Module 6 - Emotion as motivation to action Flashcards
What is an action tendency?
Action tendencies refer to the possibility of a particular behaviour occurring, given the presence of a specific kind of stimulus.
True or false: Frijda says that emotion and motivation are the same thing?
True.
Frijda’s concept of action tendencies integrates the notions of motivation and emotion. Action tendencies is a the bridge that brings together motivation and emotion. Frijda says that emotion is just another form of motivation.
Action tendency
All actions can be performed or suppressed: we can laugh out loud or we can stifle the tendency.
The possibility that an action may occur in response to certain stimuli is referred to as action tendency.
Action tendency has a target or goal: the target is the funny thing that was said to make us laugh.
What is latent readiness?
Latent readiness is the potentiality to act on any thing, in relation to a certain stimulus. We have a behaviour that is connected to a stimulus. There is a readiness to act to achieve a goal or to share our emotion over some stimulus.
Action expression
Actions can be expressed in a number of different ways: emotion is just another expression of a motivation to act.
Expression is determined by the circumstances or the goals. Is my goal to show my friend how I appreciated their joke or to maintain the formal atmosphere of a meeting?
A number of expressions might serve the same purpose.
Behavioural flexibility: I can achieve the same goal with a number of different expressions.
What three categories did Frijda identify for emotions?
- Relational (acting on the environment): approaching Amy to ask for a cigarette.
- Null states: e.g., apathy, disinterest, “whatever”.
- Activation modes: excitement, confusion.
Action tendency as emotion
Frijda suggests that action tendency and emotion are the same thing: emotion is nothing more than a tendency to act. Emotions refer to an inner state that predicts expression/form/mode as a behaviour.
Frijda said the following are basic emotions: happiness, surprise, anger, fear, sadness and disgust. What five more emotions did Izard add to the basic category?
Distress
Interest
Contempt
Guilt
Shame
According to Frijda, are non-basic emotions blends of basics?
Some are, some are not.
Frijda says that most cannot be defined as blends, but they are defined by a different criteria. Frijda says that blended emotions are those emotions that cannot be recognised by their action tendencies (i.e., it is a non-basic emotion because it is not basic).
Emotions can be defined by the mode of action readiness change or by the object of the emotion (the story). The difference between a basic and non-basic emotion is that we need to know the person or the object to understand what is going on.
What is a major shortcoming of Frijda’s theory or emotion?
Frijda does not give us a mechanism by which the emotion drives the action.
