Emotions and Social Interactions Flashcards
Why do we have emotions?
Evolutionary advantage. Help achieve social goals - emotions evolved because they serve a useful functions. When have problems with emotions, also have social problems. Suggests emotions are doing something helpful.
Does social and physical pain involve the same parts of the brain?
fMRI scans. Found lots of overlap in whats happening in the brain when we experience social or physical pain. DACC associated with distress, ventral medial prefrontal cortex associated with regulation of distress. DACC also lights up when we are treated unfairly by people, or when someone close to us dies. Shows that social pain is experienced in the same way as physical pain. Function of pain is telling us something is harming our survival - social pain is the same sort of signal.
Why do self-conscious emotions seem to be especially important?
Tracy and Robins (2004) suggest the function of these emotions is to regulate the self in the context of social groups and relationships. Pride reinforces and motivates socially values behaviours, and shame, guilt, and embarrassment are felt in response to transgressions of norms. Play important role in guiding what we do. Wanting to experience pride guides what you do now, as does wanting to avoid shame and embarrassment.
What did Parkinson (1996) suggest about emotions?
Emotions are often caused by social factors, they have consequences for other people, and they serve interpersonal and cultural functions - emotions guide us to behave in socially acceptable ways. Thinks researchers underestimate the influence of social factors on emotions. Emotions are essentially communicative.
What is evidence for Parkinson’s ideas?
Kraut and Johnston (1979), observed people bowling. Facial displays were much more pronounced when turning around to an audience than when facing the result of the bowl. Aim of sharing event is what triggered people to make expressive facial expression - Parkinson used this to explain how we use emotions to communicate our needs and wants. Emotions therefore have an experiencer and receiver - go beyond just one person, guide both our behaviour and others behaviour.
What is the Emotions as Social Information Model (EASI) van Kleef, 2009?
Emotions regulate social interactions by triggering affective reactions and inferences in observers (people use our emotions to infer things about a situation, this then changes their interpretation of the situation and how to respond). The effect of emotions on other peoples’ affective reactions/inferences, and ultimately on others’ behaviour, depends on other factors such as the observer’s information processing (e.g. motivation) and relational factors (e.g. appropriateness of expression). Basic idea is we use other peoples emotions to assess a situation and decide how to behave. Inferences will depend on factors e.g. our relationship with that person.
What is mood/emotion contagion?
Individuals living with a depressed roommate are more likely to become depressed themselves (Joiner, 1994). This can also happen on a much shorter timescale; just hearing someone talk in a depressed tone of voice can cause contagion (Neumann and Strack, 2000).
What is a controversial study on contagion by Kramer et al., 2014?
Researchers at Facebook reduced the amount of positive or negative emotional content in 700k people’s news feeds. Looking at the effect of contagion. Their manipulation influenced the emotions their ‘participants’ expressed in their own statuses. Ethical studies. Effect size was very small - effecting behaviour in a statistically significant way because of massive sample size, but the practical effect on emotions was very small.
What is the facial feedback hypothesis?
Strack et al. (1988) found that participants were more amused by cartoons when holding a pen with their teeth (i.e. smiling) than when holding the pen by their lips. Their facial feedback hypothesis states that people’s facial activity influences their affective response. Difficult to replicate original study.
How does mood contagion occur?
We unconsciously replicate things others do (e.g. motor mimicry, facial and bodily feedback). This mimicry can then lead to changes in emotional experiences. Can also be conscious processes involved (e.g. if we see someone laughing we re-evaluate the situation, therefore changing our emotions).
What did Neal et al (2011) and Davis et al (2011) find?
Getting botox reduces your ability to understand other people’s emotional expressions, as well as reducing your own emotional responses.
How do emotions spread throughout groups and networks?
Our happiness is linked to how happy our friends are (Fowler and Christakis, 2008). One individual can affect the mood of a group, also known as the ‘ripple effect’ (Barsade, 2002). The moods of individuals within a group, e.g. work or sports, can become linked (Totterdell et al., 1998).
What is the social sharing of emotion?
Spreads throughout network of people we are connected to. In a series of retrospective studies, people reported that they chose to share 9 out of 10 emotional events that happened to them with other people (Rime et al, 1991). These people then share the events with others - ‘secondary sharing’ (Curci and Bellelli, 2004). So emotions also spread throughout networks through these active processes.
What impact does social sharing of emotion have on relationships?
Can have positive and negative effect. Generally sharing helps bond with another person. Sharing negative things - doesn’t always make you feel better and can make the other person feel worse. “Co-rumination” is linked to anxiety and depression, but also makes people closer and is linked to friendship quality (Rose 2002).
What is the result of positive emotion expression?
Postive emotion expression facilitates bonding between infants and caregivers, promotes romantic relationships, and also leads to better relationships with co-workers. Although, it is not always good: e.g. winners who express positive emotions are seen as less likeable. Therefore context dependent.
