Week 5 - Emotional Experiences Flashcards
Emotional approach
movement toward a stressful encounter
Emotional approach
Emotional processing
attempts to understand emotions
Emotional approach
Emotional expression
free and intentional displays of feeling
Opposite of suppression - experiencing something and displaying it
Emotional avoidance
- movement away from a stressful encounter
Two Neurobiological Systems
Behavioral Activation System
Regulates appetitive (approach) behavior
Seek emotional rewards
Seek behavioral rewards
Two Neurobiological Systems
Behavioral inhibition System
Regulates avoidance behavior
Avoid negative events
Avoid punishments
Emotion-Focused Coping: Discovering the Adaptive Potential of Emotional Approach
Stanton et al., (2000) identified two processes involved in approach‐oriented emotion‐focused coping
Emotional processing - attempts to understand emotions
Emotional expression - free and intentional displays of feeling
Opposite of suppression - experiencing something and displays it
Adaptive potential of emotional approach
Minor stressors and real problems
Western groups seem to benefit from a little bit of emotional expression
Emotional processing becomes more adaptive as people learn more about what they are feeling and why
Supression of emotions in Asian cultures
Supression allows for preservation of harmony
Traditional - suppression, contemporary - expression
Culture affects types of beneficial coping, based on role of emotion
Important to understand the benefits of emotional approach
Better understanding of our experiences
Attention towards central concerns
Habituate to predictable negative experiences
Learn that emotional pain does subside - acute grief does dull over time
Time heals wounds
Take control by coping
Behavioral activation system and emotional processing
When we are calm, our hippocampus regulates our thoughts - coping
When we are stressed, amygdala governs our thoughts
Cultural differences in neurology
Cultural specificity in ability to down-regulate emotions when suppressing
Expanding the repertoir of pleasure
Dr. Alice Isen’s findings - when we are happy
More likely to help
Willing to exhibit self control
We are more likely to be flexible in our thinking
Able to come up with solutions to problem
Frederickson’s (2000) Broaden‐ and‐build model of positive emotions
Cognitive vs. physiological correlates
An experience of joy encourages openness ‐ broadening
Joy also induces playfulness
Encourages attachment
Higher creativity
Brain development
Positive affect can influence making change
How likely are you to start a new workout program when you’re stressed, angry, or upset?
Positive affect can assist memory
Link words together
Spatial and verbal memory
Working memory
Visual attention
Positive emotions can help build resources
Creative problem‐solving abilities ‐ leads to positive emotion – leads to problem solving – leads to more positive emotion…
Upward spiral!
Positive Emotions: Expanding the Repertoire of Pleasure
Positive emotions can offset negatives
Cardiovascular recovery after negative emotion
Positive emotions and mental health
Flawed research, but newer work shows some promising results
Broadening attention reduces sadness and depressed mood
Resilience to pain Positive emotions and happiness
The link between satisfaction and positive outcomes might be positive emotion
Emotional Intelligence: Learning the Skills That Make a Difference
Daniel Goleman —emotional intelligence
Bar‐On (1997) EQI: Self‐regard, empathy, tolerance, happiness, etc., etc., etc.,
Too many definitions!
Using the four branches: Positive interpersonal functioning
Emotional intelligence helps explain social functioning
Even beyond Big 5 traits
Can teach others to benefit from emotional experiences
Connected to other cognitive abilities
Resilience, mindfulness, leadership, well‐being
Must research neurological processes of emotional intelligence
Emotional Storytelling: The Pennebaker Paradigm as a Means of Processing Intense Negative Emotions
Dr. James Pennebaker’s study
Emotional writing can predict health outcomes
Fewer physician visits
Positive‐emotion words help improve health
“happy” or “laugh”
Emotionally expressive writing benefits numerous groups
Breast cancer survivors increased life quality
Assists with feelings surrounding discrimination, especially in members of LGBTQ+ community
Cultural context
Asian participants who wrote about heavy drinking experienced shame, which was linked to increased drinking
American participants who wrote about heavy drinking experienced beneficial effects
Beneficial for emotional approach style of coping
Those who prefer to express emotions and who used expressive writing reported fewer doctor visits than those assigned to a goal‐oriented writing condition
Remember to attend to individual differences
Pennebaker paradigm
– the name given to the act of written disclosure of emotional upheaval, aka emotional storytelling
Promising long‐term benefits
Especially with people who are hostile; Alexithymia
Theories include disinhibition, cognitive processing, social dynamics
Storytelling useful for children
Parents can show their emotional response to storybook characters
Teach child to identify emotions
Emotional literacy!
