Chapter 6: Appraisal, Experience, Regulation Flashcards
Week 2: Emotion Regulation
appraisal
the most important concept in the science of emotions. it refers to how we evaluate an event, often occuring in the external world but sometimes internally, especially regarding another person
Arnold and Gasson
developed the notion that emotions are based on apprasials
Lazarus
further developed the idea of emotions being based on appraisals and studied the challenges that people face in their daily lives and their capacities to cope with such challenges
Lazarus’s two basic themes
- appraisals involve evaluative judgements of how good or bad an event is for the individual
- appraisals concern an individual’s goals and aspirations
Stein et al.
extended the idea of goals to plans that are generated from them and the belief on which they are based
how does emotion-related appraisal unfold? (Stein et al.)
- an unexpected event occurs that alters the status of valued goal
- this often challenges our beliefs, leading to bodily changes and emotional expressions
- we then create plans to address the event, considering how to restore or adjust the goal and the potential outcomes of those plans
three questions that correspond to the stages
- what happened?
- what do I think about it?
- what can I do about it and what might happen?
primary appraisal
an automatic evaluation of an event or person to determine if it is perceived as threatening or rewarding.
secondary apprasials
appraisal, which provide a more deliberative and complex assessment to decide what to think and what to do about what has happened
Murphy and Zajonc
explored the idea that primary appraisals are like automatic evaluation in an experiment which they resented participants with people smiling or displaying facial anger
Murphy and Zajonc findings
when we are consciously aware of the emotionally changed stimuli, they are less likely to sway our judgements of other events that have nothing to do with them
good vs bad evaluations
research has shown that negative evaluations are stronger than positive evaluations. this bias to be more responsive to danger makes evolutionary sense – without it, our chances of survival would be diminished
discrete approaches
suggest that specifc apprasials lead directly to distinct emotions
dimensional approaches
start with a primary appraisal that assesses whether the event is good or bad
secondary appraisal in recent research
shaped by social factors and can have multiple dimensions, resulting in variety of emotions
Lazarus’s primary appraisal
described the primary appraisal stage in his theory of discrete emotions, where individuals evaluate an event’s relevance to their goals. if relevant, an emotion is triggered; if not, there’s no emotional response. secondary appraisals consider specific goals, including moral values, self-identity, and well-being of others, which can also elicit emotions
goal-congruent events
evoke positive emotions
incongruent events
lead to negative emotions
what makes up primary appraisal stage?
- goal relevance
- goal congruence
what makes up the secondary appraisal stage?
occur about specific goals or issues for the ego. depending on whether the produced emotions is positive or negative, different ego-related events can occur
positive emotions
ego-related events include emotions related to happines, pride, and love
negative emotions
ego-related events include emotions related to anger, fear, anxiety, and sadness
action readiness
refers to the psychological and physiological state that prepares an individual to take specific actions in response to an emotional experience. it is the connection between an emotion and the tendency to act in a way that aligns with that emotion
core relational theme of emotion
in the second stage of appraisal, the individual considers a causal attribution for the event, how to respond to the event, and future consequences of action
Nico Frijda
suggested that when an appraisal is made we are prompted to readiness for a certain mode of action or interaction appropriate to what has happened (modes of action readiness)
ur-emotions
primitive emotions, which some have but not all attributes of full emotions
gap in discrete approaches to emotions
- many emotions are similar in fundamental ways
- unable to account for transitions between emotions
Ellsworth and Smith
developed a theory of appraisal that can account for similarities and differences among emotions. includes 8 different dimensions of meaning that capture the appraisal process
agency (Ellsworth and Smith)
can differentiate three negative emotions: anger, sadness and guilt
Weiner and Graham
focused on how attributions, or the explanations we give for events, influence the emotions we experience. e.g., attribute success to internal factors = pride
social sharing
people often have the strong tendency to share their emotional experiences with others (like a third phase of emotional experience)
Shaver et al.
conducted a study where participants sorted 135 emotion terms into categories and the results revealed 3 levels of emotion knowledge
3 levels of emotion knowledge
- superordinate level
- basic level
- subordinate level
superordinate level
there is distinction between positive and negative emotions
basic level
includes six emotion concepts: love, joy, anger, sadness, surprise, and fear
subordinate level
consists of more specific states related to the basic emotions
cultural variation in the language of emotion (Rusell)
differences in the number of emotion-related words. the language of emotion varies extensively across cultures, challenging the idea of universal emotional categories
conceptualization
interpereting experiences based on ideas about causation, control, appropriateness, and the inherent nature of emotion
intentional object
what the emotion is specifically about. emotion words guide attention to the focus of the experiences
methaphor
a concept that points to something beyond itself. many emotional words involve metaphorical expressions
5 common metaphors for emotional experiences in English
emotions as;
- natural forces
- opponents
- diseases
- fluids in containers
- animals
prototypes (Rusell)
Rusell suggests that emotions are better understood through prototypes, an example of a typical feature of an object in a category that exhibits typical features of the category
Shaver et al.
explored prototypical scritps for various emotions, finding recurring features in at least 20% of descriptions, supporting the idea that emotions are understood through prototypical examples
emotional complexity
when people articulate emotions using a rich array of words, metaphors, and narratives
alexithymia
individuals with a narrower emotional vocabulary who struggle to identify or express emotions verbally
approaches to measure emotional experiences
- self report
- adjective checklist
adjective checklist
people are presented with sets of adjectives that are synonyms for emotions and moods and they are asked to check any that apply
psychoactive drugs
particularly cholecytokinin, are capable of inducing emotions without appraisal, causing a state of panicky fear in healthy humans
William James
emphasizes that emotions are perceptions of inner physiological processes and vary significantly acorss individuals and contexts (constructivist approach)
core assumptions of constructivist approach
- emotions are not natural kinds; within any emotions category, there is too much variation in emotion -related responses
- emotions are based on core affect, based on the primary appraisal dimension of goodness or badness. we are continuously apraising the working of our bodies and what is happening in the social context
- specific emotions arise out of conceptual acts with attributions that arise from the situation, which can then be grounded in language. the language we use doesn’t just reflect emotions; it actively shapes and constitutes our emotional experiences
Cowen and Keltner
participants watched emotionally evoactive video clips and reported 28 distinct types of emotions (simple and complex). the study revealed that discrete emotion terms, such as love, awe, or anger, played a more prominent role in driving emotional experiences than general appraisals of goodness/badness or arousal. the findings suggest that people’s experiences are structured more effectively by discrete emotions categories than by general appraisals
five stages at which emotion regulation operates
- selection of situations
- modification of situations
- direction of attention
- cognitive change
- modulation of responses
distraction (regulatory intervention)
getting oneself caught up in something else
attempts to reduce emotions
trying to calm down when angry or trying to stop children from being noisy in a quiet area
attempts to increase emotions
include firing onself before an important sports game and sharing good news with family and friends
