Module 7 Lesson 2 - Emotion

Question 1

Emotion

Answer 1

A state of feeling that can involve expression, behaviors, and even physical arousal.

Question 2

What are the important theories of emotion?

Answer 2

1. James-Lange Theory
2. Cannon-Bard Theory
3. Schachter-Singer (Two-Factor) Theory
4. Zajonc & LeDoux’s Theory
5. Lazarus’s Theory (Cognitive Appraisal)

Question 3

James-Lange Theory

Answer 3

States that emotions are felt due to physiological reactions to events.

Ex. You are nervous because your body is trembling.

Question 4

Cannon-Bard Theory

Answer 4

States that emotions and physiological reactions to events happen at the same time.

Ex. You are nervous and trembling.

Question 5

Schachter-Singer (Two-Factor) Theory

Answer 5

States that a stimulus causes a physiological reaction first, then an emotional response.

Ex. An intruder breaks into the house. You see him, you start screaming, then you are scared and running.

Question 6

Zajonc & LeDoux’s Theory (Social Facilitation)

Answer 6

(Social Facilitation) states that emotions can come about in two separate ways, the low road or the high road. The “low road” is an unconscious reaction to stimuli while the “high road” is a conscious reaction to stimuli.

Ex. The “low road” could be feeling sad. We may be thinking about someone that isn’t around and not realize we are responding.

Question 7

Lazarus’s Theory (Cognitive Appraisal)

Answer 7

(Cognitive Appraisal) states that the emotional reaction is due to your interpretation of the event.

Ex. If you received a B on a very hard test, you are relieved due to your interpretation of the difficulty of the test. Your classmate thought the test was easy and is very disappointed to receive the same letter grade of a B.

Question 8

How can emotions be measured?

Answer 8

Emotions can be measured using Polygraph Machines.

Question 9

Polygraph Machines are used to…

Answer 9

Known as a lie detector test, they measure heart rate, blood pressure, and other physiological responses to questions.

Question 10

Are lie detector tests reliable?

Answer 10

They are not deemed reliable by psychologists due to factors such as a client’s anxiety level.

Question 11

What is the Galvanic Skin Response?

Answer 11

When an electrode is placed on the skin of your hand, which is not deemed to be reliable by psychologists as it is likened to a lie detector.

Question 12

What are some emotional behaviors?

Answer 12

1. Catharsis
2. Feel-good, Do-good Phenomenon
3. Subjective Well-being
4. Adaptation-level Phenomenon
5. Relative Deprivation
6. Facial Feedback Effect

Question 13

Catharsis

Answer 13

When a person first has an emotional release after a significant event, like a sense of relief.

Question 14

Feel-good, Do-good Phenomenon

Answer 14

When a person helps others, they feel good about themselves.

Thus, when people volunteer, they can improve their mental and emotional health!

Question 15

Subjective Well-being

Answer 15

When a person judges their own happiness or personal well-being.

Question 16

Adaptation-level Phenomenon

Answer 16

The propensity that people have to adjust to a situation until their adaptation becomes a new normal.

Question 17

Relative Deprivation

Answer 17

The negative comparison of yourself to others.

Ex. Snowboarding athletes all train together and one team member doesn’t make it to medal status. They may feel they are “worse off” because they all trained together and the others earned a medal.

Question 18

Facial Feedback Effect

Answer 18

A theory that states that facial expressions can influence your attitude.

Ex. If you smile when you are unhappy, you may begin to feel better.

Question 19

How does the body express emotion?

Answer 19

The autonomic nervous system controls the nerves, while the amygdala is known as the brain’s emotional center.”

Question 20

What are the three parts of the autonomic nervous system that help with emotion?

Answer 20

The sympathetic, parasympathetic, and enteric systems which controls the “fight or flight” response and involuntary muscles such as the heart.

Question 21

Locus of Control

Answer 21

The idea of controlling our immediate environment rather than feeling helpless or out of control.

Question 22

External Locus of Control

Answer 22

The idea that pure chance or happenstance such as outside forces beyond an individual’s control determines an individual’s fate.

Question 23

Internal Locus of Control

Answer 23

The idea or belief than an individual has total control over their unique fate in life.

Question 24

Learned Helplessness

Answer 24

The idea that helplessness and passive resignation is learned or adapted when a person believes they are unable to avoid repeated aversive events that they believe are foisted upon them.

Question 25

What does Social-Cognitive Theory tell us about people’s happiness?

Answer 25

Those who live under conditions of personal freedom and empowerment thrive and people report higher levels of happiness under these conditions

Too much choice, known as the tyranny of choice, brings information and choice overload which contributes to feelings of regret and envy which can decrease life satisfaction and increase depression.

Question 26

Cognitive-Affective Processing System (CAPS)

Answer 26

An attempt to study situational variables and the cognitive qualities of individuals concerning the development of personality.

Uses five cognitive-affective units that influence how we process information.

Question 27

Encoding

Answer 27

How an individual stores, processes, and uses information.

Question 28

Beliefs/Expectations

Answer 28

How individuals expect consequences from their actions.

Question 29

Goals/Values

Answer 29

Life goals and rewards for behavior.

Question 30

Affect

Answer 30

How a person reacts emotionally.

Question 31

Competencies/Self Regulation

Answer 31

This encompasses general intelligence and abilities

Question 32

What is the Trait Theory of Personality?

Answer 32

Credited to Gordon Allport, psychologists use the trait theory to attempt to define personality in concrete terms of stable and enduring behavior patterns.

Question 33

What are traits defined in this case?

Answer 33

They are defined as stable personality characteristics that are presumed to exist within the individual and to guide his/her thoughts and actions under various conditions.

Question 34

What does the Trait Theory emphasize?

Answer 34

Measuring or identifying differences among personalities. It is from here that the Five Factor Theory was born.

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Question 35

Five Factor Theory

Answer 35

Postulates that there are five fundamental personality dimensions.

1. Conscientiousness
2. Agreeableness
3. Openness
4. Extraversion
5. Neuroticism

These five traits were chosen as they appear to be stable in adulthood, are substantially heritable, applicable to all cultures, and are good predictors of other personal attributes.

Question 36

What did Hans and Sybil Eysenck propose?

Answer 36

They proposed a trait theory that two primary genetically influenced dimensions could explain normal individual personality variations. These were extraversion-introversion and emotional stability-instability. Overall, the trait theory is used to evaluate how consistent traits can be despite situations and variations in behavior.