Emotion Flashcards
multidimensional scaling
allows researchers to study something that cannot be described uniformly by asking multiple questions about relationships between words and creating a map.
e.g studying emotion. People can’t describe what happy feels like, but they can say how similar one emotion is to another. like a linkage map in bio
Valence
Dimension of emotional experience. “How positive or negative the experience is”. Measured with multidimensional scaling
Arousal
dimension of emotional experience. “How active or passive the experience is” Measured with multidimensional scaling. aka how strong an emotion is
Emotion
a positive or negative experience(valence) that is associated with a particular pattern of physiological activity (arousal)
James-Lange theory of emotion
the theory that a stimulus triggers activity in the body, which in turn produces an emotional experience in the brain
Cannon-Bard theory of emotion
a stimulus simultaneously triggers activity in the body and emotional experience in the brain.
they argue against James-Lange bc we don’t have enough bodily reactions to signal every emotion
two-factor theory of emotion
modern theory- a stimulus triggers a general state of arousal in the body, which the mind then interprets as a specific emotion.
Compromise of the two early theories
e.g if you start sliding down a mountain, your heart starts pounding, your muscles tense, your blood flows. Your mind then interprets the reaction and the ground rushing towards you to decide an emotion–fear.
If your heart started pounding and there was a cute girl in front of you, your mind would interpret the bodily response as excitement
Emotion regulation
the strategies people use to influence their own emotional experience
e.g affect labeling (putting feelings into words) is effective at reducing intensity of emotional states. So yell and scream all you want when you got rejected from Vandy.
suppression (inhibiting outward signs of an emotion) is ineffective+deleterious. When you got rejected from UChicago
reappraisal
changing one’s emotional experience by changing the way one thinks about the emotion-eliciting stimulus. let go of biases and have an open mind
you reevaluate the value of something.
people better at this tend to live better lives (better relationships, b/c they give people second chances)
Emotional expression
an observable sign of an emotional state
WORDS ARE NOT EMOTIONAL EXPRESSIONS. THEY ARE EMOTIONAL SYMBOLS THAT ARE ASSIGNED MEANING. signs are universal, like smiling
universality hypothesis
Darwin’s hypothesis that emotional expressions have the same meaning for everyone.
Evidence suggests he was mainly right.
Anger, disgust, fear, happiness, and sadness are universal. (FAHD)
embarrassment, surprise, amusement, guilt, shame, and pride may be universal (SAGES)
facial feedback hypothesis
emotional expressions can cause the emotional experiences they signify
e.g people are happier when they make the sound of a long “e”, since they’re smiling.
B/c we tend to mimic each other’s behaviors during interaction, (we smile when friend smiles), facial feedback helps us empathize and imagine what our friends are feeling
motivation
the psychological cause of an action.
eMOTION MOtivaTION. Coincidence? nah. emotions influence motivation. Provide people with information and objectives to strive for
How emotions provide information
Because events in the world can influence our emotions, our emotions can provide information about events in the world.
This helps us in decision making, when evaluating which will result in a better emotion
hedonic principle
people are motivated to experience pleasure and avoid pain. separated into approach and avoidance motivations
explains how “emotions provide objectives to strive for”.
human sexual response cycle
the stages of physiological arousal during sexual activity
excitement phase, plateau phase, orgasm phase
Intrinsic motivation
a motivation to take actions that are themselves rewarding
Desire to engage in tasks that person finds inherently satisfying and enjoyable, novel, or optimally challenging
extrinsic motivation
motivation to take actions that lead to reward (or absence of punishment)
Rewards undermine intrinsic motivation:
something that has an intrinsic and extrinsic motivation can often be misinterpreted to only have extrinsic motivation.
e.g turn a hobby into a job and it stops being enjoyable
Punishments create intrinsic motivation:
e.g Threat of punishment for playing with something makes people want to play with it more. That’s why threats can often do more harm than good. Encourage rather than discourage
maybe because we associate rewards with things we don’t want to do
External influences on behavior, such as rewards, social evaluations, rules, and responsibilities
conscious motivations
motivations of which people are aware
unconscious motivations
motivations of which people are not aware. probably intrinsic. Harder to measure. May use thematic apperception test
need for achievement
the motivation to solve worthwhile problems. Typically an unconscious motivation
general motivations
Is conscious during easy tasks: applicable to many facets of life. e.g “to be helpful”.
specific motivations
only become conscious when people encounter difficulties
approach motivation
the motivation to experience positive outcomes
one part of hedonist theory
