Unit 5.2: Emotions Flashcards
Which are the components of emotions
feelings
bodily changes
action tendencies
Why are emotions important for personality psychology?
emotions are useful to distinguish among people
understanding why people differ in emotional reactions is part of understanding personality
What are emotional states?
transitory
specific cause (usually originating outside the person)
What are emotional traits?
Pattern of emotional reactions that a person consistently experiences across a variety of life situations
categorical approach
emotions as a small number of primary and distinct emotions
different criteria for defining emotions as primary
Is the concept of primary emotions equally accepted as the big 5 or HEXACO models?
no, there’s no scientific consensus on primary emotions as there is with traits
Dimensional approach
empirical research
subjects rate themselves on variety of emotions, researchers apply statistical techniques to identify basic dimensions
two primary dimensions: pleasantness & arousal
content of emotional life
specific kind of emotion
pleasant vs unpleasant
style of emotional life
the way in which emotions are experienced
high vs low activation
two components of emotions
cognitive/ life-satisfaction component: judgments that one’s life has meaning
affective/ hedonic component: ratio of positive vs negative emotions averaged over time
Easterlin paradox
happiness varies with income across nations, but over time happiness doesn’t tend to increase with income
What conclusion can we draw from the easterlin paradox?
being able to meet basic needs of life appears crucial
indirect pathway between personality and well-being
personality predisposes an individual toward particular life events
-> experience creates emotional response
-> influences level of well being
direct link between personality and well-being
traits immediately influence experienced affect
-> personality traits amplify life events
-> stronger positive or negative emotions for high extraversion/ neuroticism subjects
What is anxiety?
an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and physical changes, like increased blood pressure
What can be said about the effects of low vs severe anxiety?
low: adaptive function, warning signal for impending harm
severe: anxiety disorders, interfere with daily functioning
state anxiety
unpleasant emotional arousal in face of threatening demands
transient feelings of anxiety at given moment
trait anxiety
predisposition to respond with anxiety in anticipation of threatening situations
tendency to appraise situations as threatening
Which dimension of the big 5 influences anxiety the most?
neuroticism
What are the styles of information processing that cause neuroticism?
attending, thinking and remembering
Depression
involves feelings of sadness, hopelessness and apathy
depressed person loses interest in almost everything
everybody has those feelings at one point or another
diathesis-stress model
the stressful event and a pre-existing vulnerability have to be present to evoke depression
Beck’s cognitive theory
vulnerability lies in particular cognitive schema
-> depressive cognitive schema related to self-fulfilling prophecy (e.g. everything will fail; confirmation bias)
What are core aspects of Beck’s cognitive theory?
cognitive triad (self, world, future)
overgeneralization
Affect intensity as an emotional style
to characterize a person’s emotional style we must inquire about typical intensity of emotional experiences
How do people differ?
relative amounts of positive and negative emotional content
stylistic intensity of emotional experience
What is the self-concept and how long does it take to be formed?
basis for self understanding and answer to the question “what am I?”
takes years
Which schemas are involved in the self-concept?
self-schema: cog. representation of self-concept
possible selves: ideas people have about who they might become
Self-esteem
general (affective) evaluation of self-concept elements along good-bad and like-dislike dimensions
Social identity
self that is shown to others
help others build an impression on us
What’s the difference between self-concept and identity
identity involves socially observable expression of the self
