner. Linked to beneficial mental health reactions.
The Faith Factor
The faith factor is the fact that religiously active people tend to live longer than those who are not religiously active.
Said to be due to healthy behaviors (not smoking), social support (network), and positive emotions (hope and prayer).
